Discover the Magic of Nightingales with Sam Lee

The second talk in this winter’s Royston Pike Lecture Series is an uplifting presentation by Sam Lee about the elusive nightingale: ‘Singing with Nightingales’, on Wednesday 11 February at 7:30 pm at the Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre in Walton. 

Folk singer and naturalist Sam Lee will take you on a journey into the many worlds of the rarest of birds. For millennia, the Nightingale has been a cultural, folkloric, poetic and mythic icon whose night song has enchanted bards and artists alike. Discover the extraordinary lifecycle and character of this most forgotten of singers through exquisite surround-sound field and ethnographic recordings, coupled with tales of our human relationship to the land as channelled through this now critically endangered species. 

Sam Lee is a renowned song collector, activist and nature conservationist. With four critically acclaimed albums, including a Mercury Prize-nominated debut, Sam reimagines Britain’s folk traditions for the 21st century. His latest release, ‘Songdreaming’, is a suite of love songs inspired by the land. 

Passionate about connecting music, nature and community, Sam has led projects such as the RSPB’s ‘Let Nature Sing’, which brought birdsong to #18 in the UK charts, and the sell-out ‘Singing with Nightingales’ series. His debut book, ‘The Nightingale: Notes on a Songbird’, grew from this work. 

Sam collaborates widely with environmental organisations, co-founding ‘Music Declares Emergency’ and working with ‘Earth Percent’ to raise awareness of the climate and ecological crisis. 

The Royston Pike lecture series is presented by Elmbridge Borough Council in association with Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre, Tickets are £4 per person and available via the Riverhouse Barn box office. 

Book your ticket for ‘Singing with Nightingales'. 

Find out about the next lecture on the series on 11 March: ‘Strong Roots’: A Ukrainian family memoir with Olia Hercules. 
 
Read the full winter and spring Royston Pike programme.