The British-American three-piece Gabriels will be performing a late night show at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho, and have also teased that a ‘very special guest‘ will be accompanying them. The group were thrilled to be nominated for BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2023, and are more recently excited by their nomination for Best International Group of The Year at The BRITs for the second year in a row:

It’s official. We are Nominees for International Group of the Year at the @brits, for the second year in a row. We are so grateful. Congratulations to all the nominees and a THOUSAND THANK YOUs to everyone who made this possible. See you on the red carpet – March 2nd.  #BRITs pic.twitter.com/T29gpxyOGt

— Gabriels (@___gabriels) January 24, 2024

Celestial singer-songwriter AURORA will also be taking to the stage following the release of her latest single ‘The Conflict Of The Mind.’ Born in Norway, the omnipresent vocalist has built a huge UK following, and will be performing in collaboration with the charity on February 26 at Lafayette in London.

Unveiling the two musicians as the final additions, War Child said: “These incredible acts are joining us to raise money for children affected by conflict and help give them what they deserve: hope for a better future.”

Taking place between February 19 and March 4 ahead of The BRIT Awards 2024 with Mastercard, BRITs Week will offer exclusive live performances from a diverse range of acts from different genres, including Cian Ducrot, You Me At Six, Keane, Ash, Baby Queen, Aitch, Pendulum, Sleaford Mods, CMAT, Venbee and The Last Dinner Party.

Performances may be more poignant than usual, particularly for fans of You Me At Six who have revealed this will be their last year together as a band. Emotions may also be running high for The Last Dinner Party who are still reeling from their BRIT Rising Star win.

Clare Sanders Wright, Senior Music Manager at War Child said in a statement: “I am so excited to announce the lineup for BRITs Week 2024 and thankful to all of the brilliant artists donating their time to raise vital funds in aid of War Child. The past year is one that we will never, ever forget. Children have paid with their homes and their lives for wars they didn’t start. And then, there are the children who don’t make the headlines – children who might be completely forgotten.”

“But there is hope. War Child help children put the pieces back together. The money raised from BRITs Week 2024 will help War Child keep children safe. Whether it’s mental health first aid, food, or shelter, War Child work in the hardest-to-reach places to ensure that children and their families have hope for a brighter future. We are so grateful to the artists and our partners for supporting BRITs Week 24. Thank you.” she added.

Support acts for this year’s bill have also been announced with Keane supported by Oscar Lang, The Last Dinner Party supported by Rachel Chinouriri, Ash supported by Big Image, Aitch supported by AWxJ1, You Me At Six supported by The XCERTS, CMAT supported by Lorraine Bowen and Baby Queen supported by Lynks. UK radio stations up and down the country will also be promoting and celebrating the week, showcasing the wide range of talent on display.

Ben Cooper, Chief Content & Music Officer for Bauer Media Audio UK commented: “It’s a privilege to be partnering with War Child and for Bauer Audio brands to be hosting this year’s incredible line up of BRITs Week gigs. The ability to showcase such a diverse range of artists highlights the strengths of all of our stations with incredible acts for every single listener to tune in to – whether that’s on KISS or Kerrang! Radio, Absolute Radio or Hits Radio. Bringing these live events to our audience will allow us to shine a light on the vital work of helping children that are the victims of conflicts across the globe.”

Tickets are on sale now and available here. You can also enter a prize draw to win tickets to see an artist of your choice. Fans can make a £7 donation for one entry, a £15 donation for three entries, or a £30 donation for fifteen entries to War Child. To maximise the chance of winning, fans can enter as many times as they like. The prize drawn is open now and available to enter here. The closing date to enter is February 19. Full details and terms and conditions are outlined on the official Brits Week website.

The BRIT Awards 2024 will take place at the O2 Arena in London on March 2.

BRITs Week 24 for War Child:

February

19/02/2024 – Cian Ducrot – Union Chapel, London
19/02 – You Me At Six – Concorde 2, Brighton
20/02 – Keane – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
21/02 – Ash – The 100 Club, London
21/02 – Baby Queen – Lafayette, London
21/02 – Aitch – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
23/02 – Pendulum – HERE at Outernet, London
26/02 – AURORA – Lafayette, London
27/02 – Gabriels – Ronnie Scott’s, London
28/02 – Sleaford Mods – Scala, London

March

01/03 – CMAT – Bush Hall, London
01/03 – Venbee – Omeara, London
04/03 – The Last Dinner Party – The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge

A source from The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column has given the following information, “Things are very much a work in progress but over the past few weeks they have been secretly writing and recording in Scotland. As things evolved it became clear a double album-style release could be the way forward. Each will have a different sound, with one being more synthy than the other.” The source went on to state the double album would “most likely” be assigned a release date in the “second half” of next year.

The band was formed in 1992 and originally comprised of the trio vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray on drums. All three founding members are the group’s current lineup, at various intervals, the band have performed and recorded as a quartet with vocalist and musician Charlotte Hatherley.

Ash’s debut album 1977 was released in 1996 via Home Grown and Infectious Records, a UK-based independent label known for its work within British rock music. The label’s roster includes a long list of esteemed artists including The Subways, a Uk indie band often regarded as Ash’s successor. The album sired five singles including one of Ash’s most popular tracks “Girl From Mars”, the song was released on 31st July 1995 and became the band’s first UK top 40 single. Written by Wheeler as a teenager, “Girl From Mars” has become a vital part of rock music’s cannon and has been featured in countless TV shows and films.

