GIGS OF 2024

As ever, north-west England and especially Manchester has been well-served for great gigs in 2024. Here, in no particular order, are some of the top shows enjoyed by Silent Radio’s writers during this year: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Adrienne Lenker The Breeders The Zutons Paul McCartney Magnetic Fields The Unthanks Cumgirl8 Still House […]
I intend for you to leave this review wishing you were at the gig I attended with a pal of mine on December 10th at YES Basement. At the very least, I hope you feel intrigued enough to check out cumgirl8 and Arch Femmesis – headline and support acts respectively – who each dominated the […]

LIVE REVIEW – CUMGIRL8: YES BASEMENT – 10/12/2024

LIVE REVIEW – IDLES: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 06/12/24

Following a number one album in the UK with TANGK, Idles bring their manic and quite frankly insane energy to Manchester’s O2 Apollo this Friday, on a cold, damp and miserable day, frontman Joe Talbot still somehow finds a way to light up that crowd and have everyone in his control right in the palm […]
It is a night that defines winter in a north-west coastal town: dreary, bleak and blustery, one that is far from the Hollywood picture postcard vision of crisply snowy Christmas. Visibility is so poor that is hard to locate the relevant bus stop and the entrance to Lowther Gardens is unlit and easily missed. Leafy […]

LIVE REVIEW: THE UNTHANKS – LYTHAM LOWTHER PAVILION: 04/12/24

LIVE REVIEW: FONTAINES D.C. – MANCHESTER AVIVA STUDIOS: 29/11/24

Wild and ferocious, the boys from the better land carved ‘Dublin City’ into the heart of Manchester as they debuted their three-night residency. Fans venture from every inch of the map as the capacity of Aviva Studio reaches its limit. Feeding the 5,000, this crowd came with an appetite starving for a show. It’s clear […]
Sometimes pink is the blush in your cheeks. The charming pigment that fills your lips and filters your romances. Sometimes it’s the stain of a slap full in the face. The electrifying shade of a force your skin won’t forget. On its best days, pink is all of the above. Animated and charming, electric and […]

LIVE REVIEW: THE ROYSTON CLUB – LIVERPOOL ACADEMY 19/11/24

LIVE REVIEW: BEYOND THE MUSIC FESTIVAL: VARIOUS VENUES ACROSS MANCHESTER – 9-12 OCTOBER 2024

With several of our writers having been part of our city’s previous music industry festival, In The City, which ran from 1992 – 2010, we were overjoyed when Beyond The Music picked up the baton and created what the music industry, and Manchester’s music scene has been missing – a festival devoted to honest discussions, […]
Running through the streets of Manchester isn’t an ideal way to get to a gig but nothing about today has been normal compared to my day-to-day life, starting my day sat listening to panels and like-minded people talk about issues the music industry faces. As I reach Off the Square I’m early, really early. Standing […]

LIVE REVIEW: BEYOND THE MUSIC: OFF THE SQUARE: HOLLOWBODY, MSIX, NESSA MAY, CHEIDU ORA, THE KAIROS – 10/10/24

LIVE REVIEW: WUNDERHORSE – LIVERPOOL ACADEMY 14/10/2024

When I first saw the tour poster for Wunderhorse all over the UK some part of me melted a little inside, in my time going to music gigs, I haven’t seen a band burst out of nowhere and leave such an impression on people as them. Ever since their debut album Cub in 2022, there […]
The elegant, frayed decay of the Albert Hall gives it its charm, its chunky charisma. It is arguably our finest live venue, the balcony like a hug, the room something of an architectural cuddle. And if it’s not homely enough, tonight there are rugs on the stage, and lamps dotted about as well, so that […]

LIVE REVIEW: JORDAN RAKEI – ALBERT HALL 26/09/24