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News Report

Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week!

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News Report

Enter Shikari announce 2024 UK Tour

Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report.

We start this week with the best tour announcements and following the success of their new album, ‘A Kiss for the Whole World’ hitting number one, Enter Shikari have revealed a huge tour for early next year.

£1 from each ticket sale being donated to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues in each city the band will be touring through.

Lead singer and producer Rou Reynolds comments on the initiative:

“Grassroots music venues in the UK are under existential threat. Every time we lose another one we lose a vital part of our culture. Bigger venues that benefit from the productive pipeline that grassroots venues provide need to support these smaller venues, as do the artists that have come up through them. Enter Shikari stands with Music Venue Trust in their efforts to bring more solidity and community to our brilliant UK live music scene”.

Support on the tour will come from Fever 333 and Noahfinnce.

Reynolds comments on what could be in store:

“We cannot wait to step things up and present a huge new show to everyone. And we’re really looking forward to playing Wembley Arena for the first time! (Enter Shikari are on their way to Wembley. Can you imagine what we’re gonna do to it?).

I’m buzzing to see the supports every night, too. We’ve known Jason for many years now, so can’t wait to see the next step for Fever333, and we had a great time with Noah on our residency tour earlier this year so simply had to have him back.”

Tickets are here.

Read our review of ‘A Kiss for the Whole World’ from Enter Shikari

Def Leppard also announce intimate show supporting Music Venue Trust

Rock icons Def Leppard have announced their most intimate show in the UK or Europe in 35 years.

The band will play a hometown show at The Leadmill in Sheffield with a % of ticket sales going to the Music Venue Trust.

Joe Elliott says “Sheffield is in the very DNA of this band! We are ecstatic to be starting the European leg of our world tour at home at Bramall Lane! When thinking of a warm up, it made sense to do a special set at The Leadmill, in the city where it all started. We know there are a lot of small music venues struggling across the UK, so we wanted to give back to what gave to us. The net proceeds from the evening will go directly to Music Venue Trust in an effort to keep UK clubs alive…and to coincide with the release of our symphonic record, “Drastic Symphonies”, on the 19th of May. It’s all very special!”

Ben Hartley, Live Promoter from The Leadmill says, “We’re absolutely delighted to be welcoming a band as legendary as Def Leppard onto our stage. The fact that a local act that has gone on to play stadiums across the world is willing to come back home and support us in a time of need (as well as thousands of other integral grassroots venues across the UK) speaks volumes of their character. This will be the first time they’ve played The Leadmill, so it’s wonderful to be adding another chapter to Sheffield’s musical history.”
 
Mark Davyd, CEO and Founder of Music Venue Trust, says “It’s fantastic to get this support from such an iconic and legendary group as Def Leppard. The UK’s Grassroots Music Venues are facing an incredibly tough year, currently one is permanently closing every week. It’s going to take a huge collective effort to turn that around and it’s so important that artists get involved and lead the fight we need to stop closures”.

More here.

Read our review of ‘Diamond Star Halos’ from Def Leppard

Judas Priest set up UK Tour

This week also saw metal masters Judas Priest announce a long coming headline tour of the UK.

Revealing the dates the band said “we are thrilled to start this world tour in the renowned traditional homes of heavy metal and can’t wait to see our amazing family of Priest maniacs!”

Joining the band will be very metal guests Saxon alongside Uriah Heep.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Bullet For My Valentine live in Cambridge

Bring Me The Horizon debut ‘Lost’

Bring Me The Horizon – ‘Lost’

We move our News Report on now to the best new releases from the past week and up first we have Bring Me The Horizon.

The soon to be Download Festival headliners this week debuted their latest single, ‘Lost’, which you can check out above.

More here.

Listen to ‘Lost’ on our Spotify Hot List!

The Hives share ‘Bogus Operandi’

The Hives – ‘Bogus Operandi’

Next up is the return of The Hives!

The group shared their new single, ‘Bogus Operandi’, this week and you can check it out above.

The track is the first single to be taken from their newly announced album, ‘The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons’, which is out August 11th.

Pre-order your copy here.

Listen to ‘Bogus Operandi’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Trophy Eyes share new single ‘Kill’

Trophy Eyes – ‘Kill’

Australian punk rockers Trophy Eyes have released new single, ‘Kill’, ahead of their appearances at Slam Dunk Festival later this month.

You can listen to the single above, which comes from upcoming new album, ‘Suicide and Sunshine’, which is out June 23rd.

“All’s fair in love and war,” says John Floreani. “We all carry the scars of love lost. They become visible in the things we do, our actions and our words. Like machines we continue, only now worn and rattling. Capable of our primary function, but with a little less grace each time. Some people use love as a weapon, and ‘Kill’ is about those people.”

Pre-order your copy here.

Listen to ‘Kill’ on our ‘Hard & Heavy’ Playlist!

Like Moths To Flames debut ‘I Found The Dark Side of Heaven’

Like Moths To Flames – ‘I Found The Dark Side of Heaven’

Next in our News Report is ‘I Found The Dark Side of Heaven’, the new single from Like Moths To Flames, which you can check out above.

“Over the last few years, a lot of us have felt like shells of our former selves,” says Chris Roetter. “This is for the people who feel like they’ve been pushed so far away that no one sees them. I think it’s easy to feel forgotten about and like you didn’t matter. Some of my darkest days were an abyss that was never ending. When it’s difficult to find anything to pull you out, sometimes you just have to accept that you’re stuck.”

More here.

Listen to ‘I Found The Dark Side of Heaven’ on our ‘Hard & Heavy’ Playlist

Heavy Lungs debut ‘Dancing Man’

Heavy Lungs – ‘Dancing Man’

Heavy Lungs this week released their brand new track, ‘Dancing Man’, which you can check out above.

Commenting on the new track, front man and vocalist Danny Nedelko says: “‘Dancing Man’ came about from a conversation that left me and George crying on the floor with laughter at rehearsal. The end result is an abstract tale about a sinister character. Nice to see another in-joke make it through. Sadly not all of them do. But we will save that for the inevitable next EP.”

The official video that accompanies the single was directed by Clump Collective. “They are absolutely extraordinary and have made a myriad of amazing videos,” say the band. “They are our dear friends and actually shot the video for our song ‘Jealous’ a while back too, so this was a very welcome homecoming. We shot it all in a day at their Bristol studio. Two dogs were present; they were very encouraging. The whole concept is centred around 5 outfits and dancing. The result is a surreal ride into the sinister realm of ‘Dancing Man’.”

More here.

Listen to ‘Dancing Man’ on our ‘Hard & Heavy’ Playlist!

Grian Chatten shares new single ‘Fairlies’

Grian Chatten – ‘Fairlies’

Fontaines D.C. vocalist Grian Chatten shared his second solo single, ‘Fairlies’, this week and you can of course check it out above.

Chatten also revealed that his debut solo album, ‘Chaos For The Fly’, will be out June 30th.

