By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN? Friday 10 July, festival runs through 11 July 2026
Former Talking Heads frontman Byrne is 1 of the headliners at Latitude Festival in a fortnight and this is simply 1 of the best gigs we’ve ever seen.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
WHEN? Wednesday 8 July, festival runs through 11 July and Sigrid tours through 5 September 2026
SETLIST: I’ll Always Be Your Girl; Burning Bridges; Plot Twist; Sucker Punch; Jellyfish; High Five; Head On Fire; Mirror; Don’t Feel Like Crying; Do It Again; Have You Heard This Song Before?; Home To You; Dynamite; It Gets Dark; Fort Knox; Don’t Kill My Vibe; Strangers
It’s over 30 degrees in Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum by the sea as Sigrid takes to the stage as 1 of the opening acts of this 4-day festival which means ‘crossroads’ in Catalan.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Danceteria is the name of the New York nightclub where Soft Cell‘s young Marc Almond and Dave Ball would party until the small hours after recording sessions for their 1981 debut LP Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Tracklist: London, Can You Wait?; Be My Light, Be My Guide; We Could Be Kings; Where Are They Now?; Truth, Rest Your Head; Your Love, It Lies; Long Sleeves For The Summer; Sleep Well Tonight; Save Me, I’m Yours; O Lover; Speak To Me Someone; A Car That Sped; Walking In The Shallows; Haunted By You; Olympian; For The Dead; Sick, Sober and Sorry; Fighting Fit; I Can’t Help Myself; Who Said This Was The End?
It’s 8 months after Gene’s 1st London gig for 21 years and the perfect time for this live album to drop ahead of Camden Roundhouse shows this autumn.
By Neil Durham
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
WHEN?: Saturday 23 May, opens 27 May and runs through 4 July 2026 RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)
Welcome to the best new musical of 2026 so far with a book, music and lyrics by Jordan Luke Gage who you may have seen leading musicals including Bonnie & Clyde.
By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum
WHEN?: Friday 22 August 2025 (press ticket)
There was a different feeling about this 12th annual south coast festival (the two years previous to this, it was held in the Dockyard).
By Neil Durham
Wendy James tours her 10th album The Shape Of History across the UK later this year and took some time out to tell us about what to expect from those gigs, life after Transvision Vamp and its Australian return.
WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2
Tracklist: Princess Of Power; Butterfly; Cuntissimo; Rollercoaster; Cupid’s Girl; Metallic Stallion; Je Ne Sais Quoi; Digital Fantasy; Everybody Knows I’m Sad; Hello Kitty; I >3 You; Adult Girl; Final Boss
How To Be A Heartbreaker is 1 of Marina’s (formerly of And The Diamonds fame) best known hits and now she appears to have come full circle and released a break-up album.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****
Lead singer Brett Anderson describes Suede’s new album Antidepressants as ‘broken music for broken people’ and this lead single wears its goth-flavoured punk influences defiantly.
It’s been quite the year, it’s almost Christmas and what would the festive season be without some recognition of the best of 2024? Over the next month we’ll shortlist five nominees in each of 17 categories for our 10th annual Oscars, or monstas if you will, of 2024.
