We’re fully embedded in the new year now, so it must be time for music fans to get back into the UK’s fine music venues. In fact we are close to the ever important, Independent Venue Week, so it’s great to start the year at one such venue – Epic Studios in Norwich.
The versatile venue can host events of all sorts but on this bitterly cold January evening, it hosts lots of denim and leather rockers as British Lion come to town!
The final night of a full UK Tour, the band led by the legendary Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, attract a very healthy crowd tonight. Those in attendance are treated to not one but two accomplished support acts with the first of those, Airforce, in full effect as most attendees enter the venue.
Musically very suitable to supporting a member of Maiden, Airforce make the most of their short time on stage with a succinct and vociferous performance which no doubt wins over any uninitiated in the audience.
VOODOO SIX
Next up is Voodoo Six, a band that Maiden/Lion fans will be very familiar with. The band stepped in on short notice to fill the void left by Canadian group Coney Hatch being unable to fulfil the tour.
Disappointing for some, for others like myself, this was actually an upgrade. Voodoo Six have consistently put out quality music and put on great shows for two decades now. Numerous line-up changes haven’t prevented the band putting out six albums and playing shows all over the world.
Tonight, they are on top form once again with an assured performance, mixing tracks old and new, to the delight of the crowd. Perennially tipped for bigger things, perhaps that ship has sailed but the constant of quality music and great shows doesn’t appear to be going anywhere as Voodoo Six once again show themselves to be criminally underrated.
BRITISH LION
Finally the time arrives for British Lion to take to the stage and they naturally receive a hero’s welcome. It’s the last show of the tour but also a (close to) hometown show for a number of the members, so the atmosphere is relaxed and the band let the music do the bulk of the talking.
The group have two albums in the bank at this point and the set list is a good mix of the two. Harris and co are able to give a good account of themselves, with singer Richard Taylor even acknowledging the apparent identity crisis that the band often have thrust upon them by others.
Long since dispelled as a mere solo project for Harris, since their inception in 2012 the group has evolved and that’s evident tonight with the stage presence of Taylor as exhibit A. This is a package now and not a vessel for Harris alone.
That makes the spectacle greater as far as the live show goes and places more emphasis on the music as opposed to the “oh look there’s Steve Harris” feeling for their early shows. It’s great to see and will hopefully lead to greater longevity from the project.
As this tour draws to a close with ‘Eyes of the Young’, British Lion may take a step back to Iron Maiden once again, but with performances like tonight you know it won’t be long before the band are reunited onstage again.
Download Festival reveals 20th Anniversary line-up
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We start this week with festival announcements and where else could we start other than the monster 20th Anniversary line-up announcement from Download Festival!
Extended to four days this year the event will feature two unique headline sets from Metallica, the return of Donington icons Slipknot and a well deserved top billing for Bring Me The Horizon.
Other big slots are taken by the likes of Alexisonfire, Architects, The Distillers, Disturbed, Evanescence, Ghost, I Prevail, Parkway Drive, Pendulum, Placebo, Simple Plan, Ville Valo and Within Temptation.
It doesn’t stop there and also playing will be the likes of The Blackout, Fever 333, Kid Kapichi, Nova Twins, Seether and Witch Fever.
Welsh rock fans are in for a treat when Airbourne bring the party on Saturday night at next years Steelhouse Festival!
The Aussies will headline the event which also features The Answer, Blues Pills, Kris Barras Band, Florence Black, The Cruel Knives, Austin Gold and more, with plenty more to be announced.
Crystal Palace Bowl in London will once again host South Facing festival next summer and this week Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and more were amongst the first acts revealed.
Peter Gabriel announces first EU tour in nearly a decade!
We stay with the live side of things next as our News Report moves onto the best tour announcements from the past week!
Peter Gabriel has revealed his first European tour in nearly a decade including UK dates in Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Manchester.
Gabriel said of the tour: “It’s been a while and I am now surrounded by a whole lot of new songs and am excited to be taking them out on the road for a spin. Look forward to seeing you out there.”
Primal Scream & Happy Mondays to team up in Margate
We continue our News Report with news that Saturday 5th August will see Dreamland in Margate taken over be a co-headline show from Primal Scream and Happy Mondays.