Grian on ‘Fairlies’: “I wrote ‘Fairlies’ in intense heat. Partly in Jerez, Spain, partly in LA a couple of days before a Fontaines D.C. tour kicked off. It was a quick write, and I believe I celebrated each line with a beer.”

On the album: “I was walking along Stoney Beach at night and it came to me on the waves,” recalls Chatten. “I just stood there and looked at them and I heard the whole fucking thing. Every part of it, from the chord progressions to the string arrangements.”

“I just thought: I want to do this myself. I know where we as a band are going next and that’s not where I want to go with this. I’ve got a couple of exaggerated aspects of my soul that I wanted to express,” he says.

“The rest of the band are all creative and songwriters in their own right, too. I didn’t want to go to them and be like, ‘No, every single thing has to be like this.’ I didn’t want to compromise with these songs in that way.”

“A lot of the album was written with just me and a guitar and I really like the idea of it being boiled down to those elements. That feeling of having the song in the palm of your hand, that control of having it with just you and a guitar,” he says. “There’s an intensity as a result of that.”

Pre-order your copy here.

Read our review of ‘Skinty Fia’ from Fontaines D.C.

Coach Party share ‘All I Wanna Do Is Hate’

Coach Party – ‘All I Wanna Do Is Hate’

Finishing up the best new releases of the past week is, ‘All I Wanna Do Is Hate’ from Coach Party, which you guessed it, you can check out above!

The band have also announced details of their debut album, ‘KILLJOY’, which is set for release on September 8th.

Pre-order your copy here.

Listen to ‘All I Wanna Do Is Hate’ on our Spotify Hot List!

News Report
Zac and the New Men – ‘That’s OK

South Wales, Alternative Pop Rock Band Zac and the New Men have unveiled the their new single ‘That’s Ok

“‘That’s Ok’ is a love letter to someone who is struggling, a reminder that they are not alone. It’s a song about being there for each other, no matter what. We wrote this song to show people that even when things get tough, they don’t have to go through it alone. Love is a powerful force, and we hope this song will bring comfort to anyone   who is struggling.” – Vocalist, Zac.

Hannah Rose Platt – ‘The Mermaid and the Sailor’

Hannah Rose Platt has shared new single, ‘The Mermaid and the Sailor’, featuring Ed Harcourt.

Hannah explains: “The Mermaid and the Sailor is a hypnotic ‘Sailor’s Lament’ framed as a conversation exploring addiction, between the Sailor (the addict) and the mermaid (his addiction) whose siren song constantly tempts him back into the water. Featuring bewitching vocals from the magnificent Ed Harcourt!”

Harcourt says: “Hannah is a consummate storyteller and as soon as I heard her songs I was happily bewitched…  I think we’re both very similar in the fact that we are obsessive film aficionados & therefore think in a more visual way in our approach to the music and the sounds. What I love about working with Hannah is that she is very free and totally open to my delusional bouts of grandeur and hopefully you, the listener, will hear the love and the pathos and the dark humour that we have managed to commit to tape in equal measure. Congratulations Hannah and I can’t wait for the world to hear this dazzling humdinger.”

News Report
News Report
Cold Culture – ‘Faded’

Danish newcomers Cold Culture share their debut single, ‘Faded’.

“A lot of people feel the same way I do; anxious and lost. I even got to a point where I couldn’t recognise myself in the mirror anymore. We wanted to write a song that describes those thoughts and feelings as well as depression, anxiety and the feeling of being numb. ‘Faded’ is our way of describing those emotions and issues you may experience during your life”

Mads Zelasny  – Vocalist

Listen, Follow and Discover your new favourite act now with our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

Then find out the stories behind the songs on our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast!

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Read our review of ‘Hard Cold Fire’ from Therapy?

Categories
Live Reviews

The Xcerts

Portland Arms, Cambridge

Tuesday 20th September 2022

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The cost of living crisis currently strangling the UK has become the latest threat to the future of our independent grassroots music venues. The Music Venue Trust had already engaged with The National Lottery for the #ReviveLive campaign in answer to the pandemic, but now it takes on even greater meaning.

It’s venues such as the Portland Arms in Cambridge where we are tonight that are vital to the music ecosystem. No introductory venues – no cultivating superstars. No regional venues – unsustainable travel to gigs for fans. No new superstars and unaffordable costs for fans – the collapse of the music industry! That may seem dramatic, but it’s the short, sharp and real threat that we are facing.

Tonights #ReviveLive show features Scottish rock band The Xcerts and has been pushed back a day to avoid the Queen’s funeral. Despite the change and the lack of a support act, the venue is suitably stocked with audience members come the time for the band to hit the stage.

The setlist tonight comprises tracks from all four of the bands studio albums but focuses heavily on latest effort, 2018’s ‘Hold On To Your Heart’. ‘Drive Me Wild’ and ‘Daydream’ from that album start us off and ease the audience into the show, before ‘Shaking in the Water’ really gets things moving.

WATCH – ‘DAYDREAM’ FROM THE XCERTS ON YOUTUBE
The Xcerts – ‘Daydream’

Find Full Pelt Music on Youtube

That album is a masterpiece so fans are more than happy to hear multiple tracks from it. There is an audible delight however at the presence of two brand new songs in the set tonight. Both ‘Everything I Cannot Live Without’ and ‘Jealousy’ sound promising for more stunning work to come from the band.

The Xcerts deserve all the success in the world and the final run of ‘Show Me Beautiful’, ‘There Is Only You’, ‘Crazy’, ‘Hold On To Your Heart’, ‘Aberdeen 1987’ and ‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ is a real testament to their quality.

There are great nights like this happening in every major city and town in the UK every night of the week. The venues these are happening in and the bands killing it onstage need your support now. If you are able to, get yourself to a show and ensure that when all our problems hopefully dissipate, we still have venues and bands to enjoy!

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Read our review of Arkells live in Norwich

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Magazine

News Report

Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week!

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News Report

Shinedown announce ‘Planet Zero’ UK Tour

Welcome one and all to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we roundup the best news from the past week. We start off this week with the best tour announcements.

Up first are Shinedown who have announced a UK Tour for later this year which will include a date at Wembley Arena. Support comes from Asking Alexandria and Zero 9:36.

Frontman Brent Smith states, “We have always been inspired by the UK and European audiences. Their passion for music is extraordinary. We are beyond excited to be returning as headliners, with our biggest show yet!”

“We are overwhelmed by the love and support of our new album, ‘Planet Zero’ and look forward to sharing our new songs, along with all of your Shinedown favorites!!! Cheers!!!”

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Download Festival 2022

Airbourne reveal 2 large UK shows

Another band that played at Download Festival this past week that will be returning to the UK later this year is Airbourne.

The band will play Manchester and London in December with support from Blues Pills and Crobot.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Airbourne live in Norwich

Rise Against set for November UK Tour

Also announcing an Autumn UK Tour this week were Rise Against who will be returning in November with The Story So Far in support.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of ‘Nowhere Generation’ from Rise Against

Ice Nine Kills set for UK Tour

Fans of Ice Nine Kills will need to wait until March next year for their UK Tour, but they are coming and venues are already being upgraded!

