THE MINISTRY OF STEAMPUNK
AXV FRIDAY NIGHT
Weekend at the Asylum XV
Airship Pirates Ahoy!
The Engine Shed
doors 7pm | event start 7:30 pm | event end 11:30 pm
age 14+ (under 18 must be accompanied by an adult)
fully seated
standard ticket price £39
standard tickets to Airship Pirates Ahoy! and Time Travellers £70 (wristband holders only)
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The ultimate Steampunk band will be returning to play Asylum this year. Founded in the 1990's, Abney Park have released 32 albums novels, a role playing game, several board games and two Blu-rays. They have toured all over the world, taking their stunning visual aesthetic and glorious sound to a host of countries.
Abney Park are the true pioneers of Steampunk music. They began exploring steampunk as a theme and genre way back in 2005 and quickly established themselves as leaders in the fledgling scene. They made the title 'Airship Pirates' their own and created their sound which is a mixture of gypsy rock, EDM (electronic dance music), electroswing, industrial dance and western music. Their style has been hugely influential within steampunk for the last twenty years.
As long ago as 2008 they released Lost Horizons, their first wholly steampunk-themed album and in 2009 the band released Æther Shanties, their tenth album which cemented their identity in the steampunk community; this was the year of the first Asylum.
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Abney Park last played Asylum in 2022 and we are absolutely delighted that they will be returning to headline our very special pirate night at AXV - Airship Pirates Ahoy!
Weekend at the Asylum is the biggest and longest running steampunk festival in the world, and it is only right that we have the longest running and biggest pure steampunk band play for us to celebrate fifteen years of Weekends at the Asylum at AXV!​
BOXSETUK​​
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Opening Airship Pirates Ahoy! will be the steampunk acoustic duo Box Set with their
trademark big beats, dance tunes & harmony drenched vocals.
BoxSetUK have spent the past couple of years travelling the UK, Europe & USA, singing their songs to festival and club audiences to great acclaim and this will be their first appearance at Asylum.
Nestled between Box Set and Abney Park you will have the perfect nautical piratical experience with the incomparable The Captains Beard.
This high energy band of folk-rock pirates have been firm favourites at Asylum since they played the Advanced Guard in 2022. Last year for Asylum XIV they headlined our first Pirates Ahoy! night which sold out within days.
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The Captain's Beard's music ranges from traditional folk and sea shanties , upbeat originals and downright silly songs about Cockney Mermaids, English Monarchs and rubbish vans.
Discount tickets for wristband holders
If you have a festival wristband and wish to attend Airship Pirates Ahoy! on Friday night and Time Travellers on Sunday night you can buy a 'Celebration Bundle' of both standard tickets for £70. To gain entry using these tickets you will need to show either your weekend wristband on both days or else a Friday wristband for Airship Pirates Ahoy! and a Sunday wristband for Time travellers.
Cyberpunk Night: Brew of the Neon Dawn
The County Assembly Rooms
doors 7 pm | event start 7:30 pm | event end 11 pm
age 14+ after 9 pm
informal seating in the ballroom and the oval room​
ticket price £19
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​Friday night at AXV will see the first ever Cyperpunk Night at Asylum - an immersive evening set within a cyberpunk reality.
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If you want to know a little more about the background to Cyberpunk, there's now a page on the website giving some basic information. You can find it here.
“Do automatons dream of clockwork sheep?”
As corporations battle for total control, underground groups plot to destroy their power and regular citizens just seek to get on with their lives, whilst all the time synthetics/ replicants walk amongst them.
The evening will blend collaborative problem solving, strategic alliances and immersive storytelling, featuring faction- based intrigue, puzzles and tea!
The year is 2055 and tonight, something is different, at the neutral trading zone (formally known as the Assembly Rooms). Word has spread throughout the city the “Neon Dawn” is about to manifest. Neon Dawn is a code word for change but it is unclear what form it will take, different factions now gather to influence these events.
As participants on the evening players may be regular people going about their everyday lives or faction members seeking to destroy or maintain the status quo. The players actions will directly affect the outcome of events. Unlike tears, in rain these events will not be lost!