In celebration of their 40th Anniversary, James have announced a new UK ‘James Lasted’ Tour complete with 22-piece orchestra and gospel choir!
Tim Booth says “There are a number of great bands who have been around for 40. But to get here and to be having the best time of our lives. To be part of a supportive loving family that still has something to say and new ways to say it. To be turned on by every gig and song. To fall in love over and over again, Groundhog Day, with our bandmates and audience. Damn. That’s time well spent.
We should have recorded the orchestra tour first time round, as many of you have reminded us. Well, we’ve done it now. And here comes the tour. The Orchestra and Gospel singers expand our palette, heighten the tenderness, heighten the celebration and, despite their numbers, somehow leave us feeling more naked and raw. It will be different, probably each night, because we are James and Joe knows how to dance with us. And because you are different, each night. Please leave your phones behind, come and play in the moment.”
Jim Glennie says “Has it really been 40 years? In some ways it feels like yesterday and in others, many lifetimes. I’ve lived a blessed existence, being in a band I’m supremely proud of with musicians that would grace any stage. A family of brothers and sisters, willing to support each other musically and emotionally. We are bloody minded and independent to the core. Uniquely challenging, always pushing ourselves into the new and taking risks collectively and individually, looking for transcendence. With love, trust, and acceptance we grow. Somewhere in a parallel universe, James are the biggest band on the planet. Here’s to another 40 years.”
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris will once again be taking British Lion on the road in the UK next January. Joining them for these shows will be Coney Hatch and Airforce.
Steve Harris comments, “We’re excited to be touring the UK again especially as we’ll be visiting many places we’ve not had a chance to play before. It’s fantastic that we’ve got long-time friends Coney Hatch coming over from Canada to join us. We had great fun when they were our special guests on the British Lion Canadian shows in 2018. And we’re happy to have our old mates Airforce back out on the road with us too. Everyone is really looking forward to this tour and we can’t wait to see everyone.”
Rockers Dirty Honey have announced a UK/EU Tour taking place early next year.
Prior to the tour, in January 2023, the band are set to release a brand new, re-recorded version of album track ‘Heartbreaker’.
“Some songs really come to life after they’ve been performed a bunch of times. You can really see an audience react to a line being sung a certain way or a riff grooving that you didn’t think of while recording in the studio. Over time we realized the song took on a new life on the road in both North America and Europe and we wanted to capture that energy….” – Marc Labelle, vocalist of Dirty Honey, talking about Heartbreaker 2.0
We move our News Report on now to the best new releases from the past week and we begin with Skindred!
The group this week announced new album, ‘Smile’, will be released August 4th. The band also shared new single, ‘GIMME THAT BOOM’, which you can check out above.
The track is based on a frustrating encounter lead singer Benji Webbe had with an overfamiliar fan.
“I was out shopping one day and I could hear someone building up asking me for a picture,” Webbe recalls. “The person didn’t care who I was with or what I was doing – they just wanted their picture. In this day and age, people want you and they expect to get you on tap, constantly giving you that ‘boom’ so they can get their Instagram Likes up. It’s important to remember that people can’t give you that ‘boom’ all the time. People think because they follow you on social media, they own you.”
Ahead of their UK Tour next month, The Dead Daisies have released new single, ‘Born To Fly’, which you can listen to above.
“Doug & I got together in New York earlier in the year and worked on a riff that I had written previously. Doug had a chorus that just fitted, we messed around with the melody and came up with the name ‘Born To Fly’. This is a straight-up rock song. For me it’s literal, I was born to fly. However we’re all born to fly in our own way.” – David Lowy
This week saw REWS share new single, ‘The World That Left You Behind’, which you can check out above.
“Ah! I’m ecstatic about finally releasing this song!! It’s got so much energy, riff’s for days and a great message!! I wrote it with a great friend of mine from NI, Cahir O’Doherty (New Pagans). It is a song that journey’s through how we can support those people in our lives who get carried away with negative thoughts and feel utterly lost and alone. Hopefully the song will provide a nice audio net for people to fall into at times of need, so they know they aren’t alone!” – Shauna
Dissonants have shared their huge new single ‘Grave Mind’.
