Anna Calvi to unveil EP: Is this all there is? featuring Iggy Pop
Aug 26
Running a festival business – four traders tell their stories
Do you have a business that you think would go down well at festivals? I asked four such entrepreneurial types, with ventures in T‑shirts, vintage tents, gourmet coffee and holistic massage – about their experiences as festival traders. Is it a combination of fun and profit, and are you guaranteed enough time out to catch a favourite band? One…
Read More
Aug 4
Review: O’Connell & Love at the 100 Club, album launch
Minesweeping is Larry Love’s new album, co-written with Brendan O’Connell. How unusual of Love to dedicate an album to the practice of mine removal, I thought (and the album does contain many seafaring references). Inevitably Google led me to the more commonplace use of the word (not sure how I got to my age without knowing this). Ah, now we’re on…
Read More
Jul 31
Review: Ealing Blues Festival 2015
With a rare glimpse of sun in a gloomy July, we headed to Ealing Blues Festival held in Walpole Park, it’s one of a series of summer festivals run every year put on by Ealing Council. The event always resembles a ‘proper’ festival in miniature, with a choice of two big music tents – the Main Stage,…
Read More
Jul 20
The Felice Brothers play The Garage in Highbury
“I saw The Felice Brothers at the 100 Club, back in the day, with Simone Felice. They were amazing. Lots of us got up and danced on stage with the band, it was a bit of a party.” If that was a top Felice Brothers moment – experienced not by me sadly, but by my companion for tonight’s gig – this one at The…
Read More
Jul 2
Good news just in: James and more artists for Festival No 6
One of my favourite festivals has just got even more exciting. A new headliner has been revealed for Festival No 6 – it’s the legendary Mancunian indie-rockers James as the surprise co-headline act on Sunday night. Said Jim Glennie from James: ‘I love Portmeirion and I can’t believe we are going to play a gig there.…
Read More
Jun 23
The Photographers’ Gallery, images of Manchester by Shirley Baker
Shirley Baker is only now being recognised as one of the most important female photographers and social documenters of the last century. The haunting and compelling 2007 documentary of Joy Division, directed by Grant Gee, opens with a montage of images of Manchester in the 70s. It depicts a time of sweeping changes after the post-war streets were systematically cleared…
Read More
Jun 4
Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche, and Holly Lerski, at the Water Rats
The Water Rats, five minutes’ walk from King’s Cross station, has undergone a refurbishment and now has a stylish and minimalist interior – but what the venue is to be congratulated over is its commitment to live music. The intimate music room, which is in the back room, has been similarly upgraded and offers a very welcoming…
Read More
May 28
Review: Bearded Theory Friday/Saturday 2015
Bearded Theory Festival has got its mojo back. Not that it ever really went away, it just went through a dip last year with the new site to adjust to, coupled with relentless rain. But for 2015, the weather smiled down on Bearded Theory, the festival site was looking all new and improved and the confidence was back. Arriving at Catton…
Read More
May 28
Bearded Theory Sunday 2015 – pirates, beards and bands
Sunday is unabashedly fun day at Bearded Theory. Proceedings kick off with Mr Motivator and a mass exercise session at the Woodland stage at the unearthly hour of 12 noon, and the place is packed out – Mr Motivator’s appeal is clearly undimmed. There’s so much to celebrate today. Firstly those threatening rainclouds are beating a retreat. It’s also Pirate…
Read More
May 21
Summer in the city: festivals with urban appeal
Festivals are going through big changes and the newer breed of events are more often taking place in the very cities we’re usually so keen to escape from.The formula we’ve traditionally enjoyed, three days or so camped out in the fields of an obliging farmer with enough bands and DJs to keep you happy, has shifted to encompass a new…
Read More