Tickets are here.

Find Full Pelt Music on Youtube

VUKOVI announce new UK/EU Tour

VUKOVI have announced a new UK/EU Tour for October which will feature some of the bands biggest shows to date.

Support comes from Zand.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of VUKOVI live in Norwich

Music Venue Trust reveal new wave of #ReviveLive shows

As the music industry continues to strive for a return to pre-pandemic levels of attendance, the incredible Music Venue Trust has announced another wave of #ReviveLive shows.

With support from The National Lottery attendees can bring a friend for free to a plethora of newly revealed shows.

Acts taking part this go around include Everything Everything, Paolo Nutini, The Amazons, The Coral, Baby Dave, Coach Party, Sick Joy, The Goa Express and Thumper!

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Black Honey live in Norwich

Sports Team announce ‘Friendship’ Tour

Our News Report is jam packed with new tour announcements this week, including the above ‘Friendship’ UK, IE & USA tour from Sports Team.

Tickets are here.

Listen to our Spotify Hot List!

Skinny Lister announce UK Tour

Skinny Lister will also be on the road later this year as they take another lap around the UK.

Support on various dates comes from BERRIES, Deux Furieuses and Tom Jenkins.

Tickets are here.

The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 6 – Skinny Lister

Read our review of Skinny Lister live in Norwich

Wargasm announce the ‘Explicit’ Tour

Wargasm have announced the ‘Explicit’ Tour which will take them around the UK this October.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Download Pilot Festival

Zeal & Ardor set for lengthy Tour

Zeal & Ardor have announced a lengthy UK/EU Tour for later this year including a date at Electric Brixton.

Tickets are here.

Listen to our ‘Hard & Heavy’ Playlist

Loathe set for UK Tour

So, so many tour announcements in our News Report this week and we still are not done yet.

Loathe will be playing nine dates across the UK this October including a date at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.

Support comes from Void of Vision and Omerta.

Tickets are here.

Listen to The Full Pelt Music Podcast

Inglorious announce UK Tour

Inglorious will also be touring later this year with a lengthy trek planned in across the UK. Support comes from A New Tomorrow.

Frontman, Nathan James, comments “I am so excited to get back out on tour with the guys . Over the pandemic we were not able to tour as much as we usually would, but we were able to release albums. So we did! We recorded the We Will Ride album, The Heroine all female covers album and the 1st ever Inglorious live album and dvd.  It’s amazing now to be able to pick songs from all of those albums to make the ultimate inglorious set.
 
On this tour we will be bringing something totally different set wise and we’re really looking forward to playing songs from across all of our albums. Inglorious has always been a strong live act and now more so than ever. Tighter, harder and more determined to show people what we are about. 

We hope to see everyone on the “Until We Die 2022 UK Tour” and cannot wait make some noise for you all again.”

Tickets are here.

Read our review of ‘Diamond Star Halos’ from Def Leppard

News Report

Download Festival set for 20th Anniversary 4 Day extravaganza!

We continue with the live side of the industry now as our News Report continues with the latest festival announcements.

Following a successful return to Donington Park this past weekend Download Festival has revealed that next year will be a special 4 day celebration.

2023 marks the 20th Anniversary of the event, and tickets are on sale now here.

Read our review of Download Festival 2022

Reading & Leeds Festival make final line-up announcement

Reading and Leeds Festivals this week made their final line-up announcement ahead of the events this August.

Just added are Anorak Patch, Cassyette, Courting, Ho99o9, The Native, The Skinner Brothers, Thumper and many more.

Tickets and info here.

Read our review of Thumper live in Norwich

Burn It Down Festival sets line-up

Burn It Down Festival takes over Torquay again this September and the event has confirmed their stacked line-up for this year.

Headliners Trash Boat and Deaf Havana will be joined by the likes of Static Dress, Our Hollow Our Home, Haggard Cat, Cassyette, VUKOVI, Tigercub, Salem, As December Falls, Death Blooms, Pupil Slicer and more.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Salem live in Norwich

RISEFEST add more acts

RISEFEST in Newcastle is looking absolutely huge this September with Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes set to headline.

The supporting cast has been revealed to include Creeper, Boston Manor, Cassyette, VUKOVI, As December Falls, WSTR, Zand and more!

Tickets are here.

Read our review of Creeper live in London

News Report

Deaf Havana debut new track ‘Nevermind’

Deaf Havana – ‘Nevermind’

We move our News Report on now to the latest new releases, and we start with Deaf Havana.

As the band gear up to release their sixth studio album, ‘The Present Is A Foreign Land’, on 15th July they have debuted new track, ‘Nevermind’, which you can check out above.

Pre-order the album here.

Listen to ‘On The Wire’ from Deaf Havana on our Spotify Hot List!

LIFE release new single ‘The Drug’

LIFE – ‘The Drug’

LIFE continue to gear up for the release of ‘North East Coastal Town’ on August 19th. You can listen to their new single, ‘The Drug’, above.

Speaking on the new single vocalist Mez Green says: “The Drug is a love song. I wrote the lyrics in the cold mountains of Italy before taking them into the room with the band. ‘The Drug’ I needed has always been here, the drug I needed has always been near” is, for me, realising that loved ones and those that love you, no matter where you are, can always be present.

I’d never really believed this before and whilst this purity is at the lyrical heart of the song musically the band decided to inject flecks of dance, pop, harmonics, and dirty pulses to give the song drive, repetition and jerk-ability.”

Pre-order the album here.

Listen to our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast

Sløtface return with Double A-Side

Sløtface – ‘Beta’

Norway’s Sløtface return with the news that the group’s figurehead Haley Shea will now be leading the band, with Lasse and Tor-Arne leaving to focus on new passions outside the group.

To signal this era beginning they have released a double a-side of ‘Beta’, and ‘Come Hell Or Whatever’. You Can listen to ‘Beta’ above.

“”Beta” was the very first song Mikhael and I worked on together in his studio. It should be listened to while wearing sunglasses, even on cloudy days!

The song is about wanting to connect with people on a deeper level, but feeling like social media sometimes gets in the way, with things becoming somewhat intimidating, shallow and superficial. The song is a confidence booster for myself where I’m trying to be cooler than I am. It was written at a time when I really, really missed the rush of playing live, and I needed to find some of that spark and edge in myself that only really comes out on stage.” 

More here.

Read our review of ‘Supernova’ from Nova Twins

Twister announce new single ‘Own Worst Enemy’

Twister – ‘Own Worst Enemy’

Finally, this week Twister shared their latest single, ‘Own Worst Enemy’, which you can listen to above.

Singer and guitarist Stevie Stoker comments: “Twister are evolving and progressing with every release and the momentum we’re building on the road is really driving us to bigger and better things in the studio. It’s such an exciting time.” 

More here.

Listen to ‘Don’t Play Nice’ from Twister on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

News Report

As always we conclude our News Report with the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist.

