Some days of live music are just … meh. This definitely wasn’t one of them. REVIEW AND PICS: SARA-LOUISE BOWREY For one perfectly glorious summer’s day, Preston Park became Brighton’s beating heart, as Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds assembled a line-up that felt like a carefully curated journey through the leftfield corners of music’s…
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Twenty years (jumping one for COVID) after Latitude first appeared in a Suffolk field promising an alternative to Glastonbury and something rather harder to define than another weekend of bands and beer, critics returned from its 2026 birthday edition broadly happy, always dusty, sometimes conflicted, and unable to agree whether the festival has lost some…
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Some festivals run like clockwork and as a result fade quickly from your memory. WORDS John Bownas, PICTURES Sara-Louise Bowrey 2000trees 2026 on the other hand lost a headliner, roasted several thousand people under a Gloucestershire sun that melted tent pegs the way Uri Geller used to disfigure spoons, and still crowdsurfed away into the…
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Look towards the top of the 2000Trees 2026 poster and you’ll find some serious alternative-rock pedigree. Between Alkaline Trio, Funeral for a Friend and Sunny Day Real Estate, Upcote Farm will host bands that have spent decades honing their craft. These are acts with finely tuned productions, carefully balanced sound and sets built to fill…
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Three Bands to Watch at 2000trees Festival Festival line-ups are vast, and it’s easy to spend so much time debating clashes between familiar names that the potential for smaller discoveries means they slip past unnoticed. But stumbling across an unknown band in a crowded tent, then emerging convinced everyone else needs to hear them, remains…
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What is it that threads a path between Opus Kink, Adult DVD, Westside Cowboy, Getdown Services, Fujiya and Miyagi, Chemical Brothers, The Fall, Mekons, Big Special, and Sprints? Oh… and I should add Kid Kapichi, GANS and SNAYX to that list from my own human perspective. Well according to the Spotify AI ‘song radio’ feature…
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Twenty years in, and The Great Escape still feels like a window into the future of live music. Words and pictures by Sara-Louise Bowrey From 13–16 May, Brighton once again transformed into the world’s biggest new music playground as over 450 artists descended on the city for the landmark 20th edition of the festival. Originally…
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No Glastonbury? No Problem! Guilfest 2026 is Here to Save Your Summer With Glastonbury taking a well-earned rest this year, the pressure is on for the UK’s festival scene to deliver the goods. Stepping up to the plate with an absolutely massive lineup is Guilfest! Returning for its triumphant 26th year, the ultimate family festival…
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Crystal Palace Park offers a unique summer gig experience in London, combