All The World’s A Fair: Womad 2019
Womad is a big part of our family. We’ve been going since the now grown-up kids were small, not every year but most, starting off the summer holidays on the first weekend after school broke up. Now it’s become a weekend where the whole family comes together, relaxes...
Things That Make You Go Boom: Boomtown Fair 2019
In a week when other UK festivals and events were cancelling due to severe weather warnings, Boomtown Fair, to everyone's delight continued as scheduled at the gigantic Matterley Estate, Winchester. Now in its 11th year or as titled, Chapter 11 A Radical City, 2019...
Viva La Rock With Marco Mendoza In The Underworld
Camden Town has been a mecca for live music fans for sometime and continues to offer live music just about every night of the week. There really is a wealth of emerging talent currently in the U.K. rock scene and a trip on the Northern Line to this vibrant area of...
Prophets Of Rage Bring Their Politically Charged Noise To Manchester
As I arrive at Manchester Academy, the queue of people already eager to catch the superstars of Rock / Rap already snake right down Oxford Road as far as the eye can see, it’s safe to say when Tom Morello, Chuck D, B Real and co are in town it’s kind of a big deal....
Truck Festival In Oxfordshire – Paul Gets Involved With Gaffa Tape Sandy – Day 4
We woke up to the last day of Truck to glorious sunshine again. Given the stories we had heard of other festivals during the weekend, we felt extremely Lucky in Oxfordshire. I was still in the media tent writing up day 3 when Paul went out for the annual Mr Motivator...
Truck Festival In Oxfordshire The Smaller Stages Mount A Coup – Day 3
Friday night had ended with rain cooling things down, and it rained all night, which is not great when you are under canvas, but this is the UK so we are used to it. I woke up on Saturday and the rain was still falling. The outlook did not look that good, and we...
Puddle Of Mudd Sizzle On The Hottest Of Hot Days
On the hottest day in England since records began, I had a sweaty, heavy post-grunge gig at the Islington Assembly in North London to attend, with a nice hot journey to and from the venue on the Northern ‘furnace” Line to boot. That’s the negatives out of the way....
Truck Festival In Oxfordshire Mercury Rises And Mercury Prizes – Days One & Two
The 22nd Truck Festival promised to be epic with the current Mercury Prize Winners Headlining on Friday, and originally no less than three out of the twelve nominees for 2019. This was unfortunately cut down to two as Fontaines DC had to pull out of several festivals...
A Summer Sunday At Ramblin Man Fair 2019
Sunday was always forecast as being the best day of the weekend weather-wise but I feel the line-up was slightly weaker than Saturday. Looking at some of the punters, they were perhaps a little weaker today also following Saturday’s partying. No complaints mind, as...
Ramblers Rock Up For The Darkness At 2019 Ramblin’ Man Fair
Ramblin’ Man Fair, held tucked under the North Downs in picturesque Mote Park, Maidstone, is now in its fifth year and after a rocky (no pun intended) start (original owners of the RMF brand, Team Rock went bust in 2016), the festival has gone from strength to...
2000trees: Glorious Music & Blistering Sunshine
Another year at 2000trees means another amazing event at Upcote Farm, Cheltenham. The 2018 award-winning festival must be in with a shot at retaining the title after wowing the crowds with an action-packed lineup. Headliners Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, You Me...
Florence + The Machine Welcome Us To The Matriarchy @ BST In Hyde Park
When the sun shines in London, its impact is profound. It stirs glee, happiness, enthusiasm and a real sense of community. For a transient city known for its (often negative) quirks, today it feels like London is far behind us. The annual British Summer Time series in...
The Dylan Young Experience At Hyde Park, London 2019
A joint headline set with Bob Dylan and Neil Young is a rare and valued experience. When this concert was announced last year the buzz in the UK was huge and made bigger headlines when Neil Young refused to play and be associated with corporate giant Barclaycard. So...
Empire Of The Sun Walk The Dream At Brixton
Empire Of The Sun are an unusual proposition, the Australian duo of EDM / indie-pop fusion pioneers Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore appeared like a breath of fresh air in the faux-80’s haze of the late naughties music scene bringing a grand look and design along with...
The Cure Are Just Like Heaven At Glastonbury
The Cure played their first gig on 9th July 1978. So Robert Smith, the group’s sole constant member, knows a thing or two about compiling a set list. But, during the first few songs of the band’s Glastonbury performance, he thought he’d got it all horribly wrong. “For...
The Who: Old Friends In New Places – Moving On! Live At Wembley Stadium
Mention Live Aid and it’s highly likely that the next word you’ll hear is ‘Queen’. Whilst Freddie and the boys undoubtedly won the public vote on that historic day, it’s what happened around an hour or so after they exited that made the event for me. At 8pm, a hastily...
Live Sell The Drama At Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Throwing Copper isn't just Live’s second album. It's the one that put them on the map, by topping the Billboard 200 charts, featuring five singles (including two US #1s), and selling over eight million copies. Now that it’s 25 years old, the band are celebrating with...
All Eyes On The Stoned Crows Blind Launch @ Camden Assembly
Famous for its music scene and its never-ending flow of tourists and party-goers, Camden has a history of being at the centre of established cultural movements, and there is still not a better place to be if you are looking to discover new music. Sunday night is one...