Interview: August 7 2014. It hardly needs to be said that I’m a big fan of The Bedroom Hour. I managed to catch up with their singer Stuart Drummond as he was rushing down to the studio one evening. He and the band are very busy at the moment with debut album Hinterland deservedly getting a great reception, a summer…
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Ealing and its jazz and blues festivals have been a summertime fixture over the years at beautiful Walpole Park. I’ve attended the last two Blues festivals (read Ealing Blues 2013) but this time round we rolled up for the final Jazz day. I wonder if the organisers have a pact with the weather gods? Each time I’ve been to…
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Dolly Parton had offered to rescue a dog found at Glastonbury, discovered cowering in a tent by the cleaner-uppers. The lurcher was too old to travel so would not have been able to be rehomed in the States – but the owners have now come forward to reclaim the poor creature. I am a bit mystified by…
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March 31 2015: This review is for Hinterland by The Bedroom Hour. I’ve been made aware that some people are expecting to read about new album Hinterland by LoneLady. So, The Bedroom Hour’s debut album, Hinterland is finally here. The band were posting regular updates on its progress and successfully crowd funded to help with its release. I’m feeling that same…
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The hottest day of the year turned into a beautiful evening, and at Hyde Park, Arcade Fire gave a truly inspired performance. No doubt the band were making sure that this, their last night of the successful Reflektor tour, would be one for us, and them, to remember. Win Butler was more engaging, and more humorous, than…
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There’s so much going on over the summer at the South Bank ‑or Southbank Centre, as it’s now renamed. On this night alone there’s raw, dirty blues from The Amazing Snakeheads and a comeback set from Edwyn Collins. I’m off to see Trentemøller. The last time I saw the Danish electro multi instrumentalist was at 2am in…
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Yorkshire has never been shy of blowing its own trumpet. “God’s own county” (country?) and all that, as its citizens never tire of reminding us. So it was fairly inevitable that the first stage of the Tour de France happening on God’s own doorstep – Leeds to be more precise – would herald an extravaganza…
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Everything looks sparkly and fresh at Bearded Theory’s new venue at Catton Hall. The grass is lush, green and springy. The main stage stands at one end of the remarkably flat new site, with a dance tent and the more intimate Tornado Town tent just far enough away to be out of earshot, while a secret stage lies hidden…
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Here’s an update of some of my top festival recommends for 2014 and as of the time of posting, still have tickets available. These are all small to medium-sized gatherings (no hour-long trudges to the arena). All these festivals have plenty of well thought-out activities for children and a fairly broad age range of attendance, so whether…
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Space Oddity, David Bowie’s enduring, sad and wonderful song, immortalised on video by astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield, is to be removed from the internet tonight. There is every chance it will re-emerge here and there, but it may be difficult to find – at present, who knows. There was an agreement with David Bowie that it…
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