Mary J. Blige - O2 Apollo, Manchester
Hit, after hit, after hit. The multi-award winning Queen of R’n’B - Mary J. Blige - brought the house down at the Apollo, Manchester tonight. Mary J. Blige has been celebrated and awarded enough times to evidence a claim as…
Taylor Swift - Arena, Manchester
Pop star and cat lover Taylor Swift brought a hit-filled set to a sold-out crowd at Manchester Arena this evening. From the spectacular stage set up to the hilarious yet heartfelt video anecdotes of her friends; Taylor Swift and crew know how…
Pile - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Tonight Boston’s Pile left the Brudenell Social Club hooked with the help of a few noisy friends. Not everyone can say that their local pub is a world famous gig venue, and it’s for that reason that I feel incredibly…
Download Festival 2015
Download Festival is a firmly established highlight of the year for those with a penchant for rock, metal and beyond. With three days of music and more spread across four stages, this year’s event had something for everybody. With a…
Editors Pick
Red Rooster Festival 2015
“Wherever you turned at Red Rooster Festival 2015, Suffolk had been transformed into our own little slice of Louisiana.” Following on from their success in 2014 and being nominated for the ‘Best New Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards, Red Rooster Festival returned…
Parklife 2015: Sunday
Sunday’s weather at Parklife 2015 seemed to do wonders for everybody’s mood, thankfully. I began by venturing to the Collonade Stage, or the Kaytranada stage as it was known today. Located in a small dip surrounded by trees beneath a huge Temple…
Parklife 2015: Saturday
With the promise of a sun-blitzed weekend, hopes were high in the sky for Manchester’s Parklife 2015. My Northern scepticism got the better of me, turning up sans sun glasses, squinting my way through the most rigorous security checks I’ve ever experienced at…
The Courteeners - Heaton Park, Manchester
Tonight 25,000 people flocked to Heaton Park to watch The Courteeners perform a gig in their hometown of Manchester. With Blossoms, Bipolar Sunshine and Peace in support the sold-out outdoor gig was biggest of The Courteeners’ career to date. After a…
Young Guns - Academy 2, Manchester
Despite two fantastic support acts, it was clear that Young Guns were the stars of the show tonight. As soon as I walked into the room, upstairs in the Student Union of the University Of Manchester, I was greeted with a mix…
Rixton - Arena, Manchester
Ariana Grande made her debut in Manchester tonight and it was up to local heroes Rixton to open the show. While the ‘Problem’ hit-maker rode giant clouds, perched on grand pianos and had more tricks than Dynamo during her set,…
Liverpool Sound City 2015
This Bank Holiday weekend Liverpool played host to Cunard’s three Queen’s ships, as well as an abundance of upcoming and established acts for Liverpool Sound City 2015. Taking place by the Mersey in abandoned warehouses that once housed cargo from Liverpool’s thriving shipping industry, Liverpool…
Levelz - Mint Lounge, Manchester
Manchester group Levelz - made up of Skittles, Fox, Dub Phizix and Chimpo, to name but a few - performed a hometown show tonight at Mint Lounge. Closely affiliated with the likes of Zed Bias, Strategy, and The Mouse Outfit, Levelz have managed…
Slam Dunk Festival 2015
Slam Dunk Festival 2015 returned home for it’s 10th birthday, lighting up Leeds’s Millennium Square for a day of the most epic alternative acts around. With headliners You Me At Six rumoured to be sharing the anniversary celebrations of the…
Dot To Dot Festival 2015
May brings out the best in metropolitan festivals, with Dot To Dot Festival 2015 bringing an exhilarating array of upcoming new music to Manchester for the first of three D2D dates across the Bank Holiday Weekend. Encapsulating the busy bohemian heartland…
Leon Bridges - Village Underground, London
Leon Bridges brought his nostalgic blues and soul infused debut album to London’s Village Underground. When Leon Bridges first appeared on the scene in 2015 channelling the likes of Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, it was clear he…
Editors Pick
Alabama Shakes - O2 Apollo, Manchester
Last month American blues-rock band Alabama Shakes released their hotly anticipated second album ‘Sound & Color’, following on from their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Boys & Girls’ and their meteoric rise to fame in 2012. Famed for their chaotic yet refined blues-influenced…
Belle And Sebastian - Albert Hall, Manchester
After nine albums and almost twenty years together, Glaswegian indie-pop band Belle And Sebastian have earned an avid and dedicated fan base across the world with their infectious style of indie ‘wistful’ pop. Frontman Stuart Murdoch and co. have taken to…
Gallery Circus - Deaf Institute, Manchester
Gallery Circus packed a big punch into their short set at Manchester’s Deaf Institute this evening. As one of those almost endless spring days in May, it was up to the identical twins of Gallery Circus to open to evenings…
Arcane Roots - East Village Arts Club, Liverpool
As their debut album ‘Blood & Chemistry’ turns 2 tomorrow, Arcane Roots arrived at Liverpool’s East Village Arts Club without a label, without their drummer and without any concrete plans to follow-up their outstanding first album. However, it’s not all…
Editors Pick
Live At Leeds 2015
After scooping the award for ‘Best Metropolitan Festival 2014′ at the UK Festival Awards, Live At Leeds returned for a day jam-packed with the best in upcoming new acts and bands on the very cusp of greatness. The 2014 festival…
Villagers - Barbican Centre, London
Villagers performed an intimate, well received show at London’s Barbican Centre this evening. Connor O’ Brien’s latest offering ‘Darling Arithmetic’ was a significantly more downbeat affair compared to the hints of bigger things on ‘Awayland’, the album focused in on…
Pulled Apart By Horses - Uni Stylus, Leeds
Pulled Apart By Horses kick off Live At Leeds 2015. With Leeds preparing to throw its doors open to over 200 bands over 20 stages tomorrow (2nd May 2015), tonight was about celebrating the best that Yorkshire has to offer with Pulled…
UFO - Limelight 1, Belfast
As respected statesmen of British hard rock, UFO have their share of noted admirers. During a recent appearance on American TV on VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, a positively giddy Kirk Hammet of Metallica lived out a childhood fantasy by…
Turbowolf - O2 Academy 2, Liverpool
The terrific and terrifying Turbowolf are not for the light-hearted. The Bristolian quartet rolled into Liverpool off the back of the release of their extraordinary second album ‘Two Hands’ on the midway point of their UK headline tour. With the…
Twitter @GigsandFests
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10 hits you didn’t know were covers http://t.co/6D0GyFSDxY
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Morrissey set to perform three U.K. shows this September http://t.co/j9lbrXIOcV
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Pulled Apart By Horses to headline Thursday at Leeds Festival http://t.co/5jmPskBnR1