News Report

Sunsleeper – ‘Blemishes’

Indie rock band Sunsleeper have shared their newest track, ‘Blemishes’.

“’Blemishes’ is about the slow unraveling of a deeply important friendship, as well as the acceptance of the relationship’s end,” shares vocalist Jeffery Mudgett. “The freedom in letting go of a toxic relationship is underrated. Sometimes there’s no need to mourn the end, but rather we should celebrate leaving that toxicity behind.”

News Report

cheerbleederz – ‘notes app apologies’

London indie punk trio cheerbleederz reveal their latest single ‘notes app apologies’.

Commenting on the track and video, the band say: “This song is about letting go of an abusive relationship. There’s a lot of fear and doubt that comes with separating yourself from somebody who manipulates you, and it leaves behind feelings of anger, as well as guilt and doubt.

You end up questioning everything while simultaneously harbouring a lot of resentment for the person who treated you that way. We wanted this song to feel cathartic and unapologetic—it ultimately feels very healing.”

News Report

MODES – ‘Infamous’

Kent’s MODES deliver their new single, ‘Infamous’.

MODES frontman Ted Berry reveals that the new single Infamous is a song we wrote to reflect on anger and past trauma that we have experienced. We wanted to put this into words to help others feel understood and seen. It’s only human to have been in situations that lead to feeling hurt, angry, and even disappointed in how you have been treated by others.”

Listen, Follow and Discover your new favourite act now with our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

Then find our the stories behind the songs on our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast!

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Read our review of Neck of the Woods Festival

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Magazine

News Report

Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week!

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Kendal Calling reveal huge 2022 line-up

News Report

Welcome to another edition of our weekly News Report. This week features a slew of festival announcements as events prepare for the 2022 season.

For many events, they are preparing for their first event since 2019 due to the pandemic. One such event is Kendal Calling, who this week revealed their comeback line-up and it doesn’t disappoint with headliners including Supergrass and Stereophonics.

Also featuring high on the bill will be the likes of The Wombats, The Kooks, The Vaccines, Pale Waves, Sports Team and The Snuts.

It’s lower down the poster however that the line-up comes to life with The Mysterines, Lottery Winners, Valeras, Lauran Hibberd, Pigs x7, Massive Wagons, Hacktivist, Skinny Lister, Deux Furieuses, Guise and Berries all set to feature!

All information and tickets can be found here.

Read our review of Stereophonics live in Cambridge

Truck Festival unveils 2022 line-up

News Report

Another festival returning after a two year lay-off will be Truck Festival, which will also celebrate the events 25th Anniversary!

Headliners for the special event will be Bombay Bicycle Club, Sam Fender, Kasabian, Blossoms and The Kooks.

They are set to be joined by the likes of Sports Team, Shame, The Subways, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Black Honey, Vistas, Kid Brunswick, Lauran Hibberd and Dream Nails.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of The Subways live in Norwich

Isle of Wight 2022 gets bigger

News Report

This week also saw Isle of Wight Festival make further additions to their line-up for 2022.

New additions include The Amazons, The Charlatans, The Fratellis, The Kooks, The Snuts and Wet Leg.

They join the already announced line-up that includes the likes of Kasabian, Muse, The Vaccines and The Coral.

Tickets are here.

Read our review of The Snuts live in Colchester

Slam Dunk Festival reveals Sum 41 and more

Slam Dunk Festival reshuffled their 2022 line-up this week with previously announced stage headliners Rancid no longer available. Added to the bill however are two new headline acts in the form of Sum 41 and Dropkick Murphys.

They are joined by new and previously announced acts such as Alexisonfire, The Interrupters, The Used, Deaf Havana, Hot Milk, Dream State and Spanish Love Songs.

Tickets are here.

Listen to our ‘Hard & Heavy’ Spotify Playlist

Standon Calling reveals new Thursday line-up!

Our final festival announcement this week comes from Standon Calling, who have revealed they will feature a huge bill on the Thursday in 2022.

Headlined by Madness and also featuring The Subways and The Skints, the Thursday provides a sneak peek at what’s to come with 3 more full days of music to be announced.

Tickets and information is here.

Check out our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast on Youtube

Music Venue Trust reveal next set of ‘Revive Live’ dates

The incredible Music Venue Trust continue to work tirelessly to protect our vital grassroots music venues from threats pandemic related and sadly un-pandemic related. FYI, if you choose to move in next to an existing music venue, don’t complain about the noise!

Anyway, this week saw MVT announce the next slate of dates for their ‘Revive Live’ tour in conjunction with The National Lottery. Lottery playing friends can get a free ticket with each ticket buyer!

Huge acts playing this January include Bastille, The Coral, Enter Shikari, Feeder, Carl Barat, The Snuts, James & The Cold Gun, Strange Bones and many more.

Tickets and information is here.

Read our review of ‘Coral Island’ from The Coral

Will Varley announces UK Tour

Our News Report moves on now to a couple of tour announcements, and up first is Will Varley. Following the release of his superb new album, ‘The Hole Around My Head’, Varley will be hitting the road in May next year.

You can grab your tickets here.

Read our review of ‘The Hole Around My Head’ from Will Varley

October Drift reveal UK Tour

Another act revealing a UK Tour set to take place in the first half of next year is October Drift.

The band has revealed a lengthy trek around the UK set to take place in March and April next year.

Tickets are here.

Listen to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

Twin Atlantic debut ‘Dirty’

Twin Atlantic – ‘Dirty’

Time now to turn our News Report on to new music releases from the past week and we start with Twin Atlantic.

The band continue to build towards the release of their new album, ‘Transparency’ which arrives on January 7th. This week saw the band debut the latest track, ‘Dirty’, which you can listen to above.

Pre-order the album here.

Listen to ‘Dirty’ on our Spotify Hot List!

The Hot Damn! debut ‘I Didn’t Like You Anyway’

The Hot Damn! – ‘I Didn’t Like You Anyway’

There was more fantastic new music forthcoming this week from The Hot Damn!. The band debuted their latest single, ‘I Didn’t Like You Anyway’, which you can check out above.

For more from the band, follow them on Twitter.

Lyoness debut ‘Heroine’

Lyoness – ‘Heroine’

We finish our News Report this week with a band we recently featured on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist. Lyoness, dropped another new track this week and you can listen to ‘Heroine’ above.

More on the band here.

Listen to our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast on Spotify

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Live Reviews

Black Honey

Norwich Arts Centre

Friday 24th September 2021

Black Honey

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It’s Friday night in Norwich and the area around the Arts Centre is vibrant with pubs, bars and restaurants full of people (plus lots of people queuing for fuel but let’s not get started on that!). Yes, nightlife is back after a devastating 18 months.

Independent music venues and musicians have been hit hard but now we are gathering together in rooms again, things feel like they are healing. The Music Venue Trust continue their amazing work to protect our cultural spaces and tonight is part of the trusts #ReviveLive shows.

