An evening of music under lamplight is coming to Stoke Minster next month. 

A string quartet from the City of Stoke-on-Trent Symphony Orchestra will perform two hour-long concerts inside the church on 26 September. 

Organised by Social Connective CIC, the event aims to make the arts more accessible by keeping ticket prices low and by including well-known tunes from the 1970s, 1980s and the movies. 

Social Connective, which also runs comedy nights and the repair cafe in Biddulph, has hosted lamplight concerts in previous years but this is the first time the series is being held in the city. 

Sam Burns, co-founder of Social Connective, said: "Stoke Minister is such a stunning venue and both me and my partner have strong roots in Stoke so we hope this could be a regular occurrence. 

"I think some people think a concert can be a bit stuffy or a bit upper class, but that's why we're doing these performances and including hits from the movies. 

There will be two hour-long performances at Stoke Minster on 26 September. (supplied)

"So it's those classic tunes everyone knows, like Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and classic songs from the 70s and 80s. 

"There's some songs that we initially thought we didn't particularly like in their original format but when you listen to them on a string quartet, they're just completely different."

The concert is performed under lamplight, similar to those which are performed under candlelight in venues around the UK, but the organisers say their concert is significantly cheaper than those options because it is not run for profit. 

Instead Sam says the money made from the concerts will go towards paying the musicians and funding future outreach events in North Staffordshire. 

He added: "We're trying to make things more accessible, to give people an opportunity to try out and that's also the only reason we made the children's tickets free. 

"We got in touch with Joe, the musical director at the Stoke-on-Trent symphony orchestra a few months back and he was super keen on doing the collaboration, because that's what they're all about, access to the arts. 

"We put on just as good a performance because we use quartets that do this kind of thing anyway and work for the promoters who do candlelight concerts.  

"So we're using the equivalent quality quartet and these are people who have studied this at university, so this is their thing. 

"And it's a great night because most people do really enjoy all of the compositions, regardless of whether they actually like the original song so that's the great thing about a string quartet."

Lamplight Concerts - 26 September 2025

• Hits From The Movies - Cinematic classics to unforgettable soundtracks - 6.30pm to 7.30pm
• Back To The 70s and 80s - Timeless anthems to unforgettable ballads - 8.30pm to 9.30pm
• £10 per person per performance, £18 for both

For more details about Lamplight Concerts click here.