Born Richard Starkey, Starr has been a monumental figure in British music since joining The Beatles in 1962. Although best known for his work behind the kit for The Beatles, Sir Ringo, now 85 years old, has forged an incredibly successful solo drummer-singer-songwriter career, releasing 21 studio albums and 54 singles since the band split in 1970. Previously added alongside the rest of the “Fab Four” as a group, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an individual in 2015 for “Musical Excellence”, and in 2018 he was knighted by Prince William for services to music. Since 1989 he’s toured the globe with his All-Starr Band, a supergroup with a rotating roster of rock’s finest artists, including Toto’s Steve Lukather, Joe Walsh of Eagles, and on occasion his son, fellow drummer Zak Starkey.

After announcing he was moving away from full-length albums to more concentrated EPs in 2021, he released his first LP since 2019 in January last year. ‘Look Up’ marked a shift in sound towards country music, due to Starr beginning a partnership with American writer and producer T Bone Burnett. Formerly a guitarist for Bob Dylan, Burnett’s work on film scores have bestowed upon him an astonishing 13 Grammy Awards from his Americana and roots soundtracks on movies including Cold Mountain and country music-oriented Crazy Heart. Crazy Heart also won him both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Sir Ringo is quoted by the BBC as saying “I’m blessed to have T-Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records.”

The first single from his new project released yesterday, Tuesday the 3rd of March. Titled ‘It’s Been Too Long’, the track is a groovy little number, rolling along with Sir Ringo’s drumming and singing. The overall template is very Beatles-adjacent, but made distinct by the twanging country guitars and the female backing vocals. Guest features are provided by country artists Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz.

Also confirmed to be on the album ‘Long Long Road’ is a cover of guitarist Carl Perkins’ 1959 song ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’. Nicknamed “The King of Rockabilly”, The Beatles had previously covered three of Perkins’ songs, with Starr himself singing on their versions of ‘Honey Don’t’ and ‘Matchbox’. Sir Ringo explained that Perkins’ influence is felt throughout the record, saying “I recorded two Carl Perkins songs with The Beatles, and both T Bone and I wanted one on this record and he found this beautiful track I’d never heard before, ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’.

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The full album ‘Long Long Road’ will release on label Universal Music Enterprises on the 24th of April, with a cast of extras including Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, and Billy Strings. You can check single ‘It’s Been Too Long’ on Sir Ringo’s official Youtube channel, and pre-order physical versions or pre-save the album on streaming platforms here. See below for the full track listing:

1. Returning Without Tears
2. Baby Don’t Go
3. I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore
4. It’s Been Too Long
5. Why
6. You and I (Wave of Love)
7. My Baby Don’t Want Nothing
8. Choose Love
9. She’s Gone
10. Long Long Road

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The lead single from the album ‘Up All Night’ is star studded as it sees contributions from American Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan as well as indie folk legends The Lumineers. The song sees the three take on an americana style for the track with them singing about their dreams and lives with the title lyrics recurring throughout the songs 3 minutes and 23 seconds.

According to NME James Bay talks about the meaning of ‘Up All Night': “‘Up All Night’ is all about navigating the great weight of all the stuff that plays on our minds and keeps us awake at night,” he explained. “I have some great history with Noah and The Lumineers. We manifested this collaboration for a while, and I feel proud we could make it happen!”

The upcoming album will be 11 tracks long and has been produced by Gabe Simon and also sees contributions from various stars including The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers, Holly Humberstone, Dan Wilson from Semisonic, Natalie Hemby of The Highwomen, and Kevin Garrett.

Fans can pre-order a copy of ‘Changes All The Time’ here. You will be able to order the album on CD or Vinyl as well as there being an exclusive vinyl LP which will come with an art card signed by the Hertfordshire born singer.

The full tracklist and album artwork for ‘Changes All The Time’ is below:

1. Up All Night (with The Lumineers & Noah Kahan)
2. Everburn
3. Hope
4. Easy Distraction
5. Speed Limit
6. Talk
7. Hopeless Heart
8. Some People
9. Go On
10. Crystal Clear
11. Dogfight

In addition to releasing an album Bay is set to embark on a run UK and Ireland headline tour dates in February next year. The tour will be the first time Bay has toured the UK and Ireland since 2022 and will commence with a show at Glasgow’s O2 Academy before performances in Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester and Dublin. The tour will conclude at the OVO Wembley arena on the 13th of February 2025.

Tickets for these shows will go on general sale on the 26th of July at 10am BST. Pre-sale for the tour will start at the same time on the 24th of July and you can gain access by pre-ordering a copy of ‘Changes All The Time’ from Bay’s official website before 4pm BST on the 23rd of July. You can buy tickets here.