On offer is a fantastic band who this year released their second album, Black Honey. There is a very good chance that ‘Written & Directed’ will trouble the very top of our album of the year list when that time arrives. It’s therefore great to see these songs performed in the beautiful and intimate surrounds of Norwich Arts Centre.

Read our review of ‘Written & Directed’ from Black Honey

Opening the festivities this evening is Frances Lion whose hauntingly good support slot captivates the audience. Lion serenades those in attendance with her unique take on the singer-songwriter genre. By the end of her performance the crowd are begging for more, which as an opening act is all you want.

The attention of the audience is soon able to turn to our headliners Black Honey. This is a band that has worked hard to build a solid reputation as a live act. They get the crowd moving from the very start as ‘I Like The Way You Die’, ‘All My Pride’ and ‘Beaches’ set the standard for the evening.

WATCH ‘BEACHES’ ON YOUTUBE
Black Honey – ‘Beaches’

The band has managed to create an extremely impressive back catalogue during their short career which means that they already have tough choices to make when picking a setlist. Tonight is a fine balance between their self-titled debut album and ‘Written & Directed’.

The performance flows naturally and builds momentum throughout. Earlier tracks such as ‘I Only Hurt the Ones I Love’, ‘Somebody Better’ and ‘Cadillac’ segue perfectly with new favourites ‘Summer ’92’, ‘Believer’ and ‘Fire’.

Listen to ‘Believer’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Black Honey are able to hold the audience in the palm of their hands. Their hard work and constant touring has paid off in full, because this is a very good live act. The final run of ‘Spinning Wheel’, ‘Hello Today’, ‘Disinfect’ and ‘Run For Cover’ demonstrate this perfectly.

As the fans head out into the warm September night they are left to reminisce on a superb evening of music (and where they can get some fuel!).

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Read our review of ‘Blue Weekend’ from Wolf Alice

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Magazine

News Report

We roundup the best music news from the past week!

Full Pelt Music News Report

Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week in our News Report. To stay up to date with the biggest news be sure to follow us on our social channels:

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes unveil the ‘Sticky’ era

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – ‘Sticky’

We start out our News Report this week with the incomparable Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes as they begin their latest era. This week saw the band announce that their latest album, ‘Sticky’, will be released October 15th!

Arriving at the same time was a brand new single of the same name, which you can check out above.

You can pre-order the album here, and those that do so before 15:00 on Tuesday 13th July will receive special pre-sale access to their newly announced UK Tour. The tour includes two dates at Brixton Academy and tickets for all dates will be available here.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes News Report

Listen to ‘My Town’ from Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes on our Spotify Hot List!

Music Venue Trust announce Revive Live Shows

Music Venue Trust News Report

As we all hold our breath and hope that the world can return to some sort of normality sooner rather than later, the Music Venue Trust are continuing their fantastic work supporting music venues. The organisation is hoping to help ‘revive live’ and get fans back into venues in desperate need of support.

To this end they have unveiled the ‘Revive Live’ tour featuring some huge music acts gracing smaller venues. There will be shows from the likes of Rag’N’Bone Man, Fontaines D.C., Frank Turner, Bob Vylan, The Futureheads, Twin Atlantic and many more.

More information can be found here.

Royal Blood set for intimate run of shows

Royal Blood News Report

The return of live music feels imminent with a handful of festivals confirming their intentions to proceed. Headlining a couple of these events will be Royal Blood who have announced a small run of warm-up shows. Support comes from Tigercub.

As expected tickets have flown out, but you can check here for any remaining along with tickets to their 2022 Arena Tour.

Bob Vylan announces the ‘We Live Here’ Tour

Bob Vylan News Report

One of the hottest new acts around, Bob Vylan, will be hitting the road very soon as part of the Music Venue Trust ‘Revive Live’ run of shows. The ‘We Live Here’ Tour is set to be a special run of shows as fans enjoy live music for the first time in almost 18 months. Support on select dates comes from Witch Fever and Zand!

Tickets here.

Listen to Witch Fever on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist

We Are Scientists set for huge Tour

We Are Scientists News Report

We Are Scientists this week announced their return to Europe and the UK for a huge run of dates that in the UK will finish up at the O2 Kentish Town Forum. Tickets are available from here.

Read our review of ‘How to Ruin Your Life’ from Paris Youth Foundation

Steelhouse Festival re-jig line-up

One piece of festival news in our News Report this week and it comes from Steelhouse Festival. The event has received confirmation that it can go ahead and with new additions Uriah Heep and Stone Broken onboard attendees are set for a fantastic weekend of rock music.

The rest of the line-up sees The Darkness, Therapy?, The Wildhearts, Those Damn Crows, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, Wayward Sons and more head for Wales. Final tickets here.

Don Broco debut ‘Gumshield’

Don Broco – ‘Gumshield’

On to our new music section of our News Report and there is plenty to report this week. We start with Bedford’s own Don Broco as they debut the latest single from their upcoming album, ‘Amazing Things’.

You can check out ‘Gumshield’ above and you can pre-order the album here, ahead of its release on September 17th.

Listen to ‘Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan’ from Don Broco on our Hot List!

Creeper debut ‘America At Night’

Creeper – ‘America At Night’

Creeper recently stormed their headline set at the Download Pilot Festival and this week they continued their momentum with another stunning single release. Check out ‘America At Night’ above which precedes their upcoming EP ‘American Noir’ on July 30th.

You can pre-order the EP here.

Read our review of Download Pilot Festival

Trash Boat unveil new single ‘Bad Entertainment’

Trash Boat – ‘Bad Entertainment’

Trash Boat have this week unveiled their latest single, ‘Bad Entertainment’ that features Milkie Way of Wargasm. The release comes ahead of their upcoming record, ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ on August 13th.

Pre-orders are here.

Listen to ‘Bad Entertainment’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Puppy return with new single ‘Angel’

Puppy – ‘Angel’

Puppy returned this week with a brand new single, ‘Angel’, which you can check out above. The band also announced a special show at the Garage in Highbury. For tickets and more click here.

Read our review of ‘Below’ from Beartooth

Demob Happy debut ‘Sympathy Boy’

Demob Happy – ‘Sympathy Boy’

Another band with new music on show this week is Demob Happy. The group released their fantastic new single ‘Sympathy Boy’, which you can check out above. Tour tickets and more information from the band here.

Listen to ‘Sympathy Boy’ on our Spotify Hot List!

‘Discover’ New Music Playlist adds The Mysterines and more

Finally in our News Report this week we remind you that we recently launched our brand new ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist on Spotify. Packed with the best new acts head here to discover your new favourite band!

New additions this week include WOOZE, ROSIE and the brand new single from The Mysterines, ‘In My Head’! These join inaugural additions from Miss Vincent, Smoke, Dead Nature, SCALPING, The Islas and more. Remember to follow the playlist as we continue to add more fantastic new music!

Listen to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist on Spotify

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Read our review of ‘Blue Weekend’ from Wolf Alice

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Features

Why now is the time for the Music Industry to change!

