Back to the Garden brings music and words to York Festival of Ideas on Saturday 30 May 2026, as a lineup of local performers explore this year’s theme “Place and Space” through the lens of wild, peaceful and mythical green worlds.

Taking place at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, the evening promises a blend of original work and carefully chosen classics, delivered with what BBC Upload has described as “outside-the-box creativity.”

The bill features storyteller Lara McClure, alongside Mike Amber (of Saliva Birds) and Lola-Mae reimagining Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock. Poet and novelist Janet Dean joins performance poet Carrieanne Vivianette, who delves into the intersection of words and sound. Rounding things out, alt folk band Sofa Sofa bring their nature-inspired songwriting to the stage, weaving together themes of woods, weather, longing and love into something both haunting and hopeful.

The event also ties in with On Location, a free exhibition running from 7 June to 3 July at City Screen Picturehouse, showcasing visual responses to “place and space,” with a launch event on 8 June.

Back to the Garden featuring Lara McClure, Mike Amber & Lola-Mae, Janet Dean, Carrieanne Vivianette and Sofa Sofa will take place at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse on Saturday 30 May 2026.