In Conversation: MORGXN And JB Somers
With the release of their moving duet version of Real Man, MORGXN and JB Somers have transformed a deeply personal song into a powerful conversation about masculinity, vulnerability, faith, and identity. Originally written from Somers' experience growing up as a pastor's kid in Alabama, the track takes on new resonance with MORGXN's soaring vocals and shared perspective.
Albums: Deep Purple- SPLAT!
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Deep Purple return with their 24th studio album and prove that they can still rock with the best. Rather than sounding like old dinosaurs, the songs here fly with melody, diversity and power.
Albums: December 10 On Your Side
While there is no denying that there is amazing kudos in having a Primark range already raising their profile, the lack of single success means December 10 has notches both for and against their enduring success. However, their debut EP speaks volumes about what should be their destiny. Slick production, a strong balance of bops and ballads and, most importantly, striking vocals and an awareness of how to play to each band member's strengths – this is a solid introduction to a group that wishes to be taken credibly as the next big boy band.
Classical Music: Ustvolskaya & Poulenc
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Welser-Möst and his orchestra match her at every step, the scoring tracking each swerve of feeling with unusual sensitivity: a trilling xylophone stands in for the ringing telephone with real wit, and the string textures underneath give the whole thing an unexpected warmth even at its bleakest.
Breathless In Ripon: Stephen Smith's One Man Poe Is Gothic Horror At Its Finest.
Andrew Palmer continued his enthusiastic support of Ripon Theatre Festival and found Stephen Smith's virtuoso solo turn as Edgar Allan Poe left him breathless — exhausting, exhilarating and utterly captivating, in a masterclass in gothic horror that stopped his heart. There are shows that entertain, and there are shows that leave you wrung out with admiration.
Classical Music: Sacred choral music by Sarah MacDonald
All of which is background; what matters here is the music, and it is a delight. Her own chapel choir of Selwyn College sings with a polish that belies the demands of undergraduate life, recorded in the radiant, spacious acoustic of Ely Cathedral, where MacDonald is also the director of the girl choristers. The ensemble's diction, intonation, and balance are all delectably precise, and the phrasing, dynamic shading, and rhythmic vitality throughout the performance are genuinely impressive.
Deacon Blue Paint The Town Red In Halifax
With the country in World Cup fever, it was only natural that when The Lightning Seeds performed their football-themed track Three Lions when opening up for Deacon Blue at the Piece Hall in Halifax, the response would be jubilant, as the iconic football anthem proved the perfect soundtrack ahead of the finale of the football competition.
The Sound Of An Appreciative Audience
Am I the only person in the known universe to have never seen The Sound of Music? Well, I must be. Or more accurately, I 'was,' for now I have lost my innocence. I have been Rodger and Hammersteined, so to speak.
Ballroom & Sequence Dancing Afternoon – Victoria Hall, Saltaire
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On Sunday 2nd August there is a Ballroom & Sequence Dancing Afternoon featuring Phil Kelsall, principal organist at the Tower Ballroom Blackpool, playing the mighty Saltaire Wurlitzer.
A Voice To Make The Heart Ache And Rejoice
The pop music world is quieter today, robbed of one of its most unmistakable and enduring voices. Bonnie Tyler, the powerhouse Welsh singer—for me, the defining sound of the 1980s—who commanded global stages for over five decades, has passed away at the age of 75.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Electrify Bradford
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When Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark played a gig in Bradford back at the old Caesar’s nightclub in 1983, the support act was a newcomer on the pop scene – Howard Jones. Forty-three years later OMD are back in Bradford, this time with another new act, Andrew Cushin, who is destined to play the bigger stages.
Seeing Red — And Loving Every Minute
Group Editor Andrew Palmer steps into the crimson-tinged darkness for the second night of the Ripon Theatre Festival — and discovers that an evening celebrating redheads is no place for the faint-hearted, the rhythmically restrained, or anyone who left their jazz hands at home. He emerged several shades redder, considerably more glamorous, and entirely unable to stop humming.
The Karate Kid - The Musical
There is an element of inevitability here as The Karate Kid, the film, has now been brought to the stage in the form of a brand-new musical of the same name. The book was written by Robert Mark Kamen, and the musical broadly remains true to its iconic namesake, but unlike the film, the musical appears to struggle to define its target audience.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical
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Hot, hot, hot is the only way to describe this show! Based on the 1994 cult classic film, this musical is a jukebox joyride and a surprisingly tender road story. We are introduced to two drag queens and a trans woman who, for reasons that later become apparent, trek across the Australian desert to perform at a small-town holiday resort.
In Conversation With American-Armenian Art-rap Collective Samuum
American-Armenian art-rap collective Samuum continue to push boundaries with their striking new single, Coffee Cup Reading (Yaman, Pt.2), a genre-blurring release that fuses Middle Eastern influences with rap, punk and rave energy.
