POPULAR acoustic duo Paper Cranes are asking their fans to go the extra mile - or four - to attend their next unique gig.

By Karl Steel ( email )

The Furness pair have arguably their most unusual show to date when they play live 1,550ft above sea level at the remote Skiddaw House later this month.

Situated on the flanks of Skiddaw, overlooking Keswick, and a four-mile walk from the nearest car park, the traditional hostel is surrounded by mountains and is accessible only on foot or by mountain bike.

Thought to be the highest hostel in the country, it is certainly the highest venue that Paper Cranes have played, having started out in 2012.

Jon Dawes and Beckah Lloyd both provide vocals and guitar, while Jon also adds percussion, with this show being an intimate unplugged gig, that will also be featuring in a short film.

Jon says: "We've played quite a few random locations, from barns in the middle of nowhere, to Bratislava, in Slovakia, to even playing on the edge of Coniston for a Swimathon a couple of weeks ago.

"This will be the highest and most remote place we have played. I quite like the fact you have to walk about four miles up Skiddaw to get there, just to make it even more worthwhile.

"We got an email through in July from a lady called Suzy, who has recently taken over the hostel, titled "Small Gig in the Middle of Nowhere?!", which straight away caught my attention as a promising little venture.

"Although there's fairly limited numbers and we will have played in front of a lot more people in the past, it's the intimacy that really appeals to us, which I think suits our style.

"We like to be versatile enough to handle a main stage gig at a festival right down to the feel of a little campfire jam with some friends."

Paper Cranes have firmly established themselves on the Cumbrian circuit, and have played support slots with chart-topping acts such as Ocean Colour Scene and Nizlopi, and hundreds of gigs across the North of the country.

There will only be a small audience for this unusual concert, but Jon is hoping it will be one of the most memorable.

"We're mainly looking forward to the whole atmosphere of the night," he says.

"The tickets are being sold with either beds or camping, so it'll be nice to get to know everyone there over the course of the night. It's also good to play completely unplugged as well, to bring out more subtleties in our music that you probably wouldn't notice in an amplified setting, and also more challenging with not a lot of room for messing up or bum notes compared to a show where there's more background noise going on."

John Pye will be performing spoken word pieces in between each of the sets, with Paper Cranes running through their extensive catalogue of original material.

The Paper Cranes 1,550ft Session takes place at Skiddaw House hostel on Friday September 16, and tickets including a bed or camping can be booked by phoning 07747 174 293 or emailing skiddawhouse@yahoo.co.uk

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