LIVE REVIEW – FINE, MARIA SOMERVILLE & NASHPAINTS: THE WHITE HOTEL – 18/02/2026

At long last! Nearly three years since I first went to see an act there – Manchester group Mandy, Indiana, who put on a rollicking show and who have a new album out that’s apparently well worth a listen – I returned to The White Hotel on Wednesday to catch a particularly dreamy double bill. […]
The first time I saw Hot Wax was at All Points East in 2023, I was 17 and they were opening the second stage. I immediately fell in love with them, and thought they were the coolest band I’d ever seen. Since then, I’ve seen them support bands like Deap Valley and The Libertines, so […]

LIVE REVIEW – HOT WAX: MANCHESTER GORILLA – 12/02/2026

LIVE REVIEW – GOOD NEIGHBOURS: NEW CENTURY HALL – 13/02/2026

“It’s our job to make sure you leave feeling better than when you arrived” declared lead singer Oli Fox. Well, it is fair to say that Good Neighbours are sheer geniuses at their job. How many concerts have you been to where once you are in the venue you are greeted by a ring doorbell […]
“Anger is an energy” sang Public Image Limited on ‘Rise’ back in 1986, and in 2026 that sentiment still reigns supreme for Notts duo Sleaford Mods. With impassioned poetic lyrics containing a wickedly observational but humorous twist, set against a backdrop of heavy melodic electro beats, since they emerged in 2007 they’ve been putting the […]

LIVE REVIEW: SLEAFORD MODS – MANCHESTER ACADEMY 07/02/26

LIVE REVIEW – TWIN TRIBES: MANCHESTER GORILLA – 08/02/2026

As soon as I saw that Twin Tribes were touring in the UK again, I knew that I had to be there. It’s not every day that your favourite band is playing within an hour’s reach. I had my wallet ready as tickets were released, prepared to drain my bank account if it came to it, but […]
“WESTSIDEEE COWBOYYY” someone in the crowd shouts mimicking the opening to the group’s debut track as they begin picking up their instruments. Dramatically facing backwards as they begin, Westside Cowboy open with a polished cover of ‘Midnight Cowboy’ by Santo & Jonny that feels like a slow build up or even a tease before they […]

LIVE REVIEW – WESTSIDE COWBOY: MANCHESTER GORILLA – 29/01/2026

LIVE REVIEW – JINJER: MANCHESTER RITZ – 29/01/2026

                              Metal has a great deal in common with pop – I’d say it’s the flipside of the same coin: the anti-pop. Where pop is meant to appeal, metal intentionally repels. Metal is discordant by design where pop seeks out the […]
As crowd surfers pop up left right and centre in my eyeline, heads bounce around and the floor rattles in synchronisation… I realise that Superheaven have maybe revived an overall abysmal day. The power of music, eh? Despite preferring their earlier stuff to their most recent album, Superheaven have still taken up a humongous amount […]

LIVE REVIEW – SUPERHEAVEN: MANCHESTER RITZ – 17/01/2026

LIVE REVIEW – SUNFLOWER BEAN: YES PINK ROOM – 11/12/2025

I’ve been a fan of NYC trio Sunflower Bean for a while now – since the release of their third album, ‘Headful of Sugar,’ in 2022, to be precise – but it’s their most recent material that has kept my eyes (and ears) fixed upon them. For one, there was last year’s ‘Shake’ EP, a […]
When Erykah Badu announced she was touring her ‘Mama’s Gun’ album, it was challenging to have any sort of self-control. After an unfortunate experience of her dropping out of the ‘X The tracks’ festival with no explanation, I was particularly thrilled about seeing her. I’ve only been to a select few venues in Manchester, and […]

LIVE REVIEW – ERYKAH BADU: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 26/10/2025