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Kenwood House's long hot summer
By Sri Carmichael, Evening Standard 17.03.08
Noisy: The concerts were cancelled last year after neighbours' complaints
Strong line-up: Jazz pianist Diana Krall is also due to perform
Brian Wilosn: will play to audiences of up to 8,000
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Former Beach Boy Brian Wilson, opera singer Katherine Jenkins and jazz star Diana Krall will all be in the line-up at Kenwood House this summer.
The outdoor concert season in the grounds of the Hampstead stately home will start on 28 June - provided planning permission for a new stage is granted. Up to 8,000 people will be able to attend each performance.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is set to play the Summer Prom and Jenkins, 27, will host the Last Night of the Kenwood Proms on 23 August, with special guests Blake and a fireworks finale.
Wilson will open the season with songs from his latest album Getting In Over My Head. Folk singer Rufus Wainwright is due to perform an acoustic set - one of only two concerts in Britain this year.
Omara Portuondo and the Buena Vista Social Club, Canadian pianist Krall and West End musical favourite Michael Ball are also due to perform.
Last year, the Kenwood concerts were cancelled after sustained complaints that noise and traffic congestion were disturbing neighbours.
But English Heritage, which runs the venue on the edge of Hampstead Heath, has applied to build a new arena and camouflaged stage that it says will cut sound pollution.
Camden council will decide if it can be built on 3 April. Public transport links and car parking are also due to be improved.
In February, Kenwood was granted a provisional licence for eight concerts on consecutive weekends and given permission to announce the line-up.
Rebecca Kane of English Heritage said: "We are delighted the licence was agreed. We have been working tirelessly with Camden and residents to resolve issues regarding transport, ecology and noise."
Tickets, subject to planning permission, go on sale from 18 March.
Reader views (1)
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This concert line-up looks splendid. But, as with other areas and venues, I think English Heritage continues to tread a fine line between conservation and commerce...
- Peter Seekings-Foster, Muildenhall, Suffolk
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