The anticipation is particularly high for Jamie T, who organisers claim is “one of the most requested headliners in Truck Festival history.” Alongside this, Wet Leg, the Brit Award-winning “Best New Artist” of 2023, will be making their UK festival headline debut. Meanwhile, the Thursday night slot is reserved for the energetic and politically charged IDLES, who are expected to showcase tracks from their upcoming album ‘TANGK,’ set to be released on February 16, read more about ‘TANGK’ here. The festival’s grand finale will be brought by The Streets, alias Mike Skinner, who released the critically acclaimed album ‘The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light’ last year.

The diverse lineup also includes renowned acts such as The Kooks, Declan McKenna, Yard Act, Holly Humberstone, The Magic Gang, and English Teacher, along with emerging talents like Willie J Healey. Sea Girls, Black Honey, Peace, The Snuts, Sundara Karma, with many more set to grace the stages at Hill Farm. The Magic Gang’s presence in the Truck 2024 lineup has sparked speculation, given their recent breakup announcement and plans for a farewell tour. Despite confirming their final show, it remains unclear if the band will perform at the festival.

Truck Festival’s Head Of Marketing, Sam Harris, expressed his enthusiasm for the lineup, stating, “Truck 2024 is a landmark year for us, and we can’t wait to see everyone there!” Harris added, “Whether it’s discovering new favourites, diving into mosh-pits, or enjoying the amazing comedy and family entertainment on offer – Truck 2024 promises to be a special weekend.”

A ticket pre-sale is scheduled for 18:00 GMT on Thursday (January 25) with general sales opening at 10:00 on Friday (January 26). Tickets start at £140 for the weekend, with an early-bird option priced at £175, allowing entry on Thursday to catch the electrifying performance by IDLES. Both pay-in-full and payment plan options are available. Tickets can be purchased on the official festival website via this link.

Truck Festival, conceived by brothers Robin and Joe Bennett in 1998, has come a long way from its humble beginnings with an actual truck as the stage. More acts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, building on the success of last year’s headliners Royal Blood, Alt-J, Two Door Cinema Club, and The Wombats. For more information and to secure your spot at what promises to be “the ultimate summer party,” visit Truck Festival’s official website.

The Eden Project is always home to some superb gigs, this year IDLES are set to play the iconic venue. The shows have been in fans’ diaries for some time, with the shows originally scheduled for June and July. All things being well, the band will bring their unique, political punk tunes to Cornwall in September of this year. IDLES are gearing up for a mega year of shows, with UK, Europe, US and South America dates in the diary. They bagged their first ever number one album last year, with ‘Ultra Mono’ and fans are itching to hear the band unleash new tracks live.

A pilot event took place in Liverpool this week, with Stockport indie-lads, Blossoms, taking to the main stage for the first live gig in months. Festivals are announcing lineups left, right and centre and there seems to be a real feeling of optimism as Brits deliberate concert plans over a pint in the sun (or rain).

IDLES will be joined by Black Honey, fresh from the release of their second studio offering ‘Written and Directed’. The album was met with a strong response from fans and journos and landed the Brighton band their first top-ten album. Black Honey have quite the CV when it comes to tour support, opening for Royal Blood and Queens of The Stone Age – they will be able to add IDLES to this impressive list come September.

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A post shared by BLACK HONEY (@blackhoneyuk)

Also on the bill are fellow Bristol-rockers Spectres: they’re a noise-rock outfit who have built quite the cult-following off the back of three albums. Fans are sure to flock to this one, with three exceptional bands performing in a truly iconic and beautiful setting. Roll on summer!

https://t.co/BTwoxrLSdM

— Black Honey (@BLACKHONEYUK) March 26, 2021

The female-fronted four-piece collaborated with London-based photographer Jaime Noise for the ‘Back of the Bar’ music video. Black Honey is comprised of lead singer and guitarist Izzy B. Phillips alongside guitarist Chris Ostler, bassist Tommy Taylor, and drummer Alex Woodward, who joined the group after the departure of Tom Dewhurst who left the group in 2019. Frontwoman Izzy B. Philips had this to say about the music video:

“’Back of the Bar’ is kind of a time hop between where you travel in your mind when you are alone and how you recount all the memories of your life, It’s the rose-tinted glasses and the sadness they leave behind.”

