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Live music event to awaken Exeter Library at night

Posted on 22 Jun 2022

Exeter Library will be transformed into a late night hub for live music, dance and performance art next month.

‘Awaken the library!’ is the latest in the Library Lates series and the first one since 2020, when the pandemic closed the 54 library buildings around Devon and Torbay.

The summer event on Friday 8th July between 7.30 and 10.30pm promises live music, DJs and interactive artworks, in zones throughout the building.

On the main stage will be:
Samantics – a one-man machine of powerful noisy poetry, accompanied by a trolley full of sounds including ukulele, bass, beats, piano and samples.
Emily Magpie – a dream-pop three-piece band which creates glittering spacial soundscapes shimmering with electronic melodies.

Elsewhere in the library guests will enjoy an interactive art exhibition by Black Dog and Sweet F.A. from Tiverton, who champion positive mental health and invite audiences to take part in creating their own small section of a collaborative piece of art. The overall piece will be revealed at the end of the evening.

Caleb Chester, Senior Supervisor of Development and Innovation at Exeter Library, said: “We are awakening Exeter Library with an after-hours night full of creativity and live music. It’s a space Exeter people already know, but this is definitely a way they will never have seen it before!”

“As this is the first Library Lates since Covid, it’s going to be an extra special coming together of fun and creativity. We held our first Library Lates just before the pandemic started in February 2020. It was a sell-out with people coming to enjoy the live music, DJs, art, game-making and storytelling. It was incredible to see the spaces between the shelves completely transformed, and we hope this event ‘Awaken the Library!’ will be just as successful.”

Alongside the main events there will be an installation from Oddstep Deployment Unit, showcasing an audio-visual montage of recordings, readings and 3D modelling based on books from Exeter Library.

There will also be a silent disco with resident librarians aka DJ Norman Fonts, DJ Shorty and DJ Ting bringing a mix of retro and dance classics. Bar Nova will also be operating throughout the evening with beers, wines, spirits, soft drinks and snacks.

Tickets are £7 or £5 for concessions and are available to over 16s only. They can be bought through Eventbrite bit.ly/3MT5Kaa, at the library in Castle Street, or by telephoning the library on 01392 407027. Book early to guarantee a ticket.

The event is being generously supported by Arts Council England and Exeter City Council.

Libraries Unlimited believes…

…in the unlimited potential of library services to make a positive difference to people’s lives and communities through a shared love of reading and access to high quality information and facilities.