Wolf Alice have been steadily building momentum with their unique blend of grunge, folk, and indie rock since their formation in 2010. Known for their dynamic sound and powerful stage presence, the band has earned a dedicated fan base and widespread critical praise, including a Mercury Prize nomination for their debut album ‘My Love Is Cool’.

The newly added Nottingham date joins a selection of shows across the UK and Ireland over the November and December months of this year, including shows in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow and Dublin. The band previously added a second London date at the O2 Arena, and due to intense fan demand, Wolf Alice have confirmed a new date at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on 8 December.

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Their world and subsequent UK tour kicks off in North America in September, supporting Wolf Alice’s upcoming album, ‘The Clearing’, with ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ being their first release since 2022, and the only track to drop from the album so far. Speaking to the press about the new record, frontwoman Ellie Roswell says:

“I wanted a rock song, to focus on the performance element of a rock song and sing like Axl Rose, but to be singing a song about being a woman.

“I’ve used the guitar as a shield in the past, playing it has perhaps been some way to reject the ‘girl singer in band’ trope, but I wanted to focus on my voice as a rock instrument so it’s been freeing to put the guitar down and reach a point where I don’t feel like I need to prove that I’m a musician.”

Their tour will follow their appearances at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and their intimate gigs in Ireland, where they debuted ‘Thorns’, another track off the album. These Ireland gigs mark their first in nearly two years, after the tour for their Mercury nominated and critically acclaimed ‘Blue Weekend’, which was also the band’s first UK Number 1 album. Later this month, Wolf Alice will take to Glastonbury’s Other Stage, on Sunday 29 June.

Tickets for Wolf Alice’s Nottingham show go on sale this Friday 13 June. You’ll be able to get your tickets here, as well as tickets for the rest of the UK and Ireland tour.

After drawing critical praise for their debut album, 2021’s Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry, Underdark managed to turn the head of many labels, with Church Road winning the opportunity to represent the band and help set them on their way to the top of the genre’s lists of acts to watch out for. The new record, Managed Decline, is due for a release on 24th November and will see the band exploring themes of what they describe as political decline over the course of a few generations in Britain.

Front-woman Abi Vazquez said of Managed Decline, that it is a “‘story told over three generations about the degradation experienced by the residents of a post-industrial town in the Midlands. I wanted to explore the long term effects of Thatcherite neoliberalism and the slow-burning disaster they’ve caused for people here. Each generation has to make do with less, and turns to more extreme vices to cope as the loss of purpose and community sets in.”

Amidst the political and economic issues facing Britain and the wider world today, many fans will undoubtedly find common cause with the lyrical content of Underdark’s message. The band are certainly not holding back both lyrically and sonically for their new album, with “Enterprise (1st November 2004)” described by the band as being one of the heaviest songs on the record.

Speaking of the new single, Abi described the song as, “the most aggressive song on the album so it’s fitting that it’s the darkest part of the story. A father and daughter are earning money – by pimping the kid to buy dope. I wrote it to also serve as a metaphor for the fetishisation of entrepreneurship in neoliberal society.” 

In anticipation of the album’s release, the band have shared the track list and artwork which can be viewed on the band’s social media platforms. Pre-orders for the album can be found here.

Began in 2011, the festival prides itself on featuring diverse, up and coming bands within progressive and experimental metal that are noted for their innovation and creativity. The festival offers a fully inclusive atmosphere where bands and fans alike have the opportunity to network and share ideas.

Speaking on the future of the festival, the event said, “we are taking this opportunity as a new beginning. The main even will return in a different form down the line.”

Pulling a headlining slot represents a huge opportunity for Loathe who are often cited as one of the most exciting new bands within the UK scene and beyond. Formed in 2011 by guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe, the band signed to SharpTone Records in 2016, re-issuing their first EP Pepare Consume Proceed. From there, the group began grabbing the attention of critics and fans alike, with many praising the sound and experimentation of songs.

Nominated for awards from the likes of Metal Hammer Magazine and featuring on festivals such as Slam Dunk and Download, the band looked set to explode as a major force within the scene when the Covid pandemic struck leaving many bands considering their survivals. The band persevered, releasing songs and projects that sustained interest for listeners before the band had a chance to get back to performing live.

Loathe, often a difficult band to pigeon-hole into one particular genre or sound, have been praised for incorporating elements of electronics to boost the atmosphere of certain songs which many critics have cited as an effective accompaniment to their djenty, industrial sound. This has proved a real positive for the band, allowing them to fit seamlessly on bills with a number of different acts within a variety of genres.

Loathe are now in the midst of working on their next full length release while having recently announced a run of tour dates in the US with Chevelle and Three Days Grace.

Tech-Fest will take place from Thursday, 29 June to Monday, 3 July. Find tickets to UK Tech-Fest here. Find tickets to Loathe in Europe and the UK here.

Loathe UK Tour:

19/06/2023 – Hole 44 – Berlin, Germany
20/06 – Backstage (Werk) – Munich, Germany
21/06 – Gebäude 9 – Cologne, Germany
22/06 – Jera On Air – Ysselsteyn, Netherlands
23/06 – Outbreak Fest – Manchester
24/06 – Full Force Festival – Gräfenhainichen, Germany
05/07 – 2000Trees – Cheltenham
13/07 – The Roundhouse – London
28/07 – Radar Festival – Manchester
16/08 – ArcTanGent – Compton Martin

The Nottingham duo took to their social media to share the news as well as the cover art for the upcoming project, which sees the pair in a slight cartoon form at what looks to be a press conference standing behind a podium with newspapers pages reading “Truth be told” covering the wall behind them.

