When it came to the unsuspension of the venue’s license, the venue voluntarily decided on extending their closure for another three months. It was considered that an extra few months to unmuddle the problems at stake, in order to ensure the safety that customers deserve, was necessary.

The O2 Brixton Academy has been around for almost a century. Providing a space in South London which has dedicated it’s services as a cinema, a discotheque and a concert hall. It’s a venue which many people have relied on and where artists hold their best memories.

Just a week ago the MET Police claimed to have “lost confidence” in the Academy and have started working towards the official closing down of the venue for good. No doubt this has caused an uproar amongst artists, music lovers and people within the industry.

Many of them have spoken up through social media, expressing their disappointment. The attempt to do this has lead the public to launch a petition on Change.org to bring a halt to the Metropolitan Police’s wishes. In only a matter of hours the petition had over 25.000 signatures and is now at 50.000. The highest signed petition in Change.Org’s history.

People know the crush was caused by people – pointing out that the venue should not take the hit by having to close down. It is a fixable problem. Some even brought up the fact that there have been more deaths at the MET police than the O2 itself. Which is something to think about.

Comments on the matter have surfaced on social media; Some included Tim Burgess comment on Twitter “Lost count of the amount of times we’ve played Brixton Academy – it’d would be a tragedy to lose such an iconic venue”.

Sister Bliss posted “Brixton Academy – @faithless have graced the stage there many times – and yet a terrible tragedy happened there only recently. But it is hugely short sighted to shut the venue permanently- generating jobs, local economy- bringing the best music to London! #SaveBrixtonAcademy”. 

The rock band Garbage also had their say with a simple “Save Brixton Academy #SaveBrixtonAcademy https://chng.it/RFzJKsZF via @UKChange”. 

An endless amount of support for the space has been apparent. It has proved it’s important stance within the industry’s members and how it cannot go unappreciated. Further information will be revealed in the next coming weeks.

Click here to sign the petition.

The British rock band, Bloc Party, was formed in the 90’s and has a hold on many hearts that grew up in the 00’s. The American rock band Paramore is also one of those bands, formed in 2004 and securing the sound everyone loves from that era.

Kele Okereke came on stage during Paramore’s live show to play a stripped back version of the Bloc Party song. Hayley Williams, the lead singer of the American band, expressed her love for the group and are, to this day, still a great influence on her music; “Bloc Party has been a huge influence on Paramore since we were little kids, you know? Picking up guitars and writing songs for the first time. And we’ve grown up with this band, the same way that a lot of you have grown up with us and probably have grown up with Bloc Party as well. So it only feels right to sing a song together that I used to cry to in my car. And maybe we can all cry together.

The performance turned out to be a very emotional one. Combining Williams angelic voice and Okereke’s unmistakable tone, the outcome created an enthralling harmony and a beautiful version of the song. Their fans feedback was a very welcomed one.

Paramore are currently on tour. Having just finished visiting UK cities, they will be returning to the states. Their next gig is on the 19th of May at the Hangout Music Festival in Alabama. They will be touring their way through until August. Their final destination being in St Paul, Minnesota playing at the Xcel Energy Center.

During Paramore’s tour this year, Bloc Party have been opening as their support act. They will be doing so for the rest of the American post-punk band’s journey around the US, set to kick off next month (May). Alongside Bloc Party, they will be joined by other artists like Genesis Owusu and The Linda Lindas.

The Britpop icon band, Blur, have decided to greet us once again. The band have announced a collection of four small gig dates for the run up to their official world tour, set to kick off in June.

Come as they may, the group’s fans will be delighted to get in touch with them again. This tour will mark their first headlining gigs since their most recent release of The Magic Whip back in 2015. There has been no trace of fresh sound since then, with only a live album release Live At The BBC in 2019 and the “Blur (25th Anniversary Sampler)” in 2022.