The World's Most Extreme Sound Bath: Sunn O))) Live in Leeds
How do you prepare yourself for seeing sunn O))) live other than making sure you have the best earplugs imaginable? Walking up to the venue, I'd never seen so many people on the way to a gig carrying ear defenders, and once inside, the person in front of me put earplugs in, then a set of ear defenders over the top.
Selby Young Writer Wins Gold In National Competition
Lewis Capaldi Graces Roundhay Festival
Following in the footsteps of The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Genesis, U2, Robbie Williams and Ed Sheeran, Lewis Capaldi arrived at Roundhay Park as the Saturday night headliner at the newly inaugurated Roundhay Festival.
Lepers, Book Of Job And A Festival That Isn't Afraid To Show Its Workings
A scratch performance about medieval lepers was just one of hundreds of events at this year's Ripon Theatre Festival—but as an opening statement, it was a bold one. It is a good sign, and an increasingly rare one, to see a theatre festival so thoroughly supported: excellent productions, wonderful venues, a well-curated programme and, above all, outstanding commun…
Doncaster Sheffield Airport Hosts World-First Runway Art Project
Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s vast runway has become the setting for a major art installation featuring thousands of large-scale portraits of people from across the city. More than 1,000 black-and-white portrait images of children and young people have been pasted onto and unveiled across the runway as part of the global Inside Out Project.
Stroke Of Genius, Jagged Little Thrill: Lytham Festival Opens In Style
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Lytham Festival, the north west's largest live music event, returned to the Lancashire coast this week for five nights, marking its fifteenth anniversary with a run of contrasting but equally compelling headline shows.
Albums: Embrace - Avalanche
Yorkshire band Embrace, currently celebrating their thirtieth anniversary, release their new album, Avalanche, with a set of ten tracks that do not disappoint.
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: GRQ By Steven Bernstein
A change is as good as a rest they say and this novella is certainly a change. If you need waking up, this is the book for you, with its short chapters and fast pace. Despite the narrator’s protestations, it is not an advice manual, not a manual of good advice, at least.
Classical Music: Messe Modale: Upper Voices Music For Mass
The singing itself is the chief pleasure here. Just fifteen sopranos and altos produce a remarkably well-blended sound under Searles' direction, the tone consistently lovely and the diction unusually clean for a choir working in such a resonant space. Phrasing throughout is intelligent and unforced.
Classic Music: Saxophobia - Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s
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I defy anyone not to start moving their legs in Charleston fashion with this seductive celebration of 1920s glamour. Nostalgia and a hearkening back to an age of nightclubs, novelty and no small amount of nerve.
There is a moment, early in the opening track, Sax-O-Trix, when you realise Chad Smith is not so much playing the saxophone as interrogating it. The virtuosity is immediate and slightly alarming — watch him perform, and you may find yourself short of breath on his behalf.
Albums: Madonna Confessions II
Reuniting with Stuart Price proves to be the masterstroke. Their chemistry remains extraordinary, creating a seamless collection of club music that feels both classic and contemporary. House, disco, electro and synth-pop flow effortlessly into one another, with every transition designed to keep the energy moving. It's a record built to be experienced as a whole rather than dissected into individual streaming moments—a rarity in modern pop.
Albums: Sienna Spiro The Visitor
Few debut artists arrive with as much goodwill as Sienna Spiro. Ever since her powerhouse covers began circulating online, comparisons to Adele and Amy Winehouse have followed her at every turn. While those labels always felt premature, they were understandable: Spiro possesses one of the most naturally commanding voices to emerge from British pop in years. The Visitor confirms that beyond any doubt. What it doesn't quite confirm is whether she has the songs to match.
Calendar Girls: The Musical
July may well prove to be the standout month in this year's theatrical calendar, as the ever-popular Calendar Girls: The Musical arrives at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre. With its unique blend of Yorkshire humour, heartfelt emotion and unforgettably dramatic moments, this latest production is a must-see theatrical treat.
Sir Stephen Hough To Lead Leeds Piano Competition Into Radical New Era
Applications have opened for the 2027 Leeds International Piano Competition, and with them came the most sweeping set of reforms in the event's 64-year history. Sir Stephen Hough, one of the most admired pianists of his generation, has been appointed Artistic Director and Chair of the Jury — and he has used the role to tear up the rulebook.
Stairwell To Heaven: York’s Most Passionate Indie Publisher Turns Twenty One This Year
Since its birth in a stairwell in Connecticut, it’s been quite a ride! Stairwell Books founders Rose Drew and Alan Gillott reflect on how it all began… ‘It was 1994 and I was a single mum living in a house in Connecticut, about 45 minutes from New York City,’ remembers Rose Drew, the editorial half of the team.