LIVE: TURIN BRAKES – 10/03/2016

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Cast your mind back to the late 90s/early 00s and you might remember NME informing us that there was a new music scene erupting which they dubbed ‘The New Acoustic Movement’. Catchy, it included the likes of Starsailor, I Am Kloot and Turin Brakes. Since then, all these bands have […]
 – THE APOLLO, MANCHESTER – As the O2 Apollo is filling to bursting point, DJ M.A.X has been tasked with delighting the crowd for about an hour. He’s not what you’d call ‘easy listening’ but he’s definitely got talent. His mixing style and obvious passion for music can’t be faulted. He even sneaks in a […]

LIVE: RUDIMENTAL – 08/03/2016

LIVE: FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS – 08/03/2016

  – GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – It’s a Tuesday night in rainy Manchester and I’m ditching the weeknight slippers and mind-numbing “I only eat cheese – Dinnerdate special” TV to venture out into my favourite part of the city – The Northern Quarter. I’m a fairly new listener of Frankie & the Heartstrings, a 5 piece […]
 – ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Just last year, Holly Lapsley Fletcher was studying for her A-Levels in Southport. Unlike many people her age, she knew exactly what she wanted to do – study Geography at Bristol and go onto work for the National Geographic. She still vows that she may do this. However, at just […]

LIVE: LAPSLEY – 05/03/2016

LIVE: THE GUNS N’ ROSES EXPERIENCE – 04/03/2016

 – THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – Whether you agree with it or not, tribute acts can actually be an absolute blast. You’ll never get the personal experience of watching a group on stage who looks, acts and sounds exactly like your favourite big band, stood only 10 feet in front of you for less than the price of an […]
– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – Liverpool-based Mugstar bring their unique brand of psychedelia to the Islington Mill for the launch of their titanic double-album Magnetic Seasons and it is safe to say that they have not disappointed. Mugstar, whose intense work ethic and experimental sound have granted them a wide variety of opportunities (including featuring one […]

LIVE: MUGSTAR – 03/03/2016

LIVE: JAMIE WOON – 03/03/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Here’s a little list of things that are widely considered to be smooth: glass; mirrors; velvet; caramel; baby’s bottoms; Jamie Woon. Seriously, the dude is smooth AF. Tonight, in Manchester’s brilliant Gorilla, Woon seduces the crowd with his unbelievably soulful, funky RnB, and we are all, collectively, both a little bit […]
 – NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – The simplistic red fairy lights strung up along the walls of the cosy Night and Day Café make the perfect setting for tonight’s intimate affair. All of the proceedings from tonight are split and donated to charities close to the heart of current events. The first charity is […]

LIVE: MAN MADE – 02/03/2016

LIVE: PALEHOUND – 01/03/2016

– GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – Palehound is the alias of Ellen Kempner – an unflinching female guitarist and singer unafraid to lay bare her insecurities and imperfections through her music. Tonight is both a strange and special night for Ellen and her band, special as it is their first ever show in the UK, strange as […]
 – GULLIVER’S, MANCHESTER – Heady psychedelia & Southern sweet-sour blues? I can’t think of a better match. Apart from gin & tonic, I mean. We are getting far from 9.30pm at a cramped Gulliver’s Victorian ballroom, when a silent guy with a plain ‘Maine’ cup enters the stage and starts checking the keys. He disappears […]

LIVE: ALL THEM WITCHES – 29/02/2016