As a warm up for the big journey, they will be playing four shows in May around the UK. The first show will take place at Colchester Art Centre – a 300 head venue capacity – on the Friday, 19th of May. Blur’s frontman, Damon Albarn, is from Colchester, where he met guitarist Graham Coxon when studying at Stanway School.

The following gig is to take place on the 21st May at the Winter Gardens in Eastbourne, a slightly larger venue than the first intimate one. On the 26th of May they will be stopping at Wolverhampton to play at The Halls to then finish in Newcastle on the 28th of May where they will be performing at the O2 City Hall.

After the offering of this string of intimacy, the band finally loom into reality. On the 1st of June they land their first big show in Barcelona at the renowned Primavera Sound Festival. As from here they will be hopping around the world until the end of August. Visiting countries such as Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland and, to finish off, Japan.

In Japan they will play in Tokyo at Summer Sonic 2023 on the 19th of August and will be finally tying up their horses in Osaka at the Maishima Sonic Park on the 20th of August.

The tour will featured by special guests on stage. The first show is to be accompanied by the UK rapper Slowthai, the British musician known as Self Esteem and the indie duo from London, Jockstrap. The following day they are to be joined on stage at Wembley by rock star Paul Weller as well as the ska revival duo from Coventry, The Selector.

Tickets for the UK shows in May will be available to buy this Friday, 28th of April. Click here for access.

UK Tour Dates:

19/05/2023 – Colchester Art Centre – Colchester
21/05 – Winter Gardens – Eastbourne
26/05 – The Halls – Wolverhampton
28/05 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle
08/07/ – Wembley – London
09/07 – Wembley – London

Hosted in Liverpool and broadcast by the BBC, the event will be taking place on the 9th and 11th of May. The final being on the 13th of May. The semi finals have been split between two days since 2008, due to the large amount of acts that participate in the majestic show. In the past, the show has reached up to 52 participating countries. This year’s edition comprises of only 37. Still a generous amount for such a short-lived event.

The first showcasing on the 9th of May includes Norway singing “Queen Of Kings”, Malta playing “Dance (Our Own Party)”, Serbia playing one of their own “Samo mi se spava”, Latvia performing “Aija”, Portugal playing on of their classic “Ai Coraçao”, Ireland playing “We Are One”, Croatia with their own “Mama ŠČ!”, Switzerland playing “Watergun”, Israel playing “Unicorn”, Moldova playing “Soarele si luna”, Sweden singing in English “Tattoo”,  Azerbaijan who will be showcasing “Tell Me More” also in English, the Czech Republic performing “My Sisters Crown”, the Netherlands “Burning Daylight” and finally Finland performing the final “Cha Cha Cha”.

The second semi finals, hosted on the 11th of May, will include Denmark singing “Breaking My Heart”, Armenia performing “Future Lover”, Romania playing “D.G.T. (Off and On)”, Estonia playing “Bridges”, Belgium playing “Because Of You”, Cyprus on “Break A Broken Heart”, Iceland playing “Power”, Greece performing “What They Say”, Poland on “Solo“, Slovenia will be singing in their language “Carpe Diem“, Georgia on “Echo”, San Marino playing “Like An Animal“, Austria on “Who The Hell Is Edgar?“, Albania playing “Duje“, Lithuania “Stay” and Australia due to finish off with “Promise“.

The six countries to be playing at the finals involve Italy playing “Due Vite”, Germany “Blood and glitter”, France “Évidemment“, Spain “Eaea“, United Kingdom with “I Wrote A Song” and Ukraine “Heart Of Steel“.

The official compilation album of the competition has already be set. Named Eurovision Song Contest: Liverpool 2023. Having been put together by the European Broadcasting Union it was officially released on the 14th April by the Universal Music Group on all digital platforms. The physical editions are to be available on the 28th April.

Click here for more information.

