A Winter Union

A Winter Union play the National Centre for Early Music on Saturday 12 December, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. They're a folk supergroup, and the night is built around reimagined winter and Christmas classics — the kind of songs that usually come out this time of year, but played with a folk sensibility rather than a standard carol service approach.

The concert is part of the York Early Music Christmas Festival, which has been running since 1997. The festival was set up to bring together music associated with Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, stretching from the Medieval to the Baroque and woven in with the sagas, stories and tales of the north. It's run by The York Early Music Foundation, a registered charity, so the whole thing sits within a wider programme of early music across the city during the festive season.

As for the music itself, Matthew Bannister of Folk on Foot described the evening as "a joyous, energetic and utterly absorbing evening of music". That gives you a fair idea of the mood — folk musicians taking those familiar winter melodies and running with them, rather than keeping them under wraps. If you're into folk and you're looking for something to do in the city as December settles in, this is a good place to start.

It's at the National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret's Church, Walmgate, YO19TL. Tickets are £25, with concessions at £23 and a £10 ticket for under 35s. The music runs from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.