Why the music industry needs to change from Full Pelt Music
Photo by Rahul Pandit from Pexels

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As Blossoms strode onto stage in Liverpool’s Sefton Park in front of 5,000 non-socially distanced fans, the UK was reminded of just what it had been missing. The music loving island that has played a key role in the formation of the music industry as we know it, was shown again just what was at stake!

The aim of the gig which also saw The Lathums and Zuzu play to an audience starved of live music for over a year was to establish a safe route back for the music industry. Now, let’s consider something. We all love music, we all love live music and by default we all love the music industry. We naturally want to see it return as we remember it. You know from before the c-word, before the world stood still.

Where is improvement needed?

Here however is what we need to consider. Should the industry be allowed to return just as it was? Again, we all love music, that’s no doubt why you are reading this article! But, if we take even a cursory glance back then it should be clear that the industry was far from perfect. There were and still are many issues within the industry that need to be addressed. Thankfully there are many great groups and organisations working to advocate change and force improvement.

The most important step that we all must take now is the realisation that the industry isn’t perfect and that only by all aspects of the industry working together can positive change be installed. We want to do a small but important thing with this article, and that is raise awareness.

Since the inception of Full Pelt Music at the turn of the year, we have already written about a handful of subjects. We spoke early on about the relationship between music and our mental health in our blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’.

We have also addressed the plight of our grassroots music venues in our blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’; and we looked at the impact of music streaming in our blog ‘Why We Need To Fix Our #BrokenRecord Industry’. We won’t repeat ourselves here, but encourage you to take the time to read these articles.

How does change happen?

As we said, there are many aspects of the industry that need to be improved. Whilst the pandemic has had ruinous effects on the industry it has provided an opportunity to make these changes. If not now, then when?

As we return to music, we also need to rebuild the music industry. We need to actively embrace diversity and equality. This goes deeper than simply the percentage of female performers on a festival bill, although of course that is a metric which highlights the current disparity well. This requires more than social media campaigns highlighting racial inequality and abuse.

The work needs to happen at the grassroots level but needs the mainstream to lead by example. Youth programmes that aim to educate and nurture are vital, but action from the top is essential; one example being the need for tough action from social media companies.

The Government and the various regulatory authorities need to up their game as well. Actions speak louder than words, and if the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that the financial support for the industry and from the top of the industry has been too little and too late. Any support has also often bypassed those most in need.

Yes, we have faced an unprecedented situation that has devastated many industries, but the music industry has had a unique opportunity to improve. Let’s look at accessibility. With music venues closed, what better time has there been for remedial work to take place which provides greater access for deaf and disabled people to live music.

The problem has again been the lack of support and funding from those with the power to facilitate this change. With music venues, particularly independent ones, on their financial knees they can’t be vilified for not taking action. Better foresight and ambition from Government however could have seized an unwanted but ideal opportunity.

What’s the answer?

In writing this article we certainly don’t purport to have all the answers. We don’t even assume to know all the barriers to change. All we want to do is continue many conversations that are being held by organisations and individuals far more knowledgeable and industrious than us.

It is time for change. Because if not now, when? Thankfully there are many groups actively striving for this change and making a difference now. What they need is our support. With that in mind, we want to draw your attention to just a handful of these organisations. There are many more out there doing fantastic work.

Now is the time to speak up, help advocate the change required for our beloved industry to return better than ever. To return with a safe and positive environment for all!

MUSIC VENUE TRUST

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Music Venue Trust

Music Venue Trust is a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues.

Created in January 2014, we aim to secure the long-term future of iconic Grassroots Music Venues such as Hull Adelphi, Exeter Cavern, Southampton Joiners, The 100 Club, Band on the Wall, Tunbridge Wells Forum etc.

These venues have played a crucial role in the development of British music over the last 40 years, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.

We work to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfil, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities. We aim to preserve and improve venues, making them more efficient and improving the experience for performers and audiences. Long-term we plan to acquire the freeholds of as many of these vital venues as possible.

More Information

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Attitude is Everything

The future we want to see…

Deaf and Disabled People can be audience members, employees or artists at any live music event of their choice: music without barriers.

What we’re doing to make that future a reality…

Attitude is Everything works in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to improve Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music.

Our aims:

  • increase the number of Deaf and disabled people participating in music
  • raise awareness of the barriers that Deaf and disabled people face at live music events, and to demonstrate how to overcome them
  • show and highlight Best Practice in access, and set an example to those we wish to influence
  • develop the skills and confidence of Deaf and disabled people so that they can better engage with the music industry

More Information

SAFE GIGS FOR WOMEN

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Safe Gigs for Women

Safe gigs for women is an initiative established by regular gig goers with the aim of creating a safer environment for women at gigs.​ ​Our aims are:

Gig goers
Work with gig goers to spread the word that it is not okay to grope, threaten or harass others. Encourage victims to speak out, and supporters to advocate that this behaviour will not be tolerated

Venues
Work with venues to ensure they take reports of sexual harassment and other threats to women seriously. We will work with venues to create a standard in the industry for safe venues. We will then campaign to get the standard adopted nationwide.

Bands
Getting bands on board to recognise our standards, talk about our work and get their audiences recognising and spreading what is acceptable​.

More Information

NICK ALEXANDER MEMORIAL TRUST

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Nick Alexander Memorial Trust

The Nick Alexander Memorial Trust award grants for musical equipment to community groups and small charities across the UK, particularly those representing the most disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of society, be that through poverty, physical or mental illness, disability, ethnicity or age.

More Information

JOE STRUMMER FOUNDATION

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Joe Strummer Foundation

Our mission is to provide opportunities to musicians and support to projects around the world that create empowerment through music.

Our objectives are specifically:
  1. The prevention or relief of poverty, particularly of young people, anywhere in the world by providing: grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.
  2. To promote, improve, develop and maintain the education of the public in the art, culture and science of music in all its aspects for the public benefit, in particular young musicians, including by the provision of funds for the purchase of musical instruments and studio rehearsal.
  3. To promote, improve and advance the arts, including music, for the public benefit including by the presentation of exhibitions, public events and concerts.

More Information

SOPHIE LANCASTER FOUNDATION

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Sophie Lancaster Foundation

The aims and objectives of the Charity are as follows:

Create a lasting legacy to Sophie

Provide educational group-works that will challenge the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures

Campaign to have the UK Hate Crime legislation extended to include people from alternative subcultures

More Information

WE ARE HUMMINGBIRD

THEIR MISSION

Below Excerpt from We Are Hummingbird

We are Hummingbird is a non-profit Mental Health awareness organisation. We are a community of music lovers who have united to spread awareness of mental health by using music as a platform to encourage people to open up and engage in conversation. 

More Information

The above are just a very small selection of charities, organisations, groups and individuals that are fighting the good fight. Take some time out to research causes close to your heart and get involved to make our industry a better place.

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Magazine

News Report

We roundup the best music news from the past !

Full Pelt Music News Report Weekly Roundup

Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week in our News Report. To stay up to date with the biggest news be sure to follow us on our social channels:

Music Venue Trust address a year without Live Music

#SaveOurVenues News Report

We begin this week’s roundup of the best music news with a somewhat sombre milestone. This week marked an entire calendar year since most music venues hosted their last show and closed their doors.