Broadcasted across the BBC, the show is set to be like no other this year. Expect to have a whole series of different shows and programmed content for the audience to indulge in as a build up between broadcasts. For the first time ever the Semi-Finals and the Grand Final will be aired live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. During which they will provide wall to wall entertainment to the shows fans across TV, BBC iPlayer, the radio, BBC Sounds and online.

This distinguished event hosts the participation of 37 countries and the winning of a life changing trophy. Last year the Ukrainian rap group Kalush, who formed in 2019, took their humble victories home with a whopping 631 points. A third victory for the countries Eurovision history.

During the whole week there will be highlights from The One Show and BBC Breakfast live from Liverpool. Whilst BBC Radio and BBC Sounds deliver entertainment in the meantime, BBC 2 will be the main lodging for the actual broadcasting of the show.

The vast selection of entertainment will be carried out by our country’s leading and quick witted hosts to ensure a good running throughout the Eurovision display. For our Grand Final commentary we will be guided through by the English radio DJ and presenter Scott Mills and the renowned broadcaster Rylan. The Semi-Finals will be presented by the BBC presenter Paddy O’Connell. Whilst both Semi-Finals broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer will be presented by Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina and Hannah Waddingham as well as the appearance Graham Norton joining the musical trio for the Grand Final.

“We couldn’t be more proud and excited to give our audiences such a huge array of world class Eurovision content. It’s an honour for the BBC to host the show on behalf of Ukraine, and we’re committed to do them proud. The level of collaboration and coordination across so much of the output is truly amazing. Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!” Expressed Kate Phillips, BBC Director.

Not only will the contestants be taking to the stage but special visitors from around the world also. Artists such as Rita Ora, last years winners Kalush, UK star Sam Ryder, Rebecca Ferguson, Alyosha and more to be announced.

This years Eurovision Song Contest will be running from the 9th May to the 13th.

In this project we see Gallagher going back to his past. He touches base with the life he had, back in the day when he was broke, a daydreamer and wondering what life could be like. It is a way of going back to the beginning for him. The songs that have been already released from the album are “Pretty Boy”, “Easy Now”, “Dead To The World” and, now, we are presented with “Council Skies”. Which is believed to be the last release before the final drop.

We can confirm it is an album close to his heart and has transmitted a different level to his sound. The rockstar himself admits that “Dead To The World” is the best song he has ever written.

Throughout the album expect to hear the likes of collaborators such as Paul “Strangeboy” Lacey, who’ve worked together for a long time running during their musical careers. The Smith’s co-songwriter, Johnny Marr, makes an appearance in three tracks including the already released “Pretty Boy”.  And last but not least ,The Cure frontman Robert Smith has also input towards remixes on a couple of the songs as well as live recordings.

Noel Gallagher explains “It’s going back to the beginning. Daydreaming, looking up at the sky and wondering about what life could be … that’s as true to me now as it was in the early ‘90s. When I was growing up in poverty and unemployment, music took me out of that” on the making of Council Skies.

The name claimed itself when he was sat at his coffee table and saw a book by Pete McKee titled that same way; Council Skies. He rather liked the ring of it and thought it fit only too well into the significance of his album. It is said that the musician got in contact with McKee to request permission for using the same title on his release. A success, clearly.

The album release will be followed up by an arena UK tour. Starting on the 21st of July in Buckinghamshire he will make his way around the country until finishing in Liverpool on the 21st December.

Tickets are available here.

UK Tour dates:

21/07/23 – Pennfest – Buckinghamshire
23/07 – Wollaton Park – Nottingham
28/07 – Crystal Palace Bowl – London
30/07 – Brighton Beach – Brighton
05/08 – Audley End – Essex
19/08 – Caldicot Castle – Monmouthshire
20/08 – Hardwick Festival – Sedgefield
24/08 – Vivary Park – Taunton
26/08 – Wythenshawe Park – Manchester
27/08 – Royal Hospital – Dublin
30/08 – Bonus Arena – Hull
01/09 – Don Valley Bowl – Sheffield
14/12 – OVO Arena Wembley – London
15/12 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
17/12 – International Arena – Cardiff
18/12 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
20/12 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
21/12 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool

The band have not held back with this year’s tour. Starting on the 24th of July, just after they release Starcatcher, they will be performing at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. And they will make their way around various countries all the way through until December where they will be making their grand finale in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Campo Pequeño, performing alongside Black Honey.