James Bay’s full list of 2025 UK and Ireland tour dates are below:

FEBRUARY
1 – Glasgow, O2 Academy
4 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
5 – Leeds, O2 Academy
7 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
8 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
10 – Dublin, 3Olympia
13 – London, OVO Arena Wembley

Speaking on the story behind the song, Bird said: “Burn The Hard Drive was a song I wrote while still in my last relationship. I think my subconscious knew before I did that it was over. But also, that the ending would be where so much more could begin. Working with Mura Masa has been the purest process. When I got emotional hearing it back after the breakup, he helped me finish it and not erase it, fittingly like everything else.”

“I wanted to get something close to the emotions I had been feeling this past 18 months, and when I see me, hand in hand with a ghost, it hits hard“, she added.

As Bird suggests, not only do we end up having to remove people from our physical spaces, but our digital ones too. For the best part of a decade, the internet was always viewed as a place to escape from the real world, but in recent years, it now seems that the real world offers an escape from the internet, especially during the aftermath of a relationship.

The accompanying music video expresses this very sentiment, presenting a world that is half physical and half pixelated, with momentary flashes of Bird, people and places, illustrating how photographs, video and social media are so deeply intertwined in our real lives, just as memories and past moments reappear in certain places that we walk or drive by. A summer picnic playing out on an icy, barren meadow; seeing someone’s silhouette in the corner of a once beloved pub, or holding hands with their ghost on a park bench. Bird posed an emotional question to fans about the video’s concept, asking them: “All those places have a new meaning now. Where’s a place you just can’t go to anymore?!”

Bird begins the video journeying in a car on a blistering, dirt road, looking back at her past self in the rear view mirror. Shot in various locations, she walks alongside the ghost of an ex-lover, watching as they slowly fade away. Expertly and lovingly crafted, the video was directed by Aries Moross, who Bird has previously worked with on her album visuals. The singer spoke on working with Moross in an Instagram post announcing the single, commenting: “Aries Moross has been my hero and favourite collaborator since my debut video ‘Lottery’ (they shot that too!), there’s something that feels amazing about shooting this new era with them. I’m floored by their work and ability to put together the most incredible people on the daily.”

The collaboration between the pair perfectly captures the same sense of longing and sorrow woven into Bird’s lyrics, while also demonstrating the power in being able to detach from these feelings, move on with your life in a healthy way and cherish new people and new memories.

‘Burn The Hard Drive’ is a glimpse into what is perhaps Bird’s most nuanced sound yet, beguiling us as she flits between softer and rockier vocals. Relishing in her signature raspy tone, Bird plays with a sultry, percussive folk melody no longer filled with darkness or yearning, but with acceptance, relief and new beginnings.

‘Burn The Hard Drive’ is out now.

Ten years and four Grammys later, Isbell released Weathervanes with his band 400 Unit. 2023’s Weathervanes marked the sixth studio collaboration between Isbell and 400 unit, seeing features from some of folk’s and country’s biggest names, including Grammy winning singer-songwriter Amanda Shires, Mickey Raphael of Willie Nelson’s Family band, string musician Morgan O’Shaughnessey, and producers Sylivia Massy and Ian Rickard.

2023 also brought Isbell to the silver screen, with the singer playing Bill Smith in Martin Scorsese’s western thriller Killers of the Flower Moon. Having previously worked with Killers of the Flower Moon’s lead actress Lily Gladstone on the television drama, Billions, Isbell continues to prove himself as a promising artist on both stage and film.

Off the back of their latest release, Isbell and 400 Unit will be touring the United States and Europe throughout 2024. Having already played two intimate live shows in London this month, Isbell and Co. will be returning to the US, playing across 26 states from February to August. Starting in November, Jason Isbell and 400 Unit will be travelling back across the Atlantic, playing shows in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK. Beginning at Brighton’s Dome, the group will be in the UK from November 18th to 25th, tickets to which will be on general sale January 31st and can be purchased here.

The full UK setlist can be found below.

November 2024

18/11/2024 – The Dome – Brighton

19/11/2024 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

20/11/2024 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh

22/11/2024 – Bristol Beacon – Bristol

23/11/2024 – The Civic at The Halls – Wolverhampton

24/11/2024 – Stockton Globe – Stockton-On-Tees

25/11/2024 – Eventim Apollo – London

The Maui Waui festival, founded 9 years ago in 2012, has traditionally been held near Theberton in Suffolk, but will now be moving to Hill Farm near Dereham in Norfolk.

The eclectic festival celebrates a wide range of music and other performing arts, and attracts about 5000 attendees each year. This year, the festival will make use of magical ancient woodland and landscapes to create a festival universe and immersive atmosphere for guests to enjoy the various performances on offer.

There will also be added stages and areas which have not been there in previous years. Ina addition to an electronic dance arena, another change to this year’s event is the addition of an Americana stage,  the line up for which includes Dana Immanuel, Hank Wangford, and Cornwall grown Flats and Sharps, among many others. The electronic dance area will feature performances from well known DJs Chris Liberator and EZ Rollers.

