Events at the Launderette …
Great Gigs at a Unique Venue
Launderette Session gigs are on sale at WeGotTickets, including many not listed on this page.
Tickets are also available directly from Old Cinema Launderette without a booking fee.
Doors usually open at 7pm. Support (if arranged) starts around 7.50pm. Headliner around 8.30pm. For full details click "buy tickets".
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Chris Helme (Seahorses) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 22nd February 2020 — *SOLD OUT*
MrWishyWashy Presents
Polly Paulusma & Annie Dressner — 'Rumours in the Woods’ Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Sunday 23rd February 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Polly Paulusma and Annie Dressner became friends after meeting at the Cambridge Folk Festival.
Paulusma’s 2004 debut ‘Scissors In My Pocket’ earned her critical acclaim and support slots with Bob Dylan.
Dressner, three albums in, has received recognition and BBC radio play since arriving in UK from NYC in 2011
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Wednesday 26th February 2020 — *SOLD OUT*
MrWishyWashy Presents
Tickets are not 'Really Free'
John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Thursday 27th February 2020 — *SOLD OUT*
MrWishyWashy Presents
Can the launderette cope with these two? - probably not.
Heather Woods Broderick Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 28th February 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Heather has played in Efterklang, Horse Feathers, the live bands of Laura Gibson, Lisa Hannigan, and Damien Jurado, and has also been a longtime collaborator and bandmate to Sharon Van Etten
Raynes Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Sunday 1st March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Raynes is a transatlantic trio made up of two Americans and a Brit. Now based in Los Angeles, Mat Charley and Joe Berger, both born and raised in North Dakota, met Durham native Mark Race through Instagram after an extensive search for the final piece of this project.
Josienne Clarke Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Wednesday 4th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
When Josienne Clarke signed to the illustrious independent music champions Rough Trade Records, its founder Geoff Travis told The Guardian that she writes, “songs that rearrange your internal emotional landscape… reinventing the popular song structure.”
Martin Stephenson (3 night residency) Venue - Old Cinema launderette
Thursday 5th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Martin's gigs at the launderette are a thing of legend. He just gets better and better.
Tickets always sell out for these intimate shows. Get them early.
Martin Stephenson Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 6th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Martin's gigs at the launderette are a thing of legend. He just gets better and better.
Tickets always sell out for these intimate shows. Get them early.
Martin Stephenson (3 night residency) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 7th March 2020 — *SOLD OUT*
MrWishyWashy Presents
Martin's gigs at the launderette are a thing of legend. He just gets better and better.
Tickets always sell out for these intimate shows. Get them early.
O'Hooley & Tidow Venue - Ushaw
Saturday 7th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
Ushaw & MrWishyWashy Presents
Much loved Yorkshire folk duo Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow have suddenly been
propelled into newfound fame for penning the theme tune for Sally Wainwright’s hit
BBC1/HBO drama ‘Gentleman Jack’, earning them global admiration, appearances on
TV, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour and concerts that sell out months in advance.International Women's Day '20 - Blather & Lather Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Sunday 8th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
Come along for an evening of friendship, food and good clean fun. Dr Sui-Ting Kong will talk about “Gender and the democratic movement in Hong Kong” Sue Fox will be talking about WI through the years in “All they do is make Jam” and Dr Joanna Berry will be talking about the Imposter Syndrome and why we should resist it. All proceeds will go towards the chosen charities of the speakers. Please bring along some food for sharing and a bra to wash - the bar will be open and it’s a great chance to meet Durham women, share experience and laughter and enjoy this unique venue in true celebration of International Women’s Day.
Chloe Foy Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Thursday 12th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Chloe Foy writes a brand of melodic, homegrown music, bursting with colourful lyrical and textural inflections evocative of much of the music she loves. Taking inspiration from classical music as much as wider transatlantic trends in folk and indie, Chloe’s songs comprise of carefully constructed arrangements that delicately compliment her cryptic lyrics.
UNICEF CONCERT Keith James - The Music of Yusuf - Cat Stevens Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 13th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Keith James presents an honest and loving reflection of the timeless and reflective music of Cat Stevens.
The amassed body of music from this hugely popular singer/songwriter made for a collection
of 'must have' records across a whole generation. Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were on everyone's
turntables and on every radio station, live versions are played in concerts, bars and on the world's beaches to this day.
Songs such as Wild World, Father and Son, Moonshadow and Where do the Children play have been covered by hundreds of Artists worldwide.Romeo Stodart (The Magic Numbers) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 14th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Romeo Stodart from The Magic Numbers – nuff said.
Launderette Comedy Club - Lauren Pattison Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 21st March 2020 — Buy Tickets
Funslingers Comedy & MrWishyWashy Presents
A brand new comedy night comes to Durham, with a spectacular line-up in store for the opening show at The Old Cinema Launderette. The Launderette Comedy Club welcomes the very best comedians from the comedy circuit with astonishingly good acts playing the quirkiest, most intimate comedy club the North East has to offer. With acts from TV and radio, the debut show sets a strong benchmark and is sure to sell out fast. With future shows lined up for May and June and headliners to come from Live at The Apollo and BBC TV, there’s even more to look forward to. The show stars ...Lauren Pattison, Louise Young, Neil Harris, Ken McGuinness & Si Beckwith.