At 7pm on YouTube we premiere “Back of the Bar” our first 8mm film! Directed by the one & only Jamie Noise. Come hang out and tell us what you think! https://t.co/m6SdVZc2IF pic.twitter.com/TnMUAFvCNe

— Black Honey (@BLACKHONEYUK) March 29, 2021

The Quentin Tarantino inspired video features old-style film visuals and kaleidoscope effects as Philips dances around Camden Town paired with an Avant-Garde storyline subtitled throughout. This is the fifth music video Black Honey have released alongside their sophomore album.‘Written & Directed’ was released on March 19 to generally favourable reviews. Rhian Daly for NME described the record as “a thrilling step up from a band quietly coming into their own.”

Black Honey will be touring later this year. See Black Honey live on the following dates.

24/07/21 – Pryzm – Kingston (Socially Distant)
14/09 – Jumbo – Leeds
15/09 – Action – Preston
16/09 – Vinolo – Southampton
17/09 – Sound Knowledge – Marlborough
23/09 – Chalk – Brighton
04/10 – Wedgewood Rooms – Portsmouth
05/10 – The Castle & Falcon – Birmingham
07/10 – St Lukes – Glasgow
08/10 – Academy 2 – Manchester
09/10 – Think Tank – Newcastle
10/10 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds
12/10 – Clwb Ifor Bach – Cardiff
13/10 – Heaven – London

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WE ARE OVER THE MOON TO ANNOUNCE OUR SECOND RECORD “Written & Directed” by Black Honey is available to pre-order everywhere NOW! The deluxe (red & white) version is pressed WITH OUR ACTUAL BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS. thats how much of us went into this. It also comes with an additional black 7” featuring bonus tracks. This is crazy exclusive & will sell out! These are 10 of the best songs we have ever written and this record is Black Honey on STEROIDS. Link in bio

A post shared by BLACK HONEY (@blackhoneyuk) on Oct 7, 2020 at 1:59am PDT

Written & Directed is a great name and the album has a great ambition. Frontwoman Izzy B. Phillips declared, “I made this record for young women to feel invincible.” The press release calls Written & Directed “a 10 track mission statement.” It reads, “Exploring everything from womanhood, to identity and power, it’s an album that revels in the rich history of pop culture, throws a wink to its rock-and-roll heroes, but ultimately (and in true Black Honey fashion) it stands on its own two feet.”

Phillips declared a similar, feminist intention when asked about their first single. Speaking to the Line of Best Fit, she said, “It’s fun but on a bit of a knife edge of risk and weird. Sex can be clumsy, emotional and complex. There’s so much baggage that it comes with. We wrote the song from a man’s perspective. It felt empowering to flip it to the female gaze. I think I’m exploring both power and my weakness in equal measure. We wanted it to sound manic – like Hives meets John Travolta, hips swinging.”

Following this, Phillips says earnestly, “I love this song. I hope it makes women find themselves and dump their boyfriends.”

Everything Black Honey have shared to do with Written & Directed so far has this distinctly 1940s kind of feel. The set for Run For Cover contains old televisions and rotary dial telephones – and have you ever seen a woman in pin up curls play electric guitar? Find out more below.

First single, ‘Beaches’ (released in July), runs with a similar aesthetic, focusing on garish colours and consumerism as its cornerstones, but with the same vintage feel, the same old televisions. Released under the pressures of quarantine, ‘Beaches’ is in no way compromised; what the video can’t achieve due to lockdown restrictions, it pretends to achieve with backdrops and clever editing. No one will ever say that 2020 held back Black Honey.

‘Beaches’ demands attention; this will hopefully be the attitude of all of Written & Directed. It’s not clear yet whether the album will all have the same unifying aesthetic, but its intentions are promising. Certainly, this is an explosive start.

Written & Directed tracklist:

1. I Like The Way You Die
2. Run For Cover
3. Beaches
4. Back Of The Bar
5. Believer
6. I Do It To Myself
7. Disinfect
8. Summer ‘92
9. Fire
10. Gabrielle

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We’re 100, baby! To celebrate our 100th (!!) issue, we’re teaming up with @signaturebrew for a week of COVID-compliant celebrations, with @matthewmaltese, @blackhoneyuk and @spector playing some extra special (socially distanced, obv) live shows and @sportsteam hopping on the decks for our big closing party! Tix available tomorrow at 10am via @dicefm!