‘Lyrically, Grave Mind is more conceptual than our previous work. I wrote the track from the viewpoint of someone on their deathbed looking back on their life and wondering if, now that it’s over and coming to a close, they can be happy and at peace. For this track we wanted to draw less from our own experiences and look at concepts such as mortality and happiness, and how one can affect the other’. – Frontman Benjie Allen.
M(h)aol – ‘Asking For It’
M(h)aol will release debut album, ‘Attachment Styles’ on February 3rd. This week they shared new single, ‘Asking For It’.
On the track singer Róisín said, “I wrote it initially in 2016 then revisited it in 2020. I was shocked by how much internalised victim blaming there was in the lyrics. I rewrote it, then we recorded it and it was released to raise money for Women’s Aid in 2021. The album version is a lot angrier than the 2021 one and almost satirical insofar as it’s highlighting how ludicrous the notion of anyone ‘asking for it’ is.”
Chasing Kites – ‘Shiver’
Bath-based indie-rock four-piece Chasing Kites return with their fourth single ‘Shiver’.
Speaking about the writing process, vocalist and lyricist Matt Donnelly explains, ‘’Shiver came together extremely quickly. I’d had the lyrics lying around for a very long time and felt they fit perfectly with the sonic side of the track when the melody was written. As we built on the skeleton of the song, our aim was to take us back into the realms of indie rock through powerful injections of energy in the choruses, while maintaining our commercial sound throughout.’’
Watch Episode 21 of our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests Dissonants
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 21 – Dissonants
We roundup the best music news from the past week!
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:
Welcome to another edition of our weekly music News Report. We start this week with a line-up update from Slam Dunk Festival. The event has added the likes of The Story So Far, The Amity Affliction, Dream State and Spanish Love Songs.
They join the likes of the already announced Alexisonfire, Rancid and The Used. Slam Dunk takes place in Leeds and Hatfield over the weekend of 3rd and 4th June next year.
Tour news now and up first is Yonaka. The band will finally head out on a headline UK Tour in 2022, following the release of their latest record ‘Seize the Power’. The tour will finish up at the Forum in Kentish Town and includes nine other stops around the UK and Ireland.
Plenty of tours have had to reschedule due to the pandemic, and Trivium have announced that their tour will now take place in 2023. The tour which runs through Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Brixton Academy in London will see Heaven Shall Burn and Malevolence in support.
After dropping off their support slot with The Darkness, British Lion have quickly revealed a lengthy UK Tour starting next month. Support will come from Airforce.
Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators announce album number four!
Slash – ‘The River Is Rising’
New music releases now in our News Report. This week saw Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators announce the release of their fourth studio album, named aptly ‘4’. The album is set for release on February 11th 2022.
Preceding the album is their brand new single, ‘The River Is Rising’, which you can listen to above.
Feeder will be releasing their latest album, ‘Torpedo’ on March 18th. This week the band debuted their new single, ‘Wall Of Silence’, which you can listen to above.
We roundup the best music news from the past week!
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:
Welcome to another edition of the Full Pelt Music weekly News Report. We start this week with a clutch of festival news including the latest line-up announcement from the monster Download Festival for 2022.
New additions to the line-up include A Day To Remember, Volbeat, Shinedown, Black Veil Brides, Myles Kennedy, Creeper and Normandie.
They join the already announced line-up including headliners Kiss, Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro! Plus Korn, The Pretty Reckless, Rise Against, Theory, Wayward Sons, Monster Truck, Those Damn Crows and Wargasm all playing the main stage.
The second stage will feature The Distillers, Airbourne, Lacuna Coil, Bush, The Darkness, Skillet, Tremonti, Massive Wagons and The Last Internationale amongst others.
The third stage is set to host the likes of Sleep Token, Funeral For A Friend, Holding Absence, Salem, Boston Manor, Trash Boat, Jamie Lenman and Static Dress. Whilst the fourth stage includes Blues Pills, British Lion, Higher Power and many more.
Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering 2022 line-up revealed
Another festival revealing their 2022 line-up this week was Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering which takes place 26-29 May at Catton Hall, Derbyshire.
