LIVE: STEADY HOLIDAY / MALENA ZAVALA – 17/10/2018

-CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- The support at Castle Hotel tonight is the terrific Malena Zavala, playing without the usual full band at her back. The solo performance works wonderfully as her delicate voice drifts over a delicate touch to the guitar. It has a sweet 80’s prom feel to the sound, a serene start to the […]

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Pete Astor was once labelled the next ‘Dylan’ by Creation Records head honcho Alan McGhee who signed Astor’s then band The Loft to McGhee’s fledgling record company in 1984. Unfortunately following the demise of The Loft and his second band, The Weather Prophets, the latter being signed to the major label […]

LIVE: PETE ASTOR / SKI SAIGON – 12/05/2018

LIVE: STELLA DONNELLY – 07/05/2018

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Tonight is an exciting night for me for two reasons. Firstly, I have patronised the Castle Hotel on a few evenings, but have never ventured past the cosy piano room. Tonight I get to visit door number 2, joyfully adding another Manchester music venue to my ever growing list. Upon entering, […]

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- A projectile courgette carves a path, like Gravity’s Rainbow, from the stage into the audience. This is music with menaces and only one of many signs that tonight is not the usual gig fare. When an artist is able to weaponise vegetables, you know they’re on to something. Kaze are the […]

LIVE: KAZE – 27/04/2018

LIVE: FLORIST – 16/04/2018

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- The Castle’s small side room and Brooklyn band Florist are the perfect match. The music Emily Sprague and Jonnie Baker make is quiet, beautiful and intimate, and with the exception of the squeaky door (guys, get some WD-40 on it!), the room in the Castle has similar qualities. Tonight it’s packed, […]

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Manchester’s place as the hub of Northern music has never been in dispute and it’s a well known fact that The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter has seen its fair share. Bands from all over will come to play in our prestigious venues and Friday night is no different as […]

LIVE: MR. BEN & THE BENS / DOG DAISIES / FAMILY SELECTION BOX / SUNDRIFT – 23/03/2018

LIVE: SOCCER MOMMY – 04/03/2018

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- Soccer Mommy is the alias for 20-year-old musician and singer-songwriter Sophie Allison from Nashville, Tennessee. After having released two records in the last 2 years, one of which was produced in her very own bedroom, March 2018 has seen the release of her debut full-length studio album, Clean. A few months […]

-THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER- It’s Friday, it’s cold and I’ve got a last minute gig: Manchester outfit Douga at the warm and old school boozer The Castle; happy days. I love live music in pubs. Before the trendy bars and O2 academies became the staple arenas for every kind of music imaginable, the local watering […]

LIVE: DOUGA / CHEW MAGNA – 23/02/2018

SEXTILE ANNOUNCE JANUARY 2018 UK TOUR DATES PLUS NEW VIDEO ‘RIPPED’ SHARED

Following the release of their second album Albeit Living in July on Felte Recordings, L.A. punk/EBM band Sextile, have announced plans for an extensive European tour at the start of 2018 and have also shared a new video. The band’s first ever European tour will kick off with two weeks of dates across the UK, before […]

Off The Record, launched by three of the UK’s premiere independent music festivals, Kendal Calling, Sound City and Bluedot, and music site Louder Than War, is all about innovative ideas, new music and emerging artists. By day, it features a music conference at the Methodist Central Hall, curated by Sound City and Louder Than War, […]