LIVE: JETPLANE LANDING / DOCTRINES – 04/09/2013

– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Nine years. It’s been nine whole years since Jetplane Landing were last in town, nine whole years since they last toured at all, in fact. Time flies, times change, but with their ‘Don’t Try’ comeback album, Derry’s finest are proving to still be as vital as they ever were. Twelve […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – As I enter the musical cave that is The Ruby Lounge I can say that I haven’t seen it this busy in a long time. The atmosphere is great, people queuing for the bar, waiting for the band to start and the loud noise of chatter. Once Kult Country […]

LIVE: CROCODILES / KULT COUNTRY – 28/08/2013

LIVE: WIDOWSPEAK – 27/08/2013

– NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – There’s an American feel about this venue, and so Widowspeak should feel right at home. The support band come from Wigan but sound very Country indeed. The stage is set. It’s dark in here and I’m not wearing my glasses… but I can hear drumming and can’t see […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – The bunker beneath one of Manchester’s finest bars, Soup Kitchen, is the perfect place for Blondes and their brand of ecstatic, build, build and then build some more repetitive house (I think it’s mostly house, with about a million genres of dance music that all merge into each other, who […]

LIVE: BLONDES – 24/08/2013

LIVE: OWEN PALLETT – 12/08/2013

– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Owen Pallett is an extraordinarily talented man. As well as his stellar solo work under his own name and the Final Fantasy moniker, he has also worked on string arrangements for many a band including Beirut, Arcade Fire and Last Shadow Puppets. And it is his strings that […]
Journey – An act of travelling from one place to another. The past weekend has been that journey. One that has spanned nearly two decades of waiting, one that has been filled with emotion and one that ended with sheer beauty and happiness. Texas Is The Reason released one album, one EP and two split […]

LIVE: TEXAS IS THE REASON – 03/08/2013 (MANCHESTER) & 04/08/2013 (LONDON)

LIVE: MATTHEW AND THE ATLAS – 30/7/2013

– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER – Almost 45 years ago, to the day, outraged folk fans booed throughout Bob Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival. Allegedly, the crowd were a little miffed that Bob had dared go all electric and spoil their folky fun. Tonight, about 3,000 miles east, just 70 people were privy […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – Roughly 4 years ago, I conceived an article extolling the virtues of the burgeoning folk scene. It would focus on 4 bands, namely, in order of quality, Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Noah and the Whale, Mumford & Sons. It didn’t get written largely because I’m a bit of a […]

LIVE: JOHNNY FLYNN – 30/7/2013

LIVE: BRAID – 25/7/2013

– ALTER EGO, MANCHESTER –  There’s a fizz in Alter-Ego. A rare air of anticipation bordering on the non-belief that Braid – no, whisper it –  Braid, are in town. In this very building. Tonight. The very idea that this could happen was preposterous even a few months ago, after all, they split up in […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER –  I arrive at Night & Day on Manchester’s trendy Oldham Street wondering why one of my favourite bands and 2007 Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominees are playing a small venue normally reserved for up and coming bands. It turns out this is a warm up before the release of […]

LIVE: NYPC – 19/07/2013