2015 was dominated by a hugely ambitious and popular season on the Yellow Bus stage at Freedom with performances by Public Service Broadcasting, Yolanda Brown, House Gospel Choir, Get the Blessing and James Taylor Quartet amongst many others, playing to huge crowds. The Australian phenomenon Tubular Bells for 2 sold out two shows at Holy Trinity Church and the Festival commissioned Just a Vibration, an extraordinary piece by Shri Shrinam for Indian musicians and a Yorkshire Brass Band that was really well received by a large Sunday afternoon crowd at Freedom.
Get the Blessing
The two indoor festivals at Hull Truck Theatre were beginning to get established. In November Gary Crosby’s Groundation brought up and coming stars guitarist Shirley Tetteh and vocalist Cherise Adams-Burnett to Hull as the directors tried to highlight the new, fresher jazz sound that was emerging out of London.
Cherise Adams-Burnett
All in all, over 25,000 people attended Hull Jazz Festival gigs in 2014 and 2015 – the largest attendance since 2003 and proof that the public was responding to the changes in the festival’s format and the focus on diversity of music and artists.