Music

Samantha Fish | Zac Schulze GangO2 Ritz, Manchester4th March 2026 Grammy-nominated blues-rock powerhouse Samantha Fish brings the Paper Doll Live World Tour to a sold-out night at the O2 Ritz Manchester. Claire Glover and Melanie Smith went along to see what all the fuss was about, and it absolutely didn’t disappoint. A packed Wednesday night crowd fills the 1,500-capacity iconic venue, and the atmosphere is already buzzing before the headliner even tunes up. Much of that energy comes…

After attending a day of last years event and describing it as “one of the gigs of the year” here, the CrackedAnkles Weekend returns with another cracking line up, showcasing the cream of the label. It’s been worth the wait. Read on… Following the huge success of last year’s sell out event that saw people queuing outside inthe afternoon to get in, Preston’s own CrackedAnkles Records returns to The Ferret this May Bank Holiday weekend to showcase local…

Peter Capaldi | Zoe GrahamBrudenell Social Club, Leeds1st March 2026 Peter Capaldi regenerates at the Brudenell Social Club. Louder Than War’s Andy Brown steps inside the TARDIS of tunes. It’s Sunday night, and I can’t quite believe that I’m about to see Peter Capaldi play the Brudenell Social Club…DOCTOR BLOODY WHO! It’s perhaps no surprise to find that the legendary Scotsman-come-Time Lord has sold out tonight’s show. Intrepid Louder Than War photographer Jim Mumby points out that there’s…

JARBOE unveils new album “Sightings” with video New album “Sightings” set for 3rd April release via Consouling Sounds; pre-orders open now!Experimental rock icon Jarboe joins forces with Thor Harris & Joy Von Spain for a unique collaborative run in Europe.  Influential avant-garde artist Jarboe, and former member of the legendary Swans, has unveiled a video excerpt of the track “Vireo Serenade” off her upcoming album “Sightings”, set for release on 3rd April via Consouling Sounds.    Watch the…

Album Review The Darts Halloween Love Songs The Darts US.com All formats Released 3 March 2026 Seattle’s All-Women Garage-Rock Road Warriors release their sharpest LP yet! Halloween Love Songs. It is great stuff, says Ged Babey, but it’s not the album which is gonna see them break into the mainstream. I do love this band. They have everything. The sound, the look, the skill, the humour and the songs…. and they have the capability to take the ‘Garage-Punk’…

Saturday 6th June is the date set for another promising all day event in Bedford for Ceremony 6. Twelve bands playing on the two stages inside the popular Esquires venue have recently been announced and, yet again, feature names that are either already favourites among many or are about to become favourites.   It may not be happening for another few months but the Ceremony (6) all day event that takes place inside Bedfords’ wonderful Esquires venue has just…

Iron Maiden Eddfest10-11th July 2026Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire Eddfest comes to Knebworth Park this summer. The iconic Hertfordshire venue hosts the event on 10-11th July. Named in honour of Iron Maiden’s long time mascot and animatronic live cohort Eddie, the festival supersizes the band’s Run For Your Lives 50th anniversary tour over two days. The camping event opens on Friday with live music on a second stage from bands associated with Iron Maiden across the decades. Over the two…

Space Age Bachelor Pad Music: The Story of Stereolab in Twenty Songs By Ben Cardew Published by (Jawbone Press) 20th March 2026 If your heart skipped a beat when you saw there was a new Stereolab book available, then this may be the book for you. It’s being published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Stereolab’s landmark album Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Each of the twenty chapters has been given a theme song that gets a thorough, I…

Bad Poets by Johny Brown Published by SkillPaperback – out now I am a man out of timeI am a man out of touchI am your perennial bad poet It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was writing here about the ever prolific Johny Brown’s Corpse Flower collection. There’s also been the Band of Holy Joy’s 60 Minute Data Breach On Haunted Beach CD and mixed media package. And now he’s back with a truly epic piece…