A post shared by DIY (@diymagazine) on Aug 24, 2020 at 6:01am PDT

DIY has been a staple publication within the Indie UK music scene for a while now. Like its name suggests, DIY was started in founding member Stephen Ackroyd’s University bedroom with limited resources. Since then it has become one of the most highly regarded UK music publications, boasting cover-features from the likes of Mike Skinner, Biffy Clyro and Wolf Alice.

Such an evolution can be owed to the hard work and passion of DIY’s contributors, as well as their ability to stay on the cutting edge by helping emerging artists gain recognition. The ‘Get to Know‘ section of their website promises to get readers ‘a little bit closer to the buzziest new acts‘. With features such as musical prodigy Alfie Templeman and the new Bristolian ‘heavy pop trio’ INDIGOS, it certainly succeeds in its aim.

The ‘100th Issue Party‘ will commence with a live performance from Matt Maltese on the 8th September. Maltese has been a recurring presence on the pages of DIY since his first EP was released back in 2016. He was recently interviewed by them on his  new EP Madhouse which came out on the 7th August. This interview saw Matt open up about, amongst other things, being dropped by Atlantic Records; and when the interviewer teasingly asks ‘Are you saying you’re cute Matt?’ it serves as a perfect example of how DIY mag often uses humour to make their features more personal and entertaining.

Matt posted on his instagram that he was looking forward to playing his ‘first gig in years celebrating @diymagazine 100th issue!’. On the following evening, 9th September, raucous indie-rock band Black Honey will take the stage. They too shared their enthusiasm on Instagram, stating ‘Woooahhh Can’t believe this is happening!’.

The week of live performances will surely be a joyous occasion, and it’s fair to say that DIY certainly deserves to celebrate such an impressive legacy!

NME x STAR Concert aims to raise money for helping refugees living in the UK. Black Honey, an indie rock band from Brighton, is the first act to be revealed as the headliner of this charity gig, while there will be more artists to appear at the gig announced later.

Tickets for the show are up for sale now via DICE. The site invites people to this charity gig in order to “celebrate the end of the most depressing month of the year” and calls Black Honey one of the “Brighton indie heroes” that will play at the gig.

Black Honey is an indie rock band from Brighton formed in 2014. Lead by a frontwoman Izzy Baxter, the four-piece released their very first self-titled studio album in 2018, which debuted at number 33 on UK Albums Chart. Two EPs—Black Honey (2014) and Headspin (2016)—were also released from the band. “Hello Today” has been their biggest single to date, with “I Don’t Ever Wanna Love” as their latest single released earlier this year.

Get tickets to see Black Honey now, and stay tuned for more acts at NME x STAR Concert.

Since the Brighton based four piece formed in 2014, the band have quickly grown a large fanbase and actually supported Royal Blood on their tour in 2017. This sudden popularity surge for the group is well deserved, with their album being described as “a knockout debut that showcases their versatility”, but front-woman Izzy B Phillips had expressed some distaste to this idea in the past, “If I had it my way we’d still be a secret band” she told The Guardian back in 2016. 

Fast-forward three years and the band have their first headlining tour ahead of them, and a 21 track album under their belt. The album explores all elements of indie-pop, incorporating electric disco sounds whilst doing a good job at maintaining a loud and hard-hitting chorus; the staple to any decent indie song.

Phillips also worked with Royal Blood singer Mike Kerr to write the track ‘Into the Nightmare’ (alternatively known as ‘Into the Mikemare) – this is definitely the stompy, rock orientated song that the album needed, which was to be expected from Kerr’s influence. The track ‘Midnight’ flits back to the electric feel that we get listening to the rest of the album, featuring synthesised pop vocals and a video almost appearing as though taken from a pulp fiction scene. 

Black Honey 2019 European Tour Dates:

29/04/ – Esquires – Bedford
30/04 – Sugarmill – Stoke
01/05 – Caves – Edinburgh
02/05 – Grand Social – Dublin
04/05 – Live at Leeds Fest – Leeds
05/05 – Handmade Fest – Leicester 
06/05 – Joiners – Southampton 
07/05 – The Forum – Tunbridge Wells
08/05 – The Boileroom – Guildford 
30/05 – Dauwop Fest – Netherlands 
31/05 – Vestrock Fest – Netherlands
21/06 – Hurricane Fest – Germany 
22/06 – Privatclub – Berlin
23/06 – Southside Fest – Germany 
26/06 – Chelsea – Vienna 
27/06 – Cafe V Lese – Prague
28/06 – Exil – Zurich 
30/06 – Rock Werchter Fest – Belgium