Bradford 2025 performance celebrates Black British music: 'We're honouring those generations who made the soundtrack to our lives'
Bradford-born soul singer Sinead Campbell and a collective of Yorkshire musicians are staging a live show celebrating decades of Black British music and culture, from 1948 through to present day.
“It’s about remembering where we come from to understand where we’re going,” says Sinead. “It carries the wisdom, rhythm, and resilience of generations who came before us, celebrating the power of music to unite, heal, and move us forward together.”
Love. Unite. Freedom. honours the enduring influence of the Windrush generation on Bradford’s cultural landscape, tracing the heartbeat of genres like reggae, rocksteady, garage, drum and bass, and grime.
Rachel Fryer is creative producer for the show, which blends live music, new writing, and verbatim voices collected from the community to explore themes of love, unity, freedom, and connection across generations.
“It’s a celebration of Black British music that was influenced from the Windrush generation, from the calypso and mento that those people would have brought over with them in 1948 and how that sound has evolved in this country over the decades,” Rachel says.
“This piece is honouring those generations who made the soundtrack to our lives. We’re celebrating their local voices, where we’ve come from and what connects us.”
“All of us that are on board have some really strong connection and love of the genre and music,” she adds.
The show is part of the City of Culture programme and has been supported by the Bradford 2025 Artist-led Project Awards scheme.
"Bradford 2025 has really put the city on the map,” Rachel says. “And this give us an opportunity to also tell the stories of people in Bradford who may not feel like they necessarily get heard as much.”
Since April, those behind the project have worked closely with Bradford’s African Caribbean community to gather stories, experiences, and creative inspiration.
Activities have included workshops with elders sharing their memories, sessions with young people exploring Black-origin music, identity and creative expression, and community art and heritage activities.
Inspiration was also taken from Windrush Day celebrations, which brought generations together over performances, exhibitions and foods.
All of this has informed the final performance, organisers say, “ensuring that the voices and histories of Bradford’s African Caribbean community are at the heart of the show”.
"We’re all dreaming big and have a vision that this is something that could be told globally,” Rachel says. “It’s exciting the launch is in Bradford and we’re honouring this story to the community here.”
Love. Unite. Freedom. will be performed at Loading Bay at 9pm on November 22. For tickets, visit bradford2025.co.uk/event/love-unite-freedom