Wild Light received critical acclaim, scoring 82 on Metacritic, with NME stating “next time someone tells you guitar music has run out of new ideas, simply point them in the direction of Wild Light”.

The band hail from Sheffield, and formed in 2001. Since then they have released nine studio albums, and in 2017 they created the accompanying soundtrack for the game No Man’s Sky.

In 2021, the band began an innovative project entitled Wreckage Systems which is a live-streamed broadcast that employs software written by the band to generate endless new material. The project uses samples of music made by the band during lockdown, but turns them into live audio, ensuring that all new generated audio is unique. The band have stated on their website that Wreckage Systems is “fast, rough, and responsive to the world in which it’s getting made”. The project was on hiatus but appears to be back up and running, and you can stream it 24/7 here.

Aside from this ongoing (infinite) project, the band plan to continue releasing ‘regular’ records. Band member Paul Wolinski (known as Polinski on solo projects) also has an upcoming album, Telex From MIDI City, coming out on the 24^th February. The lead single, ‘Distant Friend, I Love You!’ is available to stream now on all platforms, plus an accompanying music video.

Tickets for the upcoming tour are available here!

UK Tour Dates:

 14/09/23 – St. Luke’s – Glasgow

15/09 – New Century Hall – Manchester

16/09 – Electric Brixton – London

17/09 – Trinity – Bristol

18/09 – CHALK – Brighton

Welch stated, “I’m so sorry to say that after an X ray it seems I was dancing on a broken foot last night. It is not in my nature to postpone a show, and certainly not a UK tour, but I’m in pain and as dancers know, dancing on an injury is not a good idea. And have been told not to perform to avoid further damage.”

Her remaining shows were postponed to fans’ disappointment, but on Saturday she kicked (well… not quite) off the tour again at the same venue the injury occurred. She will continue the UK/Ireland tour in Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Bournemouth and finish in Dublin, after which she will tour Australia and New Zealand. She returns to the UK in August for Boardmasters Festival.

Dance Fever is a vulnerable and fantastical album reminiscent of Welch’s earlier work. She took inspiration for the name and concept from the idea of ‘choreomania’, a social phenomenon that involved groups gathering to dance manically, thought to bring relief from shared stress and trauma – something that seems to strike a chord in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. She began to collaborate with producer mogul Jack Antonoff (known to mingle with other high-flyers in pop, namely Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift) in February 2020, just before the pandemic broke out.

Joining her on the tour is Willie J Healey, a singer-songwriter from Oxford. He is set to release his third studio album, Bunny, in March of this year. In his own words, it is going to be a departure from his previous work, and will take inspiration from “funk, Philadelphia soul and R&B”. The lead single, “Dreams”, was released at the end of last year, and last week Healey dropped ‘Thank You’ featuring indie legend Jamie T.

Although tickets officially sold out for all dates, there are fan-to-fan resale tickets still available for the last dates of the UK tour available here.

Remaining UK Tour Dates:

31/1/23 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
01/02 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
03/02 – AO Arena – Manchester
04/02 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
06/02 – International Centre – Bournemouth
08/02 – 3Arena – Dublin

Polachek is set to release her upcoming album Desire, I Want To Turn Into You next month, from which she has released singles since 2021. Due to the pandemic, her European tour for 2019 album Pang was interrupted, leading her to start work on her next project. Since then, she has brought out several singles, including ‘Bunny Is A Rider’ and most recently ‘Welcome To My Island’, accompanied by a music video. After a long time away from the stage, fans can surely expect Polachek to bring her all this summer.

For Alex G, this will be a stop on his European tour. He will tour the UK from March before heading to Europe for a mix of headline shows and festival appearances. His ninth studio album God Save The Animals was released at the end of last year and was well-received by multiple publications.

Black Country New Road will be joining Wide Awake after a UK tour and a quick stint to Japan.  At the beginning of 2022, lead singer Isaac Wood left the band after struggles with his mental health. Bassist Tyler Hyde stated in an NME interview that: “It’s taught us that it’s really important to relieve people of responsibility in order to keep everyone in check and to actually live up to this thing that we have been saying about everyone holding the same responsibilities“. Since his departure, the band have released another album, Ants From Up There. Last year, the band also released a limited edition exclusive vinyl EP of covers, one of which was a Caroline Polachek track (‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’).

Wide Awake Festival is advertised as a celebration of independent music and counterculture, and features not only established artists but a wide range of up-and-coming talent also. It is set to be a varied and eclectic mix of genres. The festival boasts seven stages, 40+ artists, a craft beer fair, street food, album signings and zine fairs. Los Bi7chos, Blondshell, Tirzah, CIVIC, CLAMM, JJUUJJUU, Nice Biscuit, and Wasted Youth will also be joining the line-up.

Tickets for Wide Awake are on sale now, and you can catch them here.