The event will be headlined by Placebo, The Flaming Lips and Patti Smith. Also playing will be The Mission, Shame, Wilko Johnson, Ferocious Dog, Lauran Hibberd, Nova Twins, The Ninth Wave, October Drift and many more.
Our final piece of festival news comes from Bury St. Edmunds charity festival Just Push Play. The event has just announced that 2022 headliners will be Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons!
Joining them on July 30th next year will be Empyre, These Wicked Rivers and Samarkind will more to come.
Alkaline Trio & Taking Back Sunday set for UK Tour in 2022
Tour news now as our News Report progresses. First up we have news from across the pond as Alkaline Trio and Taking Back Sunday reveal a short run of UK shows for next March.
The two bands will play Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham before finishing the run at Brixton Academy.
Also touring in 2022 is The Feeling who are hitting the road later in the year in October. The tour will support their upcoming new album ‘Loss Hope Love’ that will arrive May 6th.
For tickets and pre-order information head over here.
Twin Atlantic this week revealed the next phase for the band with a line-up change, new album, new single and special tour announcement. The band will hit the road in May 2022 to celebrate the Anniversary of ‘Free’.
The band also debuted new single, ‘One Man Party’, which you can check out below. The track will feature on new album ‘Transparency’ which arrives January 4th.
Our final tour announcement comes from Sleep Token, who will be hitting the road in November for the ‘This Place Will Become Your Tomb’ tour. Support comes from A.A. Williams.
The latest new releases now for our News Report. Up first, the news that Biffy Clyro will be releasing a brand new album on October 22nd. In announcing ‘The Myth of the Happily Ever After’, the band also debuted new track ‘Unknown Male 01’, which you can check out above.
There isn’t long now until Don Broco release their latest album, ‘Amazing Things’ on September 17th. This week saw the band debut the latest track, ‘Uber’, which you can hear above.
Fresh from the main stage at Reading & Leeds Festivals, Hot Milk this week debuted their latest track, ‘Split Personality’, which you can listen to above. This comes ahead of their September 10th EP ‘I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD’.
Rockers Wayward Sons this week debuted their latest single, ‘Bloody Typical’, which you can hear above. This track is the latest to be taken from their upcoming album, ‘Even Up The Score’ which is out October 22nd.
Finally from our News Report this week, news from the reformed Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun. The group debuted their brand new track, ‘Medicine’ this week which you can check out above.
We roundup the best music news from the past week!
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:
We start our News Report this week with our sole Festival entry. Frank Turner has announced that his festival, Lost Evenings, will return home to the Roundhouse in Camden.
Featuring multiple stages and various other activities the four day event will feature four unique sets from the man himself. Joining Turner on the main stage will be Grace Petrie, Emily Barker, Jamie Lenman, Pet Needs, Nova Twins, Lottery Winners, Skinny Lister and Guise!
We have a few tours to tell you about in this weeks News Report including this huge one from The Darkness. The band have unveiled a massive run of dates for later this year. Support for the tour comes from Iron Maiden leader Steve Harris and his band British Lion.
That’s not the only news from Lowestoft’s finest however, as the band also announced a brand new album will arrive on October 15th. You can pre-order ‘Motorheart’here.
Biffy Clyro have announced that they will be heading to Cardiff Bay on September 16th. They will be joined by very special guests Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes at what promises to be a huge show.
Southern rockers Blackberry Smoke will be returning to Europe in early 2022. The run of dates will conclude in the UK with shows in Birmingham, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Manchester and finally London.
Vukovi have announced a massive tour around the UK set for this October. The tour is set to be a highlight of the touring season as the band will be joined by both Press To MECO and Delaire The Liar!
The reformed Black Spiders have announced a handful of dates around their appearance at Steelhouse Festival. The band will grace stages in Chester, Leeds, Southampton and Milton Keynes.
Volbeat kick off our new music section of our News Report. The band have released not one but two new songs this week. ‘Wait A Minute My Girl’ and ‘Dagen Før’ arrive ahead of the bands latest album.
Creeper conclude our News Report this week. The band returned to their old ways with a number of cryptic posts before announcing their latest EP, ‘American Noir’.
The EP will arrive on July 30th and you can listen to the single, ‘Midnight’ on our Spotify Hot List. Pre-orders are available now from here.
We roundup the best music news from the past week!
