Fresh from making her BST Hyde Park debut alongside Garth Brooks, Zac Brown Band and Ashley McBryde, Alexandra Kay is firmly establishing herself as one of country music’s fastest-rising stars. With her sophomore album Second Wind now out and a growing international audience behind her, the Illinois singer-songwriter continues to prove that persistence can be every bit as powerful as overnight success.
Nearly three decades after Garth Brooks last performed in the UK, Hyde Park welcomes him back in spectacular fashion. Demand is so overwhelming that BST expands the event’s capacity, creating the biggest concert the park has ever hosted, with Brooks becoming the first artist to perform to almost 70,000 fans at the festival. It is a fitting stage for one of country music’s biggest stars, whose long-awaited return has been building for years and whose audience is more than ready to welcome him back.
Fresh from an acclaimed appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival, Lucia & The Best Boys arrive at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire with momentum firmly on their side. Opening for the reunited 4 Non Blondes, the Glasgow quartet seize the opportunity with a commanding seven-song set that feels less like a support slot and more like a statement of intent.
More than three decades after their breakthrough, 4 Non Blondes arrive at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire not to relive the past, but to redefine themselves in the present. Supported by the excellent Lucia & The Best Boys, the reunited San Francisco outfit make it abundantly clear that this tour is not a nostalgia exercise. Instead, it is a bold statement of who they are now — and whether the audience is willing to come with them.
Just days after tearing up Download Festival with the full Halestorm line-up, Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger strip everything back for a sold-out evening at Islington Assembly Hall. The result is not a quiet, polite acoustic set. Instead, Lzzy + Joe Unplugged feels like an intimate gathering where stories, songs and decades of shared history are placed front and centre.
After Friday’s celebrations had finally subsided, Saturday arrived with heavier riffs, glorious sunshine, bigger crowds and one of the most diverse days Download Festival XXIII had to offer. From early-morning punk rock and breakout British talent to black metal spectacle, metalcore mastery and one of rock’s most iconic names closing the night, Donington once again proved why no two Download days ever feel the same.
For a band whose bassist happens to be one of the most recognisable actors on the planet, Dogstar seem remarkably uninterested in making a fuss. That doesn’t mean the fuss isn’t there.
Opening for Sofia Isella at London’s Roundhouse, Seb Lowe wastes no time making an impression. Walking onto the stage armed with only an acoustic guitar and accompanied by violinist and backing vocalist Kate Couriel, the Sheffield singer-songwriter delivers a powerful 30-minute set that feels far bigger than its stripped-back format suggests.
Sofia Isella arrives at the Roundhouse like a storm she can barely contain. Emerging from the shadows, backed by ominous electronic textures and silhouettes, she immediately cuts a striking figure. She paces furiously across the stage, hair hanging over her face, constantly tugging at her oversized clothes as though caught between wanting to tear them off and feeling trapped inside them. Her fingers are haphazardly bound with elastic bands, while her face and arms are purposely dirtied. It’s uncomfortable, theatrical and utterly compelling.
There are underplays, and then there are events. On a humid Monday night in Camden, The Pretty Reckless transform London’s 500-capacity Underworld into the hottest ticket in town, delivering a sweat-soaked, career-spanning performance just days before their appearance at Download Festival and ahead of the release of their fifth studio album Dear God on 26th June.