A wave of devastation has encompassed everyone this morning at the news that David Bowie has died. I have to agree with Lauren Laverne on BBC6 radio who stated that “for those who feel they shouldn’t be feeling so personally full of grief, actually, it’s OK for us to feel this way.” Bowie is part of us,…
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Perfect timing. If you’ve been hiding yourself away for most of January, Independent Venue Week comes along from Monday 25th to Sunday 31st January to bring back music into your life. And it’s all for a good cause – to help raise awareness of the UK’s rich seam of quirky and individual music venues, along with all the benefits…
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Here are my top recommended albums of 2015 in no particular order. 1 Richard Hawley Hollow Meadows A confident collection of beautiful tracks, Hawley’s voice at its most sublimely expressive. My favourite track is the non-ballad Which Way shall I go?, sexy with a touch of menace. Hawley’s performance at The Roundhouse a few weeks’ ago was one…
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I’m reposting a piece from 2012, an account of the floods in Hebden Bridge and the surrounding villages, written by local long-term resident and creator of many community events, Tessa Gordziejko. The Trades, Hebden Bridge’s venue for so many great music nights, was given a boost by Patti Smith who did a gig there and…
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Time Out continued their Rising Stars series with a bumper Xmas special ‘Best of Rising Stars’ – six acts with a foothold in the music industry who are being rewarded by seeing their talent and persistence start to pay off. Holding the Rising Stars series is a good move for The Jazz Cafe too, as it helps spread the word about the…
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There are two Django Djangos. There’s what you hear on their albums, a fat slam of addictive, uptempo, feel-good melody, laced with distinctive harmonies with a sweet-sour balance. Then there’s live Django, which is an altogether more dance-driven, stripped, souped up version of the above, with a rocket up its arse. Art house rockers Django Django are one of the bands…
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This Saturday 5th December is time to party 80s style. Blue Zoo are playing at Nambucca, near Archway at 8pm, with a set list which includes those hits Cry Boy Cry, Ivory Towers, I Shoot Sheep and more. Support acts are: Matt Backer who has played with bands including Rumer, ABC, Julian Lennon, Sister Sledge, Jamelia, Mark King,…
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A review of the final day of folk music in Crouch End’s Earl Haig Hall. Part of The End festival
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Not content with presenting us with a mere weekend of music, this year promoter Howard Monk and the team behind The End Festival, set in Crouch End, extended the event over 11 days. Heady and ambitious stuff. There’s no point pretending it’s all gone like clockwork but that’s not what The End is all about.…
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The End Festival is at the half-way mark, and so far it’s been an enjoyable, if slightly chaotic, experience, with a daily roster of bands appearing at venues around Crouch End. Opening night at Earl Haig featured Icelandic outfit YLJA (they are appearing twice more over the festival’s duration) and are notable for their crystalline…
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