Always on
This project successfully funded on 28th November 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Stories on the Loose!
Ashbourne, Derbyshire, United Kingdom
Aim
To celebrate reading as a door to adventure — taking stories, songs & conversation on the road across Britain.
Our Story
We’ve spent years chasing stories - from the Atlas Mountains to the backroads of America - collecting the extraordinary stories of ordinary folk.
Along the way, we realised something simple and profound: every life is an adventure, and stories are how we make sense of it. They help us remember, connect, and keep going.
And part of that adventure begins with what we read.
A book is more than paper and ink - it’s a step into an unknown world, a spark of curiosity, a bridge to another person.
But here’s the truth: fewer and fewer people are reading for pleasure. The conversation between book and reader, and between reader and reader, is fading.
When we lose that conversation, we lose a way of connecting with ourselves and each other.
That’s why we’ve created Stories on the Loose - a mission and an adventure to bring storytelling and reading back into the heart of everyday life.
The Project
We’re taking four handcrafted live shows - part music, part story, part conversation - out on the road to libraries, rural touring venues, community halls, arts centres, and festivals across the UK.
We’re already lined up for over 40 events in the next year - but so many small venues and communities would love to host us and simply can’t afford to cover full touring costs.
That’s where you come in.
By supporting Stories on the Loose, you’ll help us:
- Reach more small communities and libraries who rarely get live arts events.
- Keep ticket prices low or free, especially for libraries and family audiences.
- Build the Artisan microverse - a living creative world connecting our books, songs, shows, and stories.
Our Vision
2026 is the National Year of Reading, and we want to play our part.
Our goal is to reignite Britain’s love of reading - to remind people that reading isn’t just something you do alone, but something that sparks conversation and connection.
When someone reads a book and tells another person about it, something magical happens. A book becomes a bridge.
That’s what our shows celebrate - reading as a door to adventure, conversation, and belonging.
We believe the best adventures don’t happen on screens - they happen in the imagination, in stories shared between people, in the laughter of a small crowd in a community hall.
Who We Are
We’re Steve Bonham & Chris “The Bishop” Lydon, long-time friends, musicians, and storytellers - part of Artisan Creative, a small Midlands-based arts company dedicated to telling “extraordinary stories of ordinary folk.”
Together we’ve written books, recorded albums, and performed shows around the world - always blending story, song, and reflection into something heartfelt and real.
Stories on the Loose brings everything we’ve done together - the books, the music, the philosophy - into one shared adventure for audiences of all ages.
Why Libraries Matter
Steve Bonham says:
"Having taken our books and performances to libraries before, often in places ill-served by other services, I’ve seen first-hand what remarkable spaces they are."
"In many low-income communities, libraries do so much more than lend out books. Thanks to their wonderful staff, they’ve become places for conversation, support, education and entertainment - somewhere people can come together who might otherwise feel cut off from ideas and from each other."
"The libraries are always delighted when we can come along and offer something, but too often have little or no funds to host events like ours. The more we can raise, the more we can take Stories on the Loose to the places where it can really make a difference."
How You Can Help
Every contribution - large or small - helps keep the stories moving.
We’ve built the shows, packed the guitars, and planned the road ahead.
Now we just need some companions to come along.
Your support will help us fund the travel and production costs, so we can take our shows to small venues, libraries and rural hosts.
We’ll thank you with signed books, our limited edition tea towels, and a place on our Wall of Honour.
Every book opens a door - to empathy, imagination, and connection. Reading begins the adventure, but it’s in the sharing that we truly come alive.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made