After the release of Wheeler’s debut album solo album Lost Domain, the singer decided to re-instated his creative relationship with albums. Wheeler then decided that it was time to start recording albums again and subsequently the realisation made him release further music. Speaking in 2018, the singer explained further, “I guess when I did my solo record that was when I started to think about albums again. When we decided to go off and to the singles thing with the ‘A to Z’ series it seemed like albums were dying off and people were downloading single tracks. I do think with streaming becoming popular there is an option to listen to complete records and with vinyl making such a strong comeback we saw albums making a comeback.”

Wheeler continued, “Also, I think our fans were well up for us making another one. We did explore the single thing to a significant extent by doing twenty-six singles in a year – that gave us a creative break that we wanted. Around the time after ‘Twilight of the Innocents, I think if we had done another album it wouldn’t have felt very empowering for us at the time but by going off and doing something so different, it cleared our heads in a way to come back to albums.“

.@CreationDayFest line-up announced! #GigTickets on sale Friday 23 October at 10am. https://t.co/nvEUXuo6CN pic.twitter.com/ULyCDzWvUe

— Get To The front (@gettothefront) October 16, 2020

Happy Mondays and Echo and the Bunnymen head up the bill on the first day of the festival (Saturday 29th May); which will also feature sets from Echobelly, Merseyside rockers Cast and Kirkcaldy four-piece Shambolics. Day Two (Sunday 30th May) is headed up by Editors, who scored noughties hits with Munich and Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors; Friendly Fires; Ash and Glasvegas.

Glasvegas’ set will coincide with the release of their upcoming fourth studio album Godspeed. The Scottish outfit, who burst onto the scene in 2008 with their Phil Spector-influenced debut album Glasvegas, dropped their latest single Keep Me A Space in August. The rousing track returns the band to the melodic ‘wall of sound’ feel which powered their excellent early singles Geraldine and Daddy’s Gone.

Other acts featuring on Day Two of the festival include indie rockers Sleeper, who reformed in 2017 after a nineteen year hiatus; Leeds veterans The Wedding Present; and Anglo-Italian alt-rock four-piece Cat FX, who have been hailed by Clash Magazine as a “rebel force… continually championing the underdog“.

The Creation Day Festival website promises a two-day event that “…testifies to a trailblazing history and a vibrant future…the ultimate celebration of all things Creation, as orchestrated by the man, the myth and the legend behind it all.” The man in question, Alan McGee – who famously helped launch the careers of Super Furry Animals, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fanclub and Oasis during his tenure at Creation Records – has recently spoken of his disenchantment with the modern music scene.

In an interview with NME, he said “You’ve got to accept that the music industry and media don’t want young, punky indie rock n’ roll bands. They just don’t. That makes it easier for me, as the quality I’m signing up is incredible. I don’t know if it will ever change, because the culture is just so different now. There are other people doing great stuff… I don’t know if there’s a happy ending for the industry if it stops putting out records by hungry indie punk rock ‘n’ roll bands. But I’m not trying to change anything, I’m just doing it because I like doing it.”

McGee – who has stated that he wants the Creation Day Festival to become an annual event – will hope that his new summer showcase can demonstrate that the British indie scene still has plenty left in the tank. Tickets for the Creation Day Festival are available online from 23rd October at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/creation-day

In response to a question on whether self-employed musicians and those working in the creative sector should find new employment as a consequence of the pandemic, the Chancellor said “I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis. That’s why we’ve put a lot of resource into trying to create new opportunities.”

What’s Rishi Sunak’s message to musicians, actors, freelancers in the arts who don’t feel govt is supporting them? Should they get a different job?

The Chancellor told me it’s “not right that there’s no work available…and everyone is having to adapt.” @ITVNewsPoliticspic.twitter.com/ewrQixpAne

— Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) October 6, 2020

The comments prompted a backlash from a host of acts, who emphasised the importance of the music sector and wider creative industries to the UK economy. Folk-pop troubadour Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) accused the Government of having ‘given up‘ on musicians. Derbyshire rock three-piece Drenge highlighted the importance of the sector to the UK economy, a theme also picked up by alt-rockers Shame, Blur drummer Dave Rowntree and X Factor alumna Diana Vickers.

To give up on Music, Art, Film, Theatre, all other art forms which celebrate the Human Spirit.. is to give up on Life itself Mr. Sunak !

— Badly Drawn Boy (@badly_drawn_boy) October 6, 2020

The live music industry brings in £5.2 billion a year, with nearly 200,000 jobs according this report published… last November.
What training has Sunak had?https://t.co/O5LJHUUuVj

— drenge (@drenge) October 6, 2020

Northern Irish indie-rock stalwarts Ash were also keen to emphasise the jobs the music industry supports off-stage.

Not just musicians though is it? It’s our technicians, our engineers, our management, our agent, our promoter. It’s the venues, their staff, the production companies, transport, storage. It’s roughly one million people you’re throwing on the job market.

— ASH (@ashofficial) October 6, 2020

Lily Allen delivered a more tongue-in-cheek response to the Chancellor’s comments, joking that she would now “get implants and join OnlyFans“.

Rishi Sunak took to Twitter to respond to some of the criticism, saying “I care deeply about the arts which is why our £1.57bn culture package is one of the most generous in the world.” In a separate ITV News interview, Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said that the Chancellor should be working with businesses which would be viable if not for the pandemic.The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s comments coincided with a rally in Parliament Square in support of creative industry freelancers. The demonstration was organised by Let Music Live and spearheaded by Electric Light Orchestra musician Jess Murphy.

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Excellent placards at today’s demonstration #letmusiclive

A post shared by Let Music Live (@letmusicliveuk) on Oct 6, 2020 at 8:23am PDT