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:
Download Festival makes huge additions to 2022 line-up
This week has been full of ups and downs for the UK Festival industry. We have seen numerous cancellations, but also many line-up announcements. We are going to concentrate on the positives as we begin a festival heavy edition of our News Report.
First up, a festival that has already moved to 2022. This week Download Festival announced the bulk of the artists joining headliners Kiss, Iron Maiden & Biffy Clyro!
The main stage will host the likes of Korn, The Pretty Reckless, RiseAgainst, Theory, Monster Truck, Wayward Sons and Those Damn Crows.
Staying in Derbyshire, and Y Not Festival has announced a massive line-up for this year. Taking place over the weekend of July 30th to August 1st, the event will be headlined by Stereophonics, Bombay Bicycle Club and Blossoms.
Also featured at the top of the line-up are Manic Street Preachers, Fontaines D.C., Levellers, James, Frank Turner, Jake Bugg, Circa Waves and Pale Waves.
Plus an incredible supporting bill featuring The Futureheads, Dinosaur Pile-Up, The Snuts, Black Honey, Dream Wife, Vistas, Beans On Toast, InMe, Ferocious Dog, REWS and Zuzu!
Tramlines festival has this week announced a huge line-up for 23-25 July. Such a huge line-up that the Sheffield event has now completely sold out. You can however register for ticket alerts here.
Headline acts The Streets, Royal Blood and Richard Ashcroft are joined by a host of established and new acts. Friday brings sets from The Kooks, Jake Bugg, Pale Waves and The Pigeon Detectives.
Saturday will feature Blossoms, Vistas and Lauran Hibberd. Whilst Sunday will close out the event with The Fratellis and The Snuts amongst others.
Boardmasters follows sell out trend with line-up reveal
The trend of festivals selling out also continued with Boardmasters. The Cornwall event revealed a line-up headlined by Foals, Gorillaz and Jorja Smith before immediately selling out.
Also joining the line-up are Sam Fender, The Kooks, The Snuts, Blossoms, Slowthai and Gengahr. The festival is sold out, so check here for any ticket information.
We said that our News Report would be festival heavy this week, and we meant it. As we continue to report on the best announcements of the past week we head to Portsmouth.
Victorious Festival has this week added additional names to its line-up. Fans can now expect to see the likes of Nile Rodgers & Chic, Frank Turner and Lottery Winners.
They join an already packed event headlined by Madness, The Streets and Royal Blood! Pick up tickets here.
Leicestershire now, and 110 Above Festival. The event has added even more names whilst also announcing a new stage. The Elizabeth Stage will be headlined by Fickle Friends, Black Honey and The Snuts!
Headlining the main stage will be Sports Team, The Amazons and Sundara Karma. For tickets you’ll want to head here.
Black Deer keeps getting bigger
Black Deer Festival in Kent continues to grow bigger and bigger. The event which takes place 25th – 27th June 2021 has this week made further additions to an already stellar line-up.
Added are Jake Bugg, Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners and many more. They join the likes of Frank Turner, Imelda May, Band Of Skulls, Emily Barker and Broken Witt Rebels.
With previously announced headliners Anthrax unable to make it, Steelhouse Festival has moved quickly to draft in The Darkness as a more than worthy substitute.
They join the likes of Europe, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, Therapy?, The Wildhearts and Those Damn Crows in Wales this July.
The final festival of our News Report is an interesting new event for Clapham Common. Taking place on Monday 30th August the rock and hip-hop crossover event features an eclectic bill.
On the heavy side of things at ALT+LDN are Architects, Machine Gun Kelly, Sleep Token and Bob Vylan. More info over here.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes ft. Joe Talbot – ‘My Town’
On to the new music portion of our News Report. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have kicked off their latest era with a brand new track featuring IDLES man Joe Talbot. You can listen to ‘My Town’here.
The iconic Garbage continue to gear up for the release of their upcoming album ‘No Gods No Masters’ on June 11th. This week saw the group release the title track of said album.
Bruce Dickinson hits the road for a very special tour
Finally as we finish our News Report for another week. Legendary Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson is scheduled to hit the road this August for a very special tour. The spoken word tour will feature an audience Q&A session and you can grab tickets here.