TRUTH BE TOLD Mixtape January 21st
Available For Pre Order Now!https://t.co/b0NcuZbfyM pic.twitter.com/UIG54mkjfT

— Bug$ (@BugseyMusic) December 6, 2021

Young T and Bugsey have had an incredible two years, having already broken out in the UK’s then smaller rap and hip hop scene in 2016 with tracks such as “Glistenin” and “No Mickey Mouse Ting”. It wasn’t until lockdown 2020 where the pair found global recognition with the use of their track “Don’t rush” in the viral TikTok challenge,’ the don’t rush challenge’. The success of the challenge saw the song gain over 160 million Spotify streams and opened the pair up to an audience who were previously unaware of the duo’s talent.

While lockdown helped the pair with their single it also had a very negative impact on the rollout of their debut album Plead the 5th. The project dropped in the middle of the lockdown while streets were empty and shops and shows closed, the pair had billboards around Leicester square which they shared with fans, however it was a complete ghost town due to the global situation.

Since then the pair have only gone from strength to strength, featuring on the lead single “Princess Cuts” for Headie One’s chart-topping album Edna, nominations at the Brits, BET and NME awards, as well as releasing a number of singles that have gained positive reactions from their supporters while gaining millions of views and streams.

The pair recently released a new single titled “Roberto C” alongside Unknown T which has gained 690 thousand Spotify streams just 12 days after its release, and with the recent announcement of a new mixtape will likely be a track featuring on the upcoming project.

Young T and Bugsey’s upcoming mixtape Truth Be told is set to release on the 21st of January 2022 and is available to preorder here.

Watch the video for their new single “Roberto C” featuring Unknown T:

pic.twitter.com/byHRFayNp5

— TYRON (@slowthai) August 19, 2021

Slowthai explained that the decision to postpone the inaugural Happyland festival was down to difficulties out of his control: 

“Unfortunately, due to things out of my control, we couldn’t put the show together at the standard that I wanted for the first-ever event.”

Happyland Festival was set to take place on Saturday the 25th of September at County Cricket Ground in Northampton. IDLES, Shygirl, and Easy Life were some of the artists on the bill for the event. 

The festival, created and curated by Slowthai, was due to be presented by himself and Golden Voice but will be postponed until further notice. 

You can listen to the Nottingham rappers latest album: “Tyron.” here.

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A regular band who gigs there, New Modal Army, has a soft spot for the venue as it’s very special to them. Justin Sullivan, the lead singer, had this to say “For groups like us, it feels like home,[It’s] still independent from the meddling hands of big corporate rock. You can feel the history and all the countless great bands that have played there,”. This venue is so special for the band; Sullivan added that it is “one of the last of its kind”.

Nirvana, Madness, Def Leppard, David Bowie, Public Enemy, The Ramones, Guns N’ Roses, Pulp, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, and Manic Street Preachers, to name just a few. Many more have made their marks performed on the stage of Rock City. “The roll-call of loud and intimate gigs that have taken place within Rock City’s blackened walls contains some of music’s biggest names.”. If life was normal the famous venue would hold a special celebration, however, due to Covid, the party is on hold.

Due to the country being in the government’s three-tier system and Nottingham being in the highest tier possible (tier three) all venues and social gatherings are prohibited and the host of any events can be fined up to £10,000 for breaching the lockdown restrictions. So instead of hosting a big celebration and event for its 40th birthday, Rock City instead is sharing their favorite moments and memories with its patrons online “with hundreds of fans paying tribute on social media.”. If you take the time to look at these posts you can see why Rock City is such a beloved venue.  

40 years ago today that The Undertones opened @Rock_City_Notts #Nottingham what a night. Picture was taken that very evening. pic.twitter.com/V8pzCFiMCU

— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) December 11, 2020

Love for the venue is so immense that in 2019 it even won the Live Music Business award. Over the course of the pandemic, Rock City tried to adapt and change to still allow fans to enjoy shows “It has organised ticketed indoor “Sitdown Sessions” and created a large beer garden outside. It also ran live shows in a city park in August.”. However, after the announcement of the second lockdown and Nottingmahs Their three positioning the historic venue has had to close its doors as it considers the safety of gig-goers as a top priority.

Much like Glastonbury, which had to miss its 50th birthday this year, we hope that Rock City will be able to host a delayed birthday celebration next year the pandemic slows and the vaccine rolls out and we can start enjoying a more normal year.

Culkin’s pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band were far from warmly received when they took to the stage as part of the Nottingham leg of the Dot To Dot festival. According to the local newspaper report, the booing began after just one song. Full pints of beer were then thrown over the band with Culkin responding for the first time to say: “Why are you throwing those? I’d rather drink them!” However, his ability to endure the soaking ended shortly afterwards and the band left the stage after just three songs.

Both Culkin and the festival’s organisers were keen to point out that it was only a very minimal portion of the crowd that “ruined it for everyone“. It seems as those the pizza-themes may have not quite settled right with the Nottingham crowd despite their successes at the Bristol and Manchester legs of the Dot To Dot Festival circuit.