Bands: Protomartyr + Honesty (Support)
An unusual sight greeted the audience at the Brudenell: a screen set up in front of the stage. I think this was a first for me, a visible barrier that would prevent you from seeing the support band, Honesty. The screen was very much part of the show, almost the lead, as vivid in-your-face projections accompanied beats produced by the Leeds collective.
Albums: Celeste Woman of Faces
Cue the velvet curtains and dim the lights: Celeste has returned with an album that sounds as if it swanned in from a lost reel of classic cinema. Woman of Faces is drenched in retro glamour—all smoky brass, midnight keys, and melodies that swirl like perfume in an old theatre foyer.
In conversation: Wheatus
Wheatus are set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album with a 2025 UK and Ireland tour. The New York rock band’s seminal 2000 LP featured the breakout hit Teenage Dirtbag, which reached Number Two in the UK Singles Chart and has since been certified quadruple platinum.
Classical Music: Vaughan Williams Symphonies 5 & 9
Together, these two symphonies reflect a lifetime shaped by conflict and change. Side by side, they form a portrait of a composer who could embrace both light and shadow, hope and uncertainty, with equal mastery. With excellent accompanying notes in the booklet, this is an all-round success – an exciting performance where textures are wonderfully realised and the orchestra's precision never falters.
Albums: XO Fashionably Late
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The beauty of Fashionably Late is that it’s clear XO are doing this as much for their own joy as for their audience. Rather than playing it safe, they lean into bold choices, crafting songs that feel both nostalgic and refreshingly new.
The EP proves that these five women with the power to pop it absolutely nailed their arrival.
Classical Music: Lang Lang Piano Book 2
Six years after his celebrated first Piano Book, Lang Lang has assembled 32 pieces spanning Bach to video game soundtracks and Chopin to anime themes. It's an enterprising and charming programme that reflects his populist instincts and his experience as a presenter on Channel 4's The Piano – a role that has clearly sharpened his curatorial skills in reaching the widest possible audience.
Classical Music: Everything You've Ever Lived
It's a tremendous album and something genuinely different to listen to as you settle down for the evening, getting ready to drift off into sleep and dream.
Cast On Tour
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Born in the aftermath of vocalist John Powers leaving The La's and Peter Wilkinson leaving Shack, the group took a couple of years to really find their feet and finalise their line-up before debuting in 1995 with the single Finetime. It was apparent almost immediately that shifting around to finalise a lineup was worthwhile, for the group debuted at #17 in the singles chart.
A New Opera Emerges: The Last Machine Breaker
When a new theatrical production asks the singular question: Will technology be our salvation or our downfall? Then AI leaps to mind as a suitable subject, doesn't it? It seems that everybody and everything is on the AI bandwagon. But an opera? That's new.
In Conversation: Bea And Her Business
Bea and her business have always known that a career in music was on the cards. Driven and ambitious from a young age, she pursued and signed a record deal independently. Since then, her steady flow of singles has shown that she does not just have the drive, but she also has the talent to really make it big.
Maren Morris
Since her initial appearances on the UK's country circuit during her mid- to late teens, Maren Morris has made significant progress. At the time she was an aspiring, independent country artist with big ambitions.
In conversation: Indie Pop BFF
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Australia’s breakout indie pop BFFs, Betty Taylor, have just released their highly anticipated and infectious new single, Sucker Punch, on November 5th via Hello Gardener/ Pals. The band’s homegrown and international success and acclaim in the US and UK has led to extensive touring, festival slots and over 3 million streams and counting!
Classical Music: Walton: Cello Concerto
John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London deliver performances of colossal grandeur in this outstanding survey of Walton's orchestral mastery.
It is a terrific album. Anyone glancing at the cover would immediately recognise the magnificent Sinfonia of London—how could one not adore their performances? Once again conducted by maestro John Wilson, here joined by cellist Jonathan Aasgaard in Walton's Cello Concerto.
Classical Music: Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C Minor ‘Resurrection’
There is so much to enjoy about this recording, not least how Kahchun Wong and the Hallé work together to give an utterly transfixing performance—all the more remarkable as we are merely listening, not watching him conduct. At times, all musical departments fizz with energy, and the strings pulsate with superbly measured and precise tension. Brass and percussion prove thrilling throughout.
Stereo MC’s Gear Up For A Long-Awaited Return To The Road
Pioneers of UK hip-hop and electronic dance, Brit Award winners Stereo MC’s are gearing up for a long-awaited return to the road in 2025, announcing a brand-new UK and Ireland tour that will reconnect them with fans old and new.
Classical Music: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
The National Philharmonic play splendidly throughout, creating lovely musical pictures. With excellent booklet notes by Lionel Harrison, this imaginative release provides an invaluable opportunity to revisit Coleridge-Taylor's unjustly neglected music.
