Summer festival season is gearing back up, it’s that time of year where we abandon city skyscrapers and trek to the countryside for an extended weekend of partying in the fields and singing our lungs out to our favourite bands, gathered with our nearest and dearest. In July, Derbyshire’s idyllic Y Not Festival returns – […]
Sŵn Festival is coming back to Cardiff next October, and from the first wave of artists announced it already looks like this year’s line-up for the original Welsh multi-venue festival is going to be one of its most exciting. As the festival approaches, I’ll be talking to some of the artists that are going to […]
Occupying the second Bank Holiday weekend in May, Neighbourhood Weekender returned for its sophomore run with a packed schedule of live music, performance and fairground fun. The festival benefits from its central location and easily accessible site, taking place in Warrington’s expansive Victoria Park the event is uniquely staged and administered. Covering all forms of […]
King Charles has always been enigmatic – never directly definable. His music, his image, his style (even his hair), forever transforming and renewing. The 2012 debut album, LoveBlood introduced a debonair, characterful performer with a touch of the eccentric, flash forward to 2016’s follow up, Gamble for A Rose and a completely different scene and […]
As new music festivals go, Live at Leeds is the premier league – a metropolitan wurlitzer of entertainment and culture pinpointing talent from all corners of the globe then bringing them together for one blistering day. The great Northern city offers a playground for escapism, adventure and pilgrimage, spanning miles of terrain the venues are […]
We’ve all heard the prescribed notions of what a singer-songwriter is and should be, but basics are basics and it is time to clear the slate. Every artist deserves to be heard fairly, few find success and few are successful but many have talent. Joel Baker is one of the latter. A pure talent. His […]
A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to catch a double-bill, featuring artists from the legendary Sub-Pop label. Bedroom rock breakout star((s)? – it’s left somewhat ambiguous as to whether the project is a band or a persona…) Frankie Cosmos, and experimental noise musician, Ian Sweet (who had ditched her bandmates and gone […]
Following the release last week of his third studio album A Golden State, singer-songwriter Luke Sital-Singh returns to Manchester’s Deaf Institute on the latest stretch of a ten-date U.K tour. This follows a packed year for Luke, who last year migrated from Bristol out to L.A. alongside his artist wife Hannah Cousins, who’s stunning work […]
Returning for a second year of sunshine-soaked entertainment in the grounds of Warrington’s Victoria Park, SJM Concerts’ Neighbourhood Weekender confirms its two-day residency for Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th of May. For all attending the festival will provide a full roster of musical highlights alongside a fantastic selection of local food and drink.
Alice Merton released her debut album in January 2019, it’s a powerful mix of personal and relatable music that acts as a vibrant beacon for the artist to tell her story. Through emotionally-succinct and intensely rhythmic means, ‘Mint’ wields a strong sense of defiant resilience and upbeat motivation. It’s a record to embrace fully, or […]
London-spawned APRE join a host of rising voices on the UK scene, but few are as uniquely exciting as this band. So, what is so special about the music they make? Simply defined, its modernist pop with heaps of character and cool, yet this description is far too meagre to fully envisage the nuanced, subversive […]
Alternative pop duo Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville have been collaborating together under the guise of IDER for a while now, their first release ‘Sorry’ captured the excitement and authenticity of a creative union fizzing with chemistry, purity and purpose.
Island are no strangers when it comes to touring and after recently finishing their first headline tour of America, the boys were soon to hit the road again. This time taking a trip around the UK, and for us this signified a visit to the rather impeccable live haunt of YES, in Manchester.
“I’ve just made a cup of tea!” Archie carries a mug around the Cavern with him as we decide where to do the interview. Issy suggests the warmth and quiet of the restaurant across the road. Archie takes his fresh brew outside with him and across the street.
Both Talkboy and Another Sky delivered fantastic, captivating, and highly varied sets. If you don’t feel remotely curious about the details, best clock out now, because really anything else I write is gonna be elaboration on how excellent the gig was. However, if your eyelids are still twitching for more detail, follow me into this […]
I came across Ferris & Sylvester back in December. I took my first ever trip to the Cavern to see Jade Bird. She was mega, but I knew that she would be. I didn’t expect the support act to be just as good. The day after, I checked out their social media. They’d just announced […]
Hatchie is the musical alias of Harriette Pilbeam, under this nom de plume the artist has released a clutch of stellar tracks, each slightly more evocative than the last and becoming of a vital voice. Her writing centres on the introspective buoyed by threads of youthful experience and complicated love. The project was officially christened […]
No doubt about it, the Cavern is an old school venue. A perfect setting then for a new artist with an old school vibe glowing in her work. After a dozen or so dates throughout her UK tour, Jade Bird delayed her show in Exeter in order to work on her album. I can tell […]
Far flung from the Hollywood veneer of excess and superficiality, this Los Angeles native has an earthiness of spirit that warms the soul, a soft demeanour hiding a fire within, a strength of character that inspires rather than simply attracts: Jesse Jo Stark is a musician of the next generation with respect for the past […]
Two creative institutions are teaming up to host a festive shindig of unforgettable live entertainment and innovative vision: Manchester-based powerhouse, Scruff of the Neck and London-hailing tastemakers, Distiller Music. The collaboration configures a stellar light bulb moment, connecting a pair of prominent music venues with a bill of artists, noteworthy and compelling.