Preston pub to celebrate city's Polish community with traditional music night

Organised by Polish-born musician Kate S, the event is set to take place at The New Continental on South Meadow Lane and was borne of Kate’s desire to see Preston’s Polish community - one of the biggest in the UK - represented culturally.

“Although it’s a very diverse community, I don’t think there are as many events for Polish people than there are other communities,” said Kate, with a 2021 Census survey showing that 2.4% of Preston’s community are Polish, making it the third largest ethnicity in the city after England and India. “Most of the Polish events are organised by the Polish Parish, St. Maria Goretti church.

“I had been thinking about organising a Polish music night for a while,” added Kate, who - despite having lived and worked in Preston for the last 14 years - found that there were very few Polish events. “Something for Polish people with typical Polish music.” 

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The vocalist and guitarist began practising her talents at 14 and started performing in Preston social clubs in 2018. Now 38, she created the event in order to enable her to perform in Polish, with The New Continental gearing up to host its third such event.

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The bar is renowned for showcasing films, bands, and cultural events, with Kate having discovered that they were very receptive and supportive of organising a Polish music night. T inaugural event was very well attended attendance for its debut show in May, with people from all walks of life coming to experience the sound of Poland. 

“I thought that it would be a good idea for many reasons, especially because we haven’t got something like this in our community... And I've always wanted to sing in Polish,” said Kate. “We had over 90 people attend the first show, which we weren’t expecting. Not only Polish, but British people attended. I think they were interested in what Polish music sounded like.

“It’s natural curiosity, I suppose.” 

According to Reuters, Polish music has become a popular choice in the UK, as music sales have increased by 210% in the last five years.  At Kate’s events, she and others perform a range of genres and covers from different Polish artists such as Lady Pank, Varius Manx, and Kombii.  Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with The LP’s free emails

“A significant genre of Polish music is called Disco Polo, a kind of disco music,” explained Kate. “You can dance to it and it’s very simple. Some Polish people love it; some Polish people hate it. It’s very unique for our culture, it’s great for a party.”

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The event is set to take place on the 14th September with tickets priced at £5.50 (£3.00 for those under 18s). You can purchase tickets on Skiddle.