Albums: Jessie Ware Superbloom
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There’s also a sense of lived-in joy running through the album. Snippets of everyday life and understated details give it a human touch, grounding the polished production in something real. It makes the listening experience feel less like a performance and more like an invitation into her world.
Albums: T'Pau Be Wonderful
Rather than revisiting past glories, T’Pau has created something that feels relevant in 2026. It’s an album that respects their legacy while refusing to be confined by it.
Eurovision26: Monroe
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With five wins under their belt, France is pretty high up on the leaderboard of Eurovision winners. However, their last win was nearly 50 years ago – when, in 1977, Marie Maryam took home the trophy for the iconic L'Oiseau et l'Enfant.
Fast Money Music
Fast Money Music is the guest-packed, nostalgic hit from the alias of Nick Hinman. Written across a decade, Fast Money Music explores longing, identity, rejection, and, above all, how timing is everything. "It’s part novel, part autobiography, part love story, part tragedy, and part comedy: life on life’s terms" says Nick.
The Danger Of Secrets: A Dark Death By Alice Fitzpatrick
A cosy crime, this novel is set on a suitably isolated, fictitious Welsh island which is inhabited by a close-knit population who look out for each other and don’t seek publicity.
Albums: Skindred - You Got This
Whilst in the past Skindred have sometimes been seen as the perfect festival band to get the crowd energised, You Got This sees the band come firmly into the spotlight with a set of songs that takes the band up into a higher league.
Classical Music: Arvo Pärt: The Complete Symphonies
Chandos has performed a genuine service in assembling all four of Arvo Pärt's symphonies on a single disc. Complete recordings of Pärt's symphonies are rare, and the works themselves bear little relationship to one another, each representing a distinct phase of a restless and searching creative life.
Classical Music: Prokofiev Symphony 7
The Andante espressivo slow movement is especially well-handled, the LSO responding to Noseda's direction with playing of real tenderness, while the finale is simply terrific — exhilarating in its forward drive before the symphony subsides into stillness following some lovely harp glissandos.
A thrilling release, and one that brings a satisfying conclusion to what has been a distinguished Prokofiev symphony cycle.
Mamas Gun - Reliving The Golden Days In Leeds
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Masters of modern soul, Mamas Gun have surprisingly never played a concert in Leeds – that is, until the soulful outfit arrived at the Brudenell Social Club as part of their current European tour.
From Raglan To The World: Muroki Brings His Sun-Soaked Sound To The Great Escape
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Raglan’s Muroki arrives at The Great Escape with serious momentum behind him. Since his self-released debut caught the attention of Benee and earned spins from Elton John on his Rocket Hour show, the Kenyan–Kiwi artist has been quietly stacking a catalogue of sun-soaked, genre-blurring gems—including the platinum hit Wavy.
TakeOver Festival Returns To York Theatre Royal From 26–30 May
The week-long festival features student-led performances alongside professional shows, workshops and community activities. Student showcases include murder mystery, verbatim theatre on sex work, a period musical set in 1923 Soho, and a convict ship drama — with age guidance of 16+ on some productions.
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Returns For Biggest Year Ever
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Harrogate International Festivals has revealed the full programme for the 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime fiction, at a special reception at Hachette, Carmelite House in London. This year marks Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s twenty-third year.
In Conversation With Blue
The last twelve months have seen the return of many boy bands who first scored success in the late nineties and early noughties. Whilst many have ridden their return on live shows performing their big hits, none have actually gone back into the recording studio to make a new album – with one exception, Blue.
Stephen Joseph Theatre Awarded Major Funding For Refurbishment
Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre has been awarded £2.7m from the Arts Council Creative Foundations Fund to carry out a full refurbishment of its McCarthy Auditorium, which hosts live shows and cinema screenings.
Dead Clever: Operation Mincemeat Is A Triumph Of A Musical
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What a fabulous show! An improbable subject for a musical but Operation Mincemeat is a true story about real people and actual events that shaped the outcome of the second World War. Penned by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts on behalf of Spitlip, the music and lyrics are refreshingly both catchy and intelligent.
"Planet Omar Lands At Leeds — And It's Out Of This World
I entered Leeds Playhouse and was immediately invited into the mind and imagination of an 8-year-old Muslim boy, tackling his everyday challenges with wit, naivety, and imagination. With dreams of monsters, friendly dragons and zombies following Omar as he battles bullies, unfriendly neighbours, intolerance, and prejudice.
