Would ewe believe it? Twenty-three giant singing sheep will take over the moorlands, meadows and towns of Kirklees between July 11-16, as composer Orlando Gough brings an expanded iteration of his HERD project to the Peak District. This multilayered musical spectacle – 18 months in the making – is a unique collaboration between artists and local people, tracing the cultural and industrial story of Kirklees via its many musical traditions, past, present and future.

Across six days these fleecy replicants, symbolising the region’s deep-rooted connections to the textile industry, will broadcast a series of original soundscapes, mixed together by Gough in collaboration with sound designers Sebastian Frost and John Del’Nero, their transmissions punctuated with music contributions by hundreds of local musicians, from brass bands to boliyan, choral to gospel, beatboxing, Karnatic singing, school choirs and more.

As the week progresses, the woolly model army will move from rural locations into the towns, their sounds reflecting a more urban and industrial reality as they go, concluding in St George’s Square, Huddersfield on Sunday July 16, for an epic event bringing together all the hundreds of musical contributors for a stunning finale of five specially-commissioned future songs for Kirklees. 

For full details visit herd-kirklees.co.uk