Marty O'Reilly & the Riverside Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Thursday 26th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
O’Reilly plays with the conviction of a veteran Chicago blues man that belies his Sonoma County roots
The Riverside is a band of friends from California and Texas, founded by husband and wife duo, Jacob and Lorien Jeanson,
Jeffrey Martin & Anna Tivel Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 27th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Anna’s album, Before Machines, was hailed by No Depression as “raw, yet superbly composed and executed, intelligent, personal and deeply expressive.”
Jeffrey was raised with a careful ear cocked and listening to Neil Young, John Prine, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, and Harry Chapin.
The Lake Poets Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Sunday 29th March 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
"Somewhere between Bright Eyes and John Martyn. Something Special" - Mojo ****
"Stunning Debut from Sunderland Troubadour. Quietly Brilliant" - Uncut 8/10
“Martin’s rich, spacious sound, his room-filling guitar style and soft, clear, sweet voice are so shockingly note perfect. The tracks he play ripple with wistful sadness and sharply observed lyrics and the images and lives he creates feel immensely personal” - For Folk’s Sake
"For decades the sound of the acoustic guitar has pulled at the heartstrings of so many. Now Longstaff is carrying on that tradition with his beautiful, thought provoking, honest acoustic music. When I first heard The Lake Poets I was blown away" - The Guardian
"Stunningly heart-breaking music, beautiful and quietly devastating“ - BBC 6 MusicMark Morriss (Bluetones) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 3rd April 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Mark Morriss is a singer songwriter who famously made his name fronting English indie outfit The Bluetones. Mark fronted the four piece over a successful and fruitful 15 year period, scoring 14 top ten singles and 3 top ten albums, whilst touring the UK, Europe and Japan, before temporarily disbanding in 2011.
Luke Haines (The Auteurs) & Peter Buck (REM) Venue - The Garage, Glasgow
Sunday 12th April 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
‘Beat Poetry For Survivalists’ is the new collaboration between Peter Buck & Luke Haines.(out in March 2020)
Peter Buck was the guitarist for the biggest band in the world – R.E.M.
Luke Haines was the guitarist for the Auteurs. The Auteurs were not the biggest band in the world. They were pretty good though
One day, Peter Buck bought one of Luke Haines’ Lou Reed paintings. They had never met before but decided that the fates had brought them together and they should write some songs together and make an album.
Old Red Eyes - Tribute to Paul Heaton (Housemartins/Beautiful South) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 17th April 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Andrew Johnson returns for his much loved tribute to Paul Heaton, the Housemartins and the Beautiful South. Old Cinema Launderette; what a great place to be.
Martha Hill Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 24th April 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Northern musician Martha Hill left her coastal Scottish home aged 17 to busk her way
around Europe. Newcastle based musician Martha Hill writes left-field pop that is both hard-hitting
and catchy as hell. An energy of husky vocals and melodic hooks, her introspective
storytelling delivers socially conscious themes over a backdrop of guitars, cellos and synths,
thriving in reinvention and fusion.
Christina Martin Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 25th April 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Christina Martin is a multi-award winning Canadian singer-songwriter whose style has been described as an effortless union between Americana and Pop/Rock. She’s dedicated herself to creating music about love perseverance and tougher subject matter. Her 2018 release “Impossible To Hold” won the 2018 Music Nova Scotia Award for Pop Recording of the Year. In 2020 she will be touring with her guitarist Dale Murray promoting a new album ‘Wonderful Lie’ in the United Kingdom.
Aaron Jonah Lewis Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Thursday 30th April 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Aaron Jonah Lewis is an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, performer and educator. Aaron is passionate about sharing early fingerstyle banjo music (AKA “classic banjo”). He points out that classic banjo was the most popular form of music a hundred years ago, and today it’s almost entirely forgotten. Aaron’s newest recording, entitled “Mozart of the Banjo: The Joe Morley Project", is devoted to the compositions of Joe Morley, the great prodigy and virtuoso composer of the turn of the 20th century.
Bird on the Wire - The Songs of Leonard Cohen Venue - Ushaw
Sunday 10th May 2020 — Buy Tickets
Ushaw & MrWishyWashy Present
A 10-piece collective of outstanding musicians interpreting the music of one of the greatest songwriters of our time, Bird on the Wire has already received rave reviews and will be touring across Ireland & England in 2020.
Jennah Barry Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Tuesday 12th May 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Hailing from the coastal haven of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Jennah Barry is one of Atlantic Canada’s surest sirens. Her undeniable, rosewater voice sets a mood wherein even the hardest truths seem palatable. Moving effortlessly between folk, country and soft rock motifs, Barry’s music, last heard on her instantly classic debut Young Men, sets her at the forefront of a tradition of women making music as strong as it is sentimental.
