THE Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon will play York Minster on May 7 in his first mainland British date of 2011.

This solo show by the urbane Irish chamber pop musician is the first event to be mounted by Tribeca Events, a new production company set up in York by producer and arts facilitator Ben Pugh.

Tribeca will announce further names soon for a debut season that will “bring together great artists in great venues to create memorable events in York, Leeds and North Yorkshire”.

“I’ve been working with the Minster for some time to create a series of concerts that will feature modern music artists in an unusual setting,” says Ben.

“The Minster is a complicated space to work with, but full of potential, and The Divine Comedy will be an amazing concert in an incredible venue.”

Originally, Tribeca Events planned to launch their venture with a “major event” in Leeds in June, but then came Divine inspiration. “This opportunity was too good to miss. Neil Hannon is the perfect musician for the Minster and it seems fitting that the first concert put on by Tribeca Events is in our home town, York and in such an iconic building.”

Fronted by Hannon, The Divine Comedy have brightened the day with their intensely individualistic, self-styled chamber pop for more than two decades.

Such hits as Something For The Weekend, National Express and The Frog Princess are characterised by Hannon’s whimsy, wit and powers of social observation redolent of Noel Coward.

His music veers from sweeping orchestral arrangements to ghostly synth landscapes, from unadorned folk to gloriously unabashed pop.

Along the way, Hannon has demonstrated his versatility by writing and performing the kitsch theme music for the Father Ted sitcom, writing music for The IT Crowd and creating a concept album of cricket songs with fellow Irishman Thomas Walsh in The Duckworth Lewis Method in 2009.

He wrote the score for the 2009 film Wide Open Spaces and the music and lyrics for the Bristol Old Vic’s musical adaptation of Swallows And Amazons and he has collaborated with Air, Duke Special and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

In his 8pm concert, Hannon will cherry-pick songs from throughout his career, celebrating both his past and his latest work, last year’s Bang Goes The Knighthood, his tenth Divine Comedy album.

Tickets for The Divine Comedy, An Evening With Neil Hannon, at York Minster, cost £25 to £35 on 0844 939 0015 or boxoffice.yorkminster.org/public/ For more information, visit tribecaevents.co.uk

Who are Tribeca Events?

The brainchild of Ben Pugh, this new York production company will put on concerts and other events in and around York Minster and in Leeds.

“Putting together a team of freelancers, the company is focusing on a model of working that doesn’t have a central office, keeping overheads down and highly skilled people interested,” says Ben.

His past projects include being the producer of the SightSonic digital arts festival in York and the Bradford Mela, and he was events manager for the Millennium Mystery Plays in York Minster in 2000.