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing, but with a glimmer of hope on the horizon, the Music Venue Trust has issued a pertinent statement. The trust has worked tirelessly to cement the future of live music.

Without our grassroots venues future talent would have nowhere to hone their craft. Many will be forever grateful to the Music Venue Trust for their work during this unique and terrifying year. You can read their full statement on their Facebook page here.

Read our Blog – ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’

Wolf Alice unveil lengthy UK Tour for 2022

Wolf Alice Tour Poster News Report

Following the recent government roadmap announcement, our weekly roundup has been dominated with festival news. This week however we have some great tour news and fantastic new music to share with you.

First up is the incredible Wolf Alice, who have just unveiled a lengthy tour around the UK. The run of 13 shows will commence in Glasgow on Friday 7th January and end in Bristol on Sunday 30th.

The tour will give fans the opportunity to hear songs from the bands upcoming third album ‘Blue Weekend’ live. Fans who pre-order that album from their official/Dirty Hit’s store will get early access to tickets from Wednesday 24th March. General Sale for tickets is Friday 26th March.

Pre-order the album here, and grab tickets here.

Architects announce massive arena tour

Architects Tour Poster

Another band to announce a massive tour this week is Architects. Having seen their latest album, ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’ hit the number one spot, the band are hitting arenas.

Taking in five massive venues across the UK, this tour promises to be very special indeed. To be there, grab your tickets here.

Read our review of ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’

Camper Calling reveal line-up

Camper Calling poster

As festivals across the country continue to sell out in the wake of the roadmap announcement by government, we had to bring you one line-up on our News Report! This week we bring news from Camper Calling which is set to take place August 27-29 in Warwickshire.

Topping the line-up are Supergrass and Manic Street Preachers. There will also be appearances from The Pigeon Detectives, Embrace and The Magic Numbers alongside an eclectic mix of acts. If you like what you see, you can grab your tickets here.

Myles Kennedy reveals ‘The Ides of March’

Myles Kennedy – ‘The Ides Of March’

Now, it’s the time in our News Report to run through the best new releases this week.

Myles Kennedy recently announced the release of his second solo album, ‘The Ides of March’. This week Kennedy unveiled the title track, which you can check out above. To pre-order the album head here.

Listen to ‘In Stride’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Holding Absence give us ‘In Circles’

Holding Absence – ‘In Circles’

There isn’t long left for fans to wait for the new Holding Absence album. ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’ arrives on April 16th and you can pre-order you copy here.

In preparation of the records release, the band have this week released the latest single ‘In Circles’, which you can check out above.

Listen to ‘Afterlife’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Press To Meco unveil ‘Smouldering Sticks’

Press To Meco – ‘Smouldering Sticks’

This week is been a great week for new music as we were also treated to ‘Smouldering Sticks’, the new single from Press To Meco. The band are gearing up for the release of their new album ‘Transmute’ on June 11th. You can pre-add/save here.

Listen to ‘Another Day’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Lauran Hibberd teams up with Lydia Night for ‘How Am I Still Alive?’

Lauran Hibberd – ‘How Am I Still Alive?’ feat. Lydia Night

Lauran Hibberd has teamed up with Lydia Night from The Regrettes for her latest single. ‘How Am I Still Alive?’ arrived this week and you can check it out here.

Listen to ‘How Am I Still Alive?’ on our Spotify Hot List!

Deux Furieuses release special single ‘She’s Not Coming Home Tonight’

Deux Furieuses – ‘She’s Not Coming Home Tonight’

We finish this week with the important new single from Deux Furieuses. ‘She’s Not Coming Home Tonight’ is their response to the murder of Sarah Everard and is dedicated to all missing women and girls.

The single is in aid of #ReclaimTheseStreets and you can listen/download the track here.

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Read our review of ‘Written & Directed’ from Black Honey

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Features

Remembering Independent Venue Love

Frank Turner Remembering Independent Venue Love

We take a look back at the incredible Independent Venue Love livestream series by Frank Turner

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A necessary but shocking side-effect of the first lockdown and beyond is the impact on the live music industry. An industry that revolves around bringing people together in confined spaces to celebrate life and art. Music and particularly live music is vital to the mental health and wellbeing of millions of people, and the loss of that medication has added to the already scary situation we have all found ourselves in.

When the world ground to a screeching halt in March 2020, the primary concern for all of civilisation was rightly to fight the devastating coronavirus and to protect against loss of life. Alternatively as the government put it – “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”.

Read our Blog – ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’

The music industry and the incredibly talented people that make up the sector is by its very nature creative and innovative. As we all searched for new ways to connect with our loved ones and our passions, musicians had the answer. Welcome to the world the music livestream!

Read our Blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’

One man seemingly ahead of the curve on this front was Frank Turner. Turner is known to be “always on tour” as it were, and was in fact mid-tour as the pandemic hit. Turner was quick to hastily ready a special livestream event from his own home raising money for his touring family.

At the same time, the reality was dawning on the live music ecosystem of the potentially fatal impact caused by the pandemic countermeasures. In particular the Music Venue Trust, who do amazing work year round even in non-pandemic times, were busy mobilising. The MVT were well positioned to see the threat to the grassroots music venues of the country.

We have gone into depth on the subject in our blog – ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, but ultimately the venues that foster and cultivate the entire music industry were in trouble. Sadly many face the threat of closure due to non-pandemic related issues. The events of March 2020 onwards however threatened these venues, the lifeblood of live music, to the point of extinction.

The perfect storm called for urgent action and one man taking notice and standing tall was that man Frank Turner. Soon we were all introduced to a new concept from Turner, Independent Venue Love. A series of livestream concerts taking place every Thursday during lockdown to raise desperately needed funds for at risk music venues.

A different venue would be supported each week and each week would see a unique set list. In creating this series Turner raised much needed awareness and financial support for venues. By doing so he helped to safeguard the future of live music; perhaps most importantly though, Turner also provided an escape from the terrifying realities of pandemic life. The Independent Venue Love series will have played a powerfully positive role in raising spirits and safeguarding mental health for music fans desperate for a distraction.

In our first ever End of Year Awards, we picked Turner as our ‘Artist of the Year’. You can read what we wrote about this decision in our ‘2020 Year in Review’. Basically we feel Turner deserves a medal for his efforts in arranging and performing these fantastic events. Turner has raised a phenomenal amount of money and has helped countless people through horrifying times either directly or indirectly.

That is why we thought it would be fitting to celebrate and remember the Independent Venue Love series here. You can peruse the posters for each event in the gallery below.

Now let’s get started in documenting the series.

Early Facebook Days

As we all adapted to pandemic life, we strived for the best communications technology. Many discovered the wonders of Zoom meetings for example. When debuting the IVL series, Turner took to Facebook Live. A learning experience for all, some early streams were impacted by connectively issues and eventually led to a change of internet provider for Turner and a move to Youtube.

