Two music shows which celebrate the talent of a pair of legendary musicians are set to be staged at the Assembly Festival Garden in Coventry all next week.
Something About Simon – The Paul Simon Story and Something About George – The George Harrison Story will join the city centre line-up as part of the legacy of UK City of Culture.
The pop-up festival space in Coventry city centre has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors since it first opened last summer.
And the two shows, from Something About Productions, will join a busy programme of music, comedy, cabaret, theatre and family shows.
Something About Simon – The Paul Simon Story was a smash hit when it was premiered at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre in 2018. The show went on to triumph at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, where it was chosen for a residency at the Fringe Encore Series at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City, where it played six sell-out performances. The show was also part of the programme at the inaugural Liverpool Theatre Festival in 2020.
Singer-songwriter Gary Edward Jones not only recites the music of one of his idols, but also tells the unique story of Paul Simon combining visuals, stage design and, of course… the music.
A natural storyteller with charisma and charm, Gary weaves together songs and stories that cross the Atlantic from New Jersey to the Northwest of England. He traces the sometimes-poignant moments in Simon’s life and career, that occasionally mirror his own.
The show, which is co-written by Jon Fellowes, features classic ballads like Sound of Silence and America to Wristband, The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Something About George – the George Harrison Story pays tribute to the man dubbed the “quiet Beatle” and was met with acclaim by both audiences and critics when it closed the Liverpool Theatre Festival last September.
Now West End performer and musician Daniel Taylor is set to bring the brand new show to Coventry as part of a seven-date UK tour this summer which is already wowing audiences.
Featuring beautiful songs like My Sweet Lord, Something, and Handle With Care, Something About George showcases Harrison’s incredible solo material and music from rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys which was made up of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty.
And any show celebrating one of the Fab Four just has to include a few classics from The Beatles. From heartbreak to hedonism and songwriting to success, Something About George celebrates a life that was anything but quiet.
Daniel is an award-winning actor, producer, and director. He has previously played John Lennon in the award-winning Lennon Through A Glass Onion; Sammy in Blood Brothers; and appeared at the very first Liverpool Theatre Festival in his show, The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper.
Both shows will be performed in 60-minute one-act festival version.
Something About George is written by Jon Fellowes, who co-produces show alongside Gary Edward Jones and theatre producer Bill Elms. Together they make up Something About Productions.
Co-producer Bill Elms said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to bring Something About Simon and Something About George to the Assembly Festival Garden in Coventry UK City of Culture.
“These shows capture and celebrate the life, work and spirit of two legendary musicians, Paul Simon and George Harrison, and both have enjoyed a fantastic reception from audiences at venues here at home and – in Something About Simon’s case – across the Atlantic too.”