Speaking to  the Eastern Daily Press, festival organisers said that “For years I have been wanting to bring more Americana to the festival, especially as the ethos of Maui Waui is to bring all types of world music to East Anglia…Americana is a truly fascinating music genre embracing alt-country, roots, blues, Celtic rock, bluegrass and folk rock – in fact outside of electronic dance music it’s probably the most widely performed live music heard today in the UK, everywhere and anywhere from festivals and concert halls to pub gigs.”

The festival will take place over the August bank holiday weekend, from the 27th to the 29th. Tickets are available on the festival website mauiwauievents.co.uk.

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Fax to Management: 25th September 2020 My deepest, warmest regards to all who joined us in the club last night. If you missed it, for shame, but also, no fear! You can watch all 11 minutes and 8 seconds of pure unbridled joy at your leisure. Watch it in the bath, watch it in the chevvy, watch it as you ride your horse into the wilderness. Eternal thanks to @thecloseencounterclub, @gigwise, and a certain Mr Baum for bringing that sweet Kenny G. “The dancefloor is lava” – LK, 25th September 2020. Watch via the link in my biography Photography by @katiewilloughby_

A post shared by Mr Lazarus Kane (@lazaruskaneusa) on Sep 25, 2020 at 3:14am PDT

Kane took to the stage in his signature dark shades, opening with his 2020 single Night Walking. With its disco beat and funky bass lines, this song is a feel good track that perfectly encapsulates Lazarus Kane’s kitsch Americana persona. He wrote the song to get the ‘seratonin’ goin’… it’s entertainment for entertainments sake.’

This playful sentiment is echoed in their second song of the performance. In this, Kane sings ‘this is not the news and this is not the blues// it’s just a song… this is not a test or some moral quest// it’s just a song’. The female vocalist echos him in a Stevie Nicks style vibrato, their two voices working perfectly together. The guitar riffs on this track are impeccable, forming a pastiche of rock and roll, funk and new wave.

Next comes another unreleased number, with Lazarus singing: ‘dogs hair wont change a thing//it makes it worse yeah it makes it sting// and I don’t feel like a living thing… self control is what I lack// and my mind’s about to crack’. Then, a saxophone enters, joining the rhythm section in an unbridled cacophony of jazz-rock fusion. This song is the best of the set, demonstrating the extent of Kane’s lyrical witticism as well as his band’s tight musicianship.

But Lazarus Kane certainly doesn’t lack self control, his pubic persona is an artfully curated amalgamation his influences; a bizarre character that must take a certain amount of effort to maintain. According to him, he was born into a ‘religious travelling community in Arizona’ and used to hang out with Axl Rose back in the 80’s.

Continually pulling everyone’s leg, he is hard to get a straight answer out of in interviews. When asked which historical figure he would most like to spend an hour with, he answered ‘The person who invented the concept of the hour’. Equally comic was his statement that the fantastic bass guitarist Carol Kaye has ‘more hits under her belt than a tall boxer’.

The evasive answers and drawling American accent are a carefully curated effort, an ode to the American “Rock Star” ideal that started with Elvis in the 50’s. It feels both ironic and loving at the same time. What is certainly genuine is Kane’s love of music; his tracks and live performances never fail to disappoint. This kaleidoscopic performance on The Close Encounter Club stage is no different.

The Northumbria-born, London-based singer released her debut EP ‘Something American’, in July 2017, which was followed by several singles including ‘Love Has All Been Done Before’. The EP caused a stir in America, where Rolling Stone coined her an artist you need to know. The singers British take on Americana has had her labelled as a country singer, which Bird has has deemed a little restrictive.

Speaking about the album, Bird said: “This album is my experience, direct and undiluted, of the past two years. Every decision I’ve made has culminated into this magical process, just as every word I’ve written has spun into these songs. It changes in style, like most of my music, and tries to dodge boxes and genres but the consistency is me – a young woman really trying to figure it out’.

Bird spoke to NME last year about how moving t0 New York City to record her debut album “clarified everything” for her following an “anxious phase in London”. The US has been an “idealistic” place for her to be creative, where, she said, there was a “freedom of eccentricity that I feel is sometimes a bit shunned in the UK”.

Bird has been playing since the tender age of 12, when she first picked up her grandmother’s guitar. She has been writing for several years, to date she’s filled three notebooks with lyrics and ideas. During her teens, Bird played at scores of open mic nights, before winning a place at the notorious performing arts Brit School in London. Jade Bird plays London’s The Garage on January 29 and Paradise Noord in Amsterdam on February 13. Get your tickets here.

Track listing:

‘Ruins’
‘Lottery’
‘I Get No Joy’
‘Side Effects’
‘Uh Huh’
‘My Motto’
’17’
‘Good At It’
‘Does Anybody Know’
‘Love Has All Been Done Before’
‘Going Gone’
‘If I Die’