Classical Music: Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas For Solo Violin
Stepping into the spotlight the London Symphony Orchestra's leader presents this fresh recording of one of the cornerstones of the violin repertoire, demonstrating incredible technique, outstanding virtuosity and impressive musicality throughout.
Download Festival Announces 2026 Headliners
In 2026, Download XXIII will host a trio of legendary headliners: nu-metal icons Limp Bizkit – headlining Download for the very first time - on Friday, hard rock royalty Guns N’ Roses on Saturday Linkin Park performing at Download for the first time since the band reformed in 2024 with lead singer Emily Armstrong.
Remember School Assemblies? This Teacher Is Bringing Christmas Carol Magic Back – On a Massive Scale
Fans of Christmas spirit and school assembly nostalgia, rejoice! After overwhelming demand for his current 2024 Christmas Assembly tour, which kicked off in Belfast this past weekend and will continue across the UK until December 23rd, the nation’s favourite primary school teacher-turned-Glastonbury Sensation, James B.
Day Fever: The Daytime Disco Where Everyone's Invited
If you’ve ever thought clubbing was only for the under-25s staggering home at 3am, think again. Day Fever—the unstoppable daytime disco dreamed up by actor Vicky McClure, her husband Jonny Owen, and friends including Jon McClure of Reverend & The Makers—is rewriting the rules of nightlife, one sunlit dancefloor at a time.
Erykah Badu - Mama Still Knows Best
Despite only three concerts on her current UK tour and her last album's release fifteen years ago, Erykah Badu's impact on Neo-soul and modern R&B is undeniable.
Albums: Lilly Allen West End Girl
Across its 14 tracks, West End Girl explores the collapse and rebuilding of self with remarkable clarity. Songs like Sleepwalking and Ruminating linger in the fog of denial and confusion, while 4Chan Stan reminds us Allen hasn’t lost her sharp-edged humour — it’s sarcastic, pointed, and impeccably timed. Then there’s the title track, glowing with the bittersweet shimmer of a life that once seemed polished from the outside but was fraying underneath.
Albums: The Donner Party
The emotional core of the album lies in its quietest moments — the ones where the band stops winking and just lets the sadness sit. These flashes aren’t sentimental, but they are deeply human. The Donner Party’s greatest trick is how they make bleakness feel gentle. Not comforting, exactly — but familiar. Real. Something already inside you, recognised rather than discovered.
Albums: Laura Evans Out Of The Dark
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Where some modern blues-rock records chase grit as a performance, Evans treats it like gravity — something that pulls everything down to the emotional core. Her voice is both velvet and wildfire: warm enough to soothe, fierce enough to scorch. Every note feels lived-in, a little frayed around the edges, like a favourite jacket that’s been through too many storms.
The Lily Of Killarney – Clarinet Fantasias From England And Ireland
This attractive album is a delightful surprise, and not one just for clarinet enthusiasts—there is much to savour on this impeccably performed disc that will appeal to anyone who enjoys warmth, elegance and the distinctive voice of the clarinet.
Classical Music: Fortissima Raphaela Gromes
One senses the vitality throughout this generously filled double album. The textures and emotions are sustained across both discs, whether in the intimate chamber works with pianist Julian Riem or the orchestral repertoire featured in the second half. There is much to savour here, and Riem's accompaniments are never obtrusive—his well-judged restraint perfectly complements the resonant sonorities of Gromes' cello. Riem's refined touch and gorgeous tone prove every bit as engaging as Gromes' playing.
Classical Music: Chamber Works by Ernest Kanitz
The 1948 Sonata Californiana for alto saxophone and piano makes a fitting conclusion, its Hollywood-inflected finale—complete with bluesy touches—suggesting a composer who had successfully transplanted himself to new soil.
Throughout, the ARC Ensemble perform with their customary polish and rhythmic perspicacity, making a persuasive case for this unjustly neglected figure.
Matilda The Musical Hits The Bradford Stage
The theatrical phenomenon that is Matilda the Musical has swept into Bradford and lit up the stage at The Alhambra. Based on the 1988 Roald Dahl novel Matilda, and wickedly illustrated by Quentin Blake, this is the story of a precocious and hugely intelligent young girl who develops a love of reading, despite her abusive parents and the bonkers headmistress of her school.
In Conversation: Sons Of Town Hall
The transatlantic folk duo and acclaimed podcasters, comprised of British songwriter/producer Ben Parker and American songwriter/author David Berkeley, are set to bring their podcast’s mythical fictional world of adventures and hilarity, featuring their “seamless vocal harmonies” (The Observer), to life on stages across the country next month via a brand new November 2025 UK tour.
Harrogate International Sunday Series 2026
The Harrogate International Sunday Series returns early next year with an exciting new programme of concerts featuring some of the best young talent in classical music, as Harrogate International Festivals celebrates its 60th anniversary.