About The Bradford Progress

The Bradford Progress is a collaboration between Paraorchestra, Charles Hazlewood, Jeremy Deller and the people of Bradford, celebrating the district’s glorious variety of music and the people who make it.

Across two days in May 2025, Bradford District will come alive with music created by musicians and singers who call the district home, coalescing into a sonic journey that ends in the centre of the city.

Created in collaboration by Paraorchestra, Charles Hazlewood, Jeremy Deller and the people of Bradford District, The Bradford Progress will bring the district to life with performances, concerts and happenings in parks, mills and malls, and on boats, buses, trains and more. You don’t need to book tickets, and it’s all free.

The Bradford Progress is a musical journey, beginning at the Cow & Calf Rocks in llkley at dawn on Saturday 17 May and making its way to City Park in the heart of Bradford on the afternoon of Sunday 18 May.

The music will be carried along the route by musicians of every style and ensembles of every size, performing without pause in a host of unexpected and sometimes-unadvertised places. You might hear Qawwali music on a bandstand, jazz on a canalboat, Bhangra and brass bands marching down your street… 

Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open – The Bradford Progress may be coming your way.

Visit the Bradford 2025 website for full details, timings and access information.

The Bradford Progress is a co-production with and for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.