It is a grand tour which will be seeing the best of American arena shows throughout July, August and September before finally crossing the pond in November. Europeans will be happy to know that they will be visiting more countries than originally imagines, such as Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Italy, Spain and, as mentioned before, Portugal. Most of these mentioned shows are to be held in arena stadiums. They do not go easy.

In just three years Van Fleet have gone from hopping through Detroit bars to selling out Arena tours quicker than a dog could lick a dish clean. Best known for their fans favourite “Safari Song”, “Highway Tune” and “Black Smoke Rising” from their debut album.

Within the creation of this ten track album, the musicians reflect and explore the duality of fantasy versus reality and the contrast between light and darkness. Hence the naming of the album Starcatcher. We had this idea that we wanted to tell these stories to build a universe,” says Wagner in a press release. “We wanted to introduce characters and motifs and these ideas that would come about here and there throughout our careers through this world.”

The album is a follow up from their last, of which they have taken concepts from to apply to their newly constructed project, in another formality. They have teased us with a previously released single of the lot “Meeting The Master”. Within music different questions lead to different answers. But their general concept stands the same. The band is very well known for their live performances and have never failed to sell out arena tours, such as the ones waiting ahead of them.

Tickets went on sale this morning (19 April) at 10 am.

Click here to purchase.

UK Tour Dates:

14/11/2023 – Wembley Arena – London
16/11 – 3Arena – Dublin
19/11 – Manchester Arena – Manchester
20/11 – OVO Hydro Arena – Glasgow

The orchestral arrangements will be adapted to the late musicians’ songs and are to be conducted by the English composer, conductor and arranger, Jules Buckley, for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Fans will be pleased to know that he will be playing songs such as “It’s Raining Today”, “Copenhagen” and “The Old Man’s Back Again”. 

Scott Walker emerged in the 60’s and caved a fond hole in many hearts of his generation. He was an American-English singer songwriter who rolled of a vocal tone as thick as honey. He was a popstar who ticked off the charts in the 60’s making it as a popstar and delving into baroque rock later in the 70’s. He was best known for brining a legendary experimentation into his sound, later on in his career, setting the scene for the UK’s underground music field.

He died due, due to cancer, at the age of 76 in London on the 22nd March 2019. Ever since this mournful day, where he was those who appreciated him and held in their high spirits have hosted a variety of tributes to him. One of these coming up in May. “Scott Walker has been a unique and challenging titan at the forefront of British music” described his label at the time, 4AD.

Misty regularly took Walker into his referential accounts and so he probably feels a nostalgic pulling to pay his respects towards him. For those who will not attend the concert, highlights of the performance will be broadcast on the 25th of May on BBC Radio 6 and then will be fully released on BBC Radio 3 later on, the date and time are still to be announced.

Father John Misty is now currently touring on a worldwide journey until the end of the summer. Today (17 April) he is playing in Roanoke, VA. Once he’s finished visiting cities in the US he will make his way across the pond to play the tribute on the 19th May. This is a one off special of the tour. The rest of his gigs will not be hosting the orchestral tribute. After visiting London he will be touring around Europe to finally land back in the US by the end of August.

Tickets are available here.

UK Tour Dates:

19/05/2023 – Barbican Centre – London

This year they have introduced a “new evolution” for the Hayes area. Introducing three new stages and a completely new concept within the dynamic of the shows. A new forward thinking impression has been placed toward the making of these stages in order to create a next level experience for the dance lovers of the festival. The different characters of each stage are to touch base with each corner of the dance community. The line up expects the appearance of acts such as Sub Focus, Skream, CamelPhat, Mella Dee, SBTRKT and many more.

