Having been in the music business for almost sixty years, the big question hanging over a Rod Stewart tour is whether his trademark raspy voice has survived such endless abuse? The thing is, lesser singers are unable to remain singing in a way that causes damage to their vocal chords, and they either change their […]

As the Birmingham leg of Rita Ora’s Phoenix tour rolls into the city for her largest solo show to date, Arena Birmingham was full, well before tour openers Four Of Diamonds took to the stage. FOD who’s singer Sophia for whom this is a home town show, as a band still in their infancy after […]

It’s a warm night here in Birmingham and as the sun was setting, this evening was going to deliver a little bit of extra sunshine and a touch of Welshness into the hearts of Midlands based Manic Street Preachers fans. When you arrive at a venue and are completely captivated straight away, you get the feeling that […]

Refreshing Southern blue-collar rhythms took over the O2 Institute on Wednesday when Whiskey Myers brought their hard rock music, with lashings of country, blues and Americana. The band is composed of Cody Cannon (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), John Jeffers (lead guitar, slide guitar, lap steel guitar, vocals), Cody Tate (lead and rhythm guitar), Jeff Hogg […]

Every now and then you see a band that is enjoyable for no clear reason other than the music is great and the members look like they’re having a great time. This was certainly the case for Brighton’s Sick Joy last night, who opened up for Pagan at The Flapper in Birmingham. Certainly, drawing similarities […]

Arriving into the venue to see Hollywood Undead tonight I noticed how busy it already was half an hour after doors; it’s great to see people coming out early to check out the highly regarded support band from Liverpool ‘Loathe‘.  Loathe have supported some big names in the metal world since forming in 2015 such […]

The unpredictable, yet always charming Papa Roach take over O2 Academy Birmingham again, touring in support of their 10th studio album released earlier this year. Title track ‘Who Do You Trust,’ together with ‘Renegade Music’ and ‘Not The Only One’ teased what turned out to be an unexpected album, presenting a fresh mix of weirdly enthusiastic […]

Much-loved Scottish alt-rockers Idlewild have shown many different faces over the course of their career, from their early punk beginnings to the REM-inspired rock of their commercial peak and on to the folkier sounds that permeate through their later material. With new album ‘Interview Music’ one of their most diverse offerings to date, which side […]

Hailed as one of the UK’s leading songwriters thanks largely to his time as frontman of The Verve and their all-time classic album ‘Urban Hymns’, Richard Ashcroft returns to Birmingham tonight armed with his fifth album under his own name, ‘Natural Rebel’, yet largely ignores it in favour of a crowd-pleasing set heavy on singles […]

In celebration of 40 years since Coventry legends The Specials founded the 2-Tone genre by splicing Jamaican ska with British new wave, the band are back in the West Midlands as part of an extensive tour following the release of their chart-topping comeback album ‘Encore’ last year. Having gone through a number of line-up changes […]