Peter Bruntnell - *Rearranged Date* Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 15th May 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Album after album, the Kingston upon Thames solo artist produces rich and refined song-craft, yet hardly anyone has heard of him. Could this be his time?
An Evening with Richard Digance Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Wednesday 20th May 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Richard Digance is a BAFTA Nominated TV Entertainer Of The Year and Gold Award recipient from The British Academy of Composers. He turned his back on show biz for his first loves of music. Over 4,000 live shows, 62 British tours, 17 books, 3 stage plays, 32 albums and 4 million YouTube visits says it all. He composed the audio book music for Bill Bryson’s best-seller ‘The Road To Little Dribbling, He supported Robin Williams at The London Palladium, and supported Steve Martin in the USA.
The Magpie Arc Venue - Ushaw
Thursday 28th May 2020 — Buy Tickets
Ushaw & MrWishyWashy Presents
The Magpie Arc is a new cross-Border band out of Sheffield and Edinburgh featuring the multi-award-winning talents and wide musical influences of Nancy Kerr, Martin Simpson, Adam Holmes, Tom A Wright (The Albion Band and Ashley Hutchings Morris-On Show) and Alex Hunter (Adam Holmes and The Embers).
The Primitives (Acoustic) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Monday 1st June 2020 — Buy Tickets
Hapless Museum Worker Presents
The iconic indie pop band The Primitives play a very intimate gig at Old Cinema Launderette as part of their first ever acoustic tour.
The Primitives (Acoustic) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Wednesday 3rd June 2020 — *SOLD OUT*
Hapless Museum Worker Presents
The iconic indie pop band The Primitives play a very intimate gig at Old Cinema Launderette as part of their first ever acoustic tour.
David Ford Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 5th June 2020 — *SOLD OUT*
MrWishyWashy Presents
Award-winning songwriter, David Ford has a brand new show with some old-school values.
After touring the UK and Ireland in 2019 with his most technically ambitious stage production to date, this time Ford is packing away his terrifying array of triggers and loop machines and building a show around his classic songwriting and musicianship, presenting career highlights in a series of stripped-back, intimate performances.
Bridie Jackson Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 12th June 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Bridie Jackson is a musician and proud Northerner, who started writing songs aged 3 and never stopped. Her favourite songwriter is Jake Thackray but she more frequently gets compared to Feist.
Best known as lead singer and songwriter of her band, Bridie Jackson and The Arbour, who received national recognition after winning the 2013 Glastonbury Emerging Talent Contest, Bridie is now stepping out as a solo artist, and looking forward to playing a handful of intimate shows in her favourite North -Eastern venues throughout 2020.
Amelia Coburn Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Friday 4th September 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Since being nominated for the BBC Young Folk Awards in 2017 Teesside's Amelia Coburn has spent much of her time travelling around the world, working and living in France, Mexico and Russia. A striking stage presence and the ability to fill a room with the subtlest of sounds.
TV Smith (Adverts) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 12th September 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
TV Smith was founder member, singer and songwriter for the Adverts, who formed in late 1976, and became one of the leading bands in the first wave of British punk rock. In early 1977, they performed regularly at the newly-opened Roxy Club in London, and gained cult success with the Stiff Records single "One Chord Wonders." Their next release, "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" became a hit record, leading to many radio and TV appearances and extensive media interest. A further single, “No Time To Be 21,” also entered the charts, and the band spent the rest of the year playing live, including major tours with The Damned and Iggy Pop.
Kris Drever (Lau) Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Wednesday 14th October 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
Kris Drever is a Scottish folk singer songwriter, who has won multiple awards including an incredible 7 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, two shortlist nominations for Scottish Album of The Year (with his trio Lau) and much acclaim for his solo recordings and concerts including glowing reviews from The Herald, The Guardian, Mojo and Q Magazine.
Martin & Eliza Carthy Venue - Ushaw
Friday 23rd October 2020 — Buy Tickets
Ushaw & MrWishyWashy Presents
The good Doctor Martin Carthy and his twice Mercury nominated daughter Eliza Carthy, join forces to perform songs from their first duo album ever, a CD of traditional material entitled THE ELEPHANT, released in May 2014 on Topic Records.
Martin is a legendary ballad singer and guitarist who has influenced a generations of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, while Eliza has been twice-nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and a multiple-award winner at the BBC Radio Two Folk awards.
Chris Wood Venue - Old Cinema Launderette
Saturday 14th November 2020 — Buy Tickets
MrWishyWashy Presents
In a world of soundbites and distractions Chris Wood is a truth seeker. His writing is permeated with love and wry intelligence, uplifting and challenging as he celebrates the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life. Tom Robinson and Chris Difford are fans while Stick In The Wheel and The Unthanks look to him as an influence. Winner of 6 BBC Folk Awards, he's played with The Royal Shakespeare Company and was a key member of The Imagined Village along with Billy Bragg and Martin Carthy. A wise and soulful craftsman, his concerts are a cliche free zone.
- Please check the WeGotTickets website for a full list of our forthcoming events.