The first five events featured on Facebook Live (and a dabble on Instagram!) saw Turner begin a career retrospective; with each week featuring another release in chronological order.

Vol.1 – ‘Sleep is for the Week’ for Nambucca, London

Vol. 2 – ‘Love Ire & Song’ for The Joiners Arms, Southampton

Vol. 3 – ‘The First Three Years’ for The Railway Inn, Winchester (Support from Jess Guise)

Vol. 4 – ‘Poetry of the Deed’ for The Forum, Tunbridge Wells

Vol. 5 – ‘England Keep My Bones’ for The Shed, Leicester (Support from Jess Guise)

Move to Youtube

From Volume 6 onwards Turner would move the weekly series across to Youtube with better connectivity results. Turner would continue to progress through his career retrospective to the delight of his fans. A drinking game would also emerge for fans at home based initially on apologies to either his wife Jess or his mother.

As Turner’s gameplan to play his back catalogue continued, fans were treated to rare song outings. These outings occasionally would see the odd forgotten lyric, and the terming of the phrase to Varley in ode to fellow musician Will Varley. Eventually each Varley would be incorporated into the drinking game!

Vol. 6 – ‘Rarities and B-Sides 2011-2014’ for The Parish, Huddersfield

Vol. 7 – ‘Tape Deck Heart’ for Molotow, Hamburg

Vol.8 – ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’ for Union Chapel, London (Support from Jess Guise)

Vol. 9 – ‘Rarities 2013-2019’ for The Booking Hall, Dover

Vol. 10 – ‘No Man’s Land’ for The Portland Arms, Cambridge

Beyond the Albums

With his released back catalogue now exhausted and lockdown one (known back then, simply as lockdown!) still persisting, Turner needed to explore different avenues for set list material. A demand for a ‘Disney Set’ initially failed to materialise until a special shortened bonus set one night.

Turner however would push on with additional themes to continue his herculean effort (Joe Wicks eat your heart out!). Volume 13 would also take place from inside the venue Turner was raising funds for as signs of normality began to appear. Volume 14 would be titled ‘The Final Stream’… little did we know what the future had in store.

Vol. 11 – ‘Covers’ for Phase One, Liverpool

Vol. 12 – ‘Covers by Friends’ for The Cavern, Exeter

Vol. 13 – ‘Grand Aid’ for The Clapham Grand, London (Support from Ciara Haidar, Gerry Del-Guercio & Beans on Toast)

Vol. 14 – ‘Greatest Hits’ for The Cobblestones, Bridgwater (Support from Jess Guise)

Here We Go Again!

No we are not doing Whitesnake Karaoke! A brief return to real life saw some socially distanced music possible. Turner in fact was able to play numerous shows including our ‘Gig of the Year’ as awarded in our ‘2020 Year in Review’.

Sadly the pandemic took a horrific turn for the worst. With venues still at risk and people desperate for escape, Turner and IVL would make their triumphant return in January (otherwise known as Lockdown three!). This time around Turner’s wife, Guise, would move to an important mediator role as fans got to pick the setlist!

Vol. 15 – ‘All Requests’ for The Lantern, Halifax

Vol. 16 – ‘All Requests’ for Boom, Leeds

We reviewed Vol. 15, check it out here

Catalogue Rewind

Next, Turner would return his setlists to periods of his career. Each performance featuring songs from an assigned period.

Vol. 17 – ‘First Three Albums’ for Waterloo, Blackpool (Support from Jess Guise)

Vol. 18 – ‘Second Three Albums’ for The Venue, Derby (Support from Pet Needs)

Vol. 19 – ‘Third Three Albums’ for The Black Heart, Camden

Vol. 20 – ‘Rarities and B-sides’ for Dirty Rockers, Dudley

Vol. 21 – ‘Jess Guise Requests’ for The Lexington, London

The End!

We all hope and pray that a return to normality is on the horizon. That the incredible work of scientists and our key workers will save lives and allow life to resume. Volume 21 closes the IVL series with a request set from Jess Guise herself.

Turner has achieved amazing results from the IVL series. The fact is that he didn’t have to do this, and for that he deserves recognition.

The Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and all organisations and groups working to protect our culture deserve special praise also.

Sadly the end of the pandemic and the return to relative normality won’t remove the threat posed to our grassroots music venues. Please when safe to do so, support these venues, support your favourite bands, support new bands, support music!

Music Venue Trust
Independent Venue Week

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Live Reviews

FIVE4FIVE FEST

Friday 18th – Saturday 19th December 2020

Five4Five Fest makes triumphant return to help #SaveOurVenues!

Back at the height of the initial national lockdown, a streamed festival entitled Five4Five Fest did two things. It provided much needed entertainment to struggling music fans and raised money for heroic NHS workers.

Now in Lockdown version 364 or something like that, the festival returns to once again provide an escape from the horrors of real life. This time the event is raising money for a cause close to home for music lovers, the Music Venue Trust and the Save Our Venues campaign. We recently wrote about the reasons why this support is desperately needed in our blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues.

As with the May event, Five4Five Fest takes place over a Friday and Saturday night with an array of musical talent performing from their homes/garages and this time even a school! The festivities are streamed across multiple channels and at present you can still catch up on demand on Youtube here.

There are probably fewer ‘household’ names on the line-up this time around, but there is no lack in talent. The Friday kicks off with a gentle performance from Paper Mill who include former Lower Than Atlantis guitarist Ben Sansom. There are more sombre moments to follow with both Holiday Oscar and Rob Lynch serenading us with emotionally charged songs including Lynch’s hauntingly festive school assembly set.

There is plenty of rocking to be done too however, with headliners Yonaka particularly bringing the party with the likes of ‘Rockstar’ and ‘F.W.T.B.’. Yonaka are stars and deservedly close the Friday night. To end night one, we are treated by the band to a festive outing of ‘Last Christmas’.

Both nights include afterparty DJ’s for those at home looking to continue the party. In true festival fashion there is also merch available at five4fivefest.com. There are also numerous raffle prizes all raising money for the Save Our Venues campaign.

Onto Saturday and the lineup for day two is certainly louder with the fantastic Haggard Cat blowing away any cobwebs. Nova Twins and Hacktivist both also deliver the goods before a slight change in pace with the brilliant Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

The event is closed out by two fine young bands Normandie and finally Holding Absence. Again both performances provide great entertainment for those watching from home and whet the appetite for the return of live music.

The sad reality is however that many of the venues that these bands will frequent may not be around when music can finally return. They haven’t been properly supported by the government and they desperately need support. The good news is that you can help, by donating to the #SaveOurVenues campaign.

Once again Five4Five Fest has been a massive success and over the two evenings has showcased some amazing young talent. With your support and with hopes of battling this virus raised by recent vaccine announcements, lets hope and pray that soon enough we are able to return to watching these bands in our favourite venues!

You can still watch Five4Five fest and until Monday 27th December 2020, you can still donate, buy merch and enter raffles at five4fivefest.com.