An Updated Guide to Music in Durham: Fresher’s Edition

Despite being a small cathedral city, Durham’s music scene is packed with a plethora of opportunities to get stuck into, regardless of genre. From Orchestras and Chapel Choirs to Rock Bands and DJ Collectives (alongside everything in-between), Durham’s music culture has something available to everyone. Knowing that Freshers’ week can be a very overwhelming experience for anyone, we thought we’d make it easier for new and returning students to navigate their way through Durham’s full and diverse musical catalogue. 

Knowing that Freshers’ week can be a very overwhelming experience for anyone, we thought we’d make it easier for new and returning students to navigate their way through Durham’s full and diverse musical catalogue

A perfect starting place when hunting through Durham’s music societies, bands, and events is the umbrella society Durham Student Music. Using their Instagram handle @durhamstudentmusic to spotlight the upcoming events and musical achievements for and of Durham students, a useful resource for anyone looking to engage in Durham’s Music Scene.

Providing opportunities for classically trained musicians, there are multiple orchestras to audition for in Durham. The two large, auditioned orchestras are Durham University Orchestral Society (DUOS) and Durham University Palatinate Orchestra (DUPO). Who hold concerts dotted around Durham’s venues for you to perform in or attend (followed by an annual summer tour abroad!) For a smaller orchestra, it is worth checking out Durham University Classical Ensemble (DUCE). If you’re looking for a more laid-back orchestra, the non-auditioned Hill Orchestra may be a better fit for you. 

Other ensembles for bass instruments are the Bass and Concert Bands, and Keyboard Instrument Society (DUKIS) is perfect for you if you play the piano or organ. “Our society provides opportunities for piano ensembles, masterclasses, and concerts, while also giving members access to Steinway pianos and organs in chapels across Durham”, a DUKIS executive member explained.

These orchestras go hand-in-hand with Durham’s numerous Acapella choirs: Northern Lights, Durham Dynamics, Foot Notes Acapella, and the Full Score barbershop choir all housing talented voices. These choirs perform at various concerts and events, some embarking on runs at the annual Durham and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. For more liturgical singing, Durham University Choral Society (DUCS), Chamber Choir (DUCC) and there are eight College Chapel choirs that will be welcoming and auditioning new members and choral scholars for each voice part early on this term.

As for jazz, the two flagship big bands are Durham University Big Band (DUBB) and Durham University Jazz Orchestra (DUJO), the former organising an annual trip to Pizza Express in Soho, London, where they bring their sound to one of the city’s most iconic jazz venues. Additionally, the Jazz Society organises Jam sessions regularly taking place on Sundays at Fabio’s, and hosting a variety of events throughout the year, including masterclasses with renowned musicians alongside gigs and outreach opportunities.

Moving into the pop / rock genre, Durham University is also home to multiple student bands who can be heard regularly performing at University events like Balls and BOPs, and around the bars of Durham (notably the Holy GrAle and Fabio’s). Some of the most prolific student bands include Kinky Jeff and the Swingers, The Quays, Basement Jazz, and Grass Fed Salmon, all providing different sounds for student performers and listeners to get involved in. Make sure to keep an eye out for the impressive up-and-coming One More Year, a recently formed group of final year students.

If you play guitar, bass, or drums and would like to join a band or find other members to form your own group, it is worth checking out Rock Society’s termly-run Musician’s Mixer. Rock Society is a hub for all things rock in Durham, hosting an annual Battle of the Bands competition and describing itself as “for all fans of anything rock, from blues to classic to metal and alternative.” The society runs social events and “gigs for those looking to join bands and perform.”

If you play guitar, bass, or drums and would like to join a band or find other members to form your own group, it is worth checking out Rock Society’s termly-run Musician’s Mixer

These quirkily named bands have been a staple at college events, with some members boat-racing pints on stage and crowd-surfing their way through the audience at college balls (although this may be an experience unique to Grass Fed Salmon at South’s Summer Ball). When asked about their group, Grass Fed Salmon answered “We are a student band playing mostly pop-rock covers and have been playing around Durham for 2 years now, so we can’t wait to get back to gigging this year! We have 2 fresh new members after a couple graduated last year and we are very excited to see how this develops our sound. Lion in Winter and June Ball were major highlights from last year, and we hope to get the chance to play them again as well as many other college and society gigs.”

If DJ-ing is more suited to your skillset than playing an instrument, Durham is also home to multiple DJ societies: Rotate, Fractal, and Retracked to name a few). These societies carve their own space for drum and bass, EDM, and house in Durham, finding themselves headlining Durham’s club nights. If Jimmy Allens’ usual cheese is not to your taste, Rotate host their own student-run events weekly at Loft on Wednesday nights. “Rotate is Durham’s largest student-run club night, which began in 2018 and evolved into Rotate Events in 2024 under the leadership of Benedict Prideaux and Angelo Sanchez Dela Cruz. We’re dedicated to building community throuhg music, offering a wide spectrum of sounds that provide students with a diverse and exciting nightlife experience. While we also host pop-ups and collaborate with charities, societies, and other organisations.” Rotate’s next event will take place at the Angel Terrace on 2nd October 2024, a “great opportunity for freshers to get involved and experience Durham’s vibrant music scene.” Meanwhile, Fractal specialises in psychedelic and underground music, hosting boat parties on Prince Bishops River Cruiser and in previous years, raves in the late nightclub Klute’s basement. Finally, Retracked aims to provide more opportunities for women and non-binary DJs, actively striving to create more equal opportunities in DJ-ing at Durham.

if performing is not your thing, don’t worry; there are still lots of behind-the-scenes opportunities for you!

On an ending note, if performing is not your thing, don’t worry; there are still lots of behind-the-scenes opportunities for you! Moving from club to radio DJ, Durham’s award-winning Purple Radio is an ideal place to get involved with music production and radio hosting. With opportunities to run both a live-show and a podcast, Durham University’s own radio station is a perfect venue to gain experience in both music and news, meaning those less performance-inclined can still find a place within Durham’s Music Scene.

No introduction to the music of Durham would be complete without a playlist to help you through Fresher’s week. We’ve compiled a playlist of songs that encapsulates the spirit of your first week at Durham, including the tunes you’re bound to hear at every single event (“Mr. Brightside”, Robbie Williams’ “Angels”, and anything by ABBA). Despite how cheesy these may feel, they form the soundtrack of the amazing experiences you’ll have at every college event (and of course, in ‘Jimmy’s’).

Here’s the code to scan for access to our ‘Fresher’s Week at Durham’ Playlist, or feel free to search for it under the Spotify handle @Palatinate Music