Gabby's Dollhouse Live!
Elisha plays Cakey/Baby Box in the UK premiere of Gabby's Dollhouse Live! She is from Hull and trained at the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama. Previous credits include Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out, Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever, Peppa Pig’s My First Concert and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom Live. She loves children's theatre, describing it as "challenging but very rewarding".
Albums: Holly Humberstone Cruel World
Holly Humberstone has always excelled at turning private emotions into something quietly universal, but Cruel World feels like the moment her artistry fully crystallises. It’s a record that doesn’t just document growing up—it immerses you in the disorientation, thrill, and fragility of it, capturing the strange blur between who you were and who you’re becoming.
Albums: Jack Savoretti - We Will Always Be The Way We Were
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The collaborations are as interesting as this fine body of songs where KT Tunstall duets on the blues-infused song Tempting Fate. Elsewhere, Miles Kane turns up on Do If For Love, on a track that does just what it says on the tin – two artists doing what they love to do.
Death Is Not Always The End: Accidents Will Happen By Andrew J. Field
Did she fall or did she jump? Accident or suicide? This novel begins in the court room as the Coroner tries to determine the answer. Lisa Wright was a talented violist who fell – or jumped – from a cliff top while out on a training run.
Classical Music: Steve Reich Sextets
Steve Reich turns ninety in October, and the Colin Currie Group — quite simply the finest exponent of his music on the planet — has marked the occasion with a recording that ranks among the most compelling releases in the contemporary canon. Coinciding with the ensemble's own twentieth anniversary, The Sextets brings together four works united by the elegant symmetry of sextet forces, and the result is a disc of quite exceptional distinction.
Poem Of The Week: Pennines In April By Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
Pennines in April If this county were a sea (that is solid rock Deeper than any sea) these hills heaving Out of the east, mass behind mass, at this height Hoisting heather and stones to the sky Must burst upwards and topple into Lancashire. Perhaps, as the earth turns, such ground-stresses Do come rolling westward through the locked land.
Classical Music Lavinia Meijer Unfolding Lines
Three composers born in a single year — 1685 — represent one of history's most improbable confluences of genius. Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti shared their birth year yet took keyboard music in wildly different directions. Lavinia Meijer's Unfolding Lines celebrates this extraordinary trifecta, bringing these Baroque masters together in a programme of preludes, fugues, sonatas, and variations – performed, remarkably, on solo harp.
Classical Music: Jonas Kaufmann Magische Töne
What strikes you immediately is how completely Kaufmann inhabits each number. He plays to the words throughout, switching styles with total ease; his dynamics are consistently impressive, and his vocal control—whether navigating the extremes of his register or shaping a long melodic line—is finely judged.
Eurovision26: Søren Torpegaard Lund
Denmark’s relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest has long been a story of peaks and pitfalls. Since debuting in 1957, the country has enjoyed moments of genuine triumph — most notably victories for Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann in 1963, Brødrene Olsen in 2000, and Emmelie de Forest in 2013.
No Setlist, No Filter, No Equal: Jessie J Returns In Style
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Jessie J has had a tough year. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer on April 3, 2025, just ahead of releasing new material, she fought the battle with real optimism and determination. If the cancer battle were not enough, she was also in a car crash that led to severe neck and back pain.
Gabby's Dollhouse Live
Five years and 86 episodes in, Gabby's Dollhouse is going from strength to strength.
Famous Spiegeltent Returns To Harrogate For Summer Extravaganza
It’s back, and it’s bigger than ever. The much-loved Spiegeltent makes a joyous return to Harrogate this summer with 10 days of non-stop entertainment and unforgettable nights.
Live@tc
When Darren Goulden talks about festivals, there’s a sense that he’s not just producing events—he’s crafting experiences. As the driving force behind The Festival Alchemist, Darren has spent years shaping live entertainment across the UK, earning particular acclaim for Irlam Live, which continues to grow in stature each year.
Here And Now - The Steps Musical, Opera House, Blackpool
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Jukebox musicals are incredibly popular – throw in some big hits from a popular artist or group, and in most cases, include a flimsy storyline, and the fans will come. Take That and ABBA have both had their songs featured in musicals, the latter being more prominent with Mama Mia.