York’s left‑field music scene returns to the spotlight later this month as YO UNDERGROUND #7 brings an eclectic bill of experimental soundmakers to The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse on Saturday 25 April 2026.

The night promises a mix of adventurous songwriting, genre‑defying improvisation, and boundary‑pushing audiovisual work.

This edition features Weather Balloons, the project of Leeds artist Annie Prior, whose surreal and poetic soft‑rock songwriting draws on dreamlike imagery, from “singing by moonlight” to visions of curled spiders and waking memories. Her intimate and unpredictable performances have earned her a small but passionate following across the region.

They’re joined by the Joe Douglas Trio, an exhilarating journey into North African‑inspired free jazz led by York percussionist Joe Douglas. With Felix Edwards‑McStay on keyboards and Louie Hanley‑Pir on saxophone and guembri – the three‑stringed, skin‑covered lute central to Gnawa music – the trio’s improvisational approach promises an energetic and exploratory set.

Rounding out the bill is Ben Hopkinson’s Synaefonia, a multimedia collaboration in which projected colour and movement act as real‑time notation for a highly creative ensemble. The group, featuring violinists Kit Shepherd and Manlu Du, oboist and cor anglais player Desmond Clarke, double bassist Iris Casling, and Hopkinson himself on tenor saxophone and Osmose, react to shifting visual cues to create something entirely unique. The performance contains flashing imagery and will offer one of the night’s most distinctive experiences.

YO UNDERGROUND #7 takes place in a fully accessible venue, with doors at 19:00 and music from 19:30. Tickets start at £5 in advance and £10 on the door, with more details available via TicketSource.

Weather Balloons, Joe Douglas Trio and Ben Hopkinson’s Synaefonia will play at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York on Saturday 25 April 2026.