The first stage is called “The Levels” and is described by Glastonbury as their “new open-air nightclub inspired by the crossover of architecture, lighting and experimental musical art forms”. This particular space is designed to showcase the state-of-the-art sound within electronic music today in a mystical environment which plays between the connection of light and sound.

“The Lonely Hearts Club” is their next stage as a reimagining of the Lonely Hearts Club. Whether it is designed for people to find a significant intimate other, we don’t know. But it is designed by the international artist Mr Jago in collaboration with the Bristol based artist Melissa Wickham.

Their other stage is another parallel universe within the creative Silver Hayes space. Named “The Wow” and designed for the underground clubbers. Expect the likes of quality house, techno and electronic dance music. If it was granted with such a name it must the a wow-factor experience for the party goers.

Finally the platform that could not be forgotten is the roots culture stage. Named “The Firmly Rooted Soundsystem” we cannot imagine anything other than the beloved bounce of a soundsystem and roots music blasting from bassy rigs. Glastonbury explain its purpose “With respect to the heritage and importance of soundsystem culture to so much of the music we know today, the area is programmed to showcase the depth of music that has been inspired by these roots…”. 

Silver Hayes is the perfect combination of an enthralling and electrifying experience to celebrate dance culture. Not only does it evolve around music but every single artistic aspect which contributes to the clubbing experience. They also provide a “The Information” point to bring people into conversation together to discuss and unlimited array of topics considered important to those who take part.

Expect the line up to be seasoned by the best acts of the industry today. Tickets are now up for resale. Click here for more information.

The band have their local tour coming up this summer before they set off to the UK. On the 13th of October they will be kick starting in London at the Roundhouse. As from here, their journey becomes a pickled one. Jumping from one country to the other, they will make their way around Europe visiting from the UK to Germany, Norway, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Their final destination relies on the quiet Finland on the 21st of November. A good move from the bands part, what better place to choose from other than a rock head country who relies on their loud riffs to elevate from their peaceful stance as a country. Playing in Tampere they will wrap up with a heavy heart.

We welcome this tour as the celebration of their upcoming album release of Darkfighter, set to be released on the 2nd of June this year (2023). Allowing enough time between the release and their tour in order for the fans to absorb their fresh sound, willing them to experience the live shows with an eager anticipation. Three songs have already been released from the album. These include “Bird in the Hand”, “Nobody Wants To Die” and “Rapture”.

A first glimpse of the band since their last studio album in 2019, Feral Roots. An album which took flight from the roaring success and was claimed the best rock album of that very year. They now come back with a fresh set of ears and a four year rejuvenation to their musical development.

“Dear friends on the other side of the pond, Darkfighter is coming for you,” mentions their guitarist Scott Holiday . “And Lightbringer is coming for you too. We’re finally able to come back to you and bring you NEW music! Music that has been firmly situated in our hearts. Nothing makes me happier than to think about experiencing these albums together and making them into something entirely new and different every night. Let’s make something symbiotic and alive that we’ll want to remember forever.”

They have taken the time to write and create this project. Really delving into the meaning behind the creative process and perceiving the album in two parts. On one side, the story tells the fighting of the darkness. And the other side explains bringing the light to where there is none. After Darkfighter they will be releasing a companion album later this year Lightbringer. You can see which story involves what. The build up couldn’t be more tense.

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Tickets for the tour will be available on the 14th April here.

UK Tour Dates: 

13/10/2023 – Roundhouse – London
14/10 – NX Newcastle – Newcastle
16/10 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
17/10 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
18/10 – Manchester Academy – Manchester
20/10 – Cambridge Corn Exchange – Cambridge
21/10 – O2 Academy – Bristol
22/10 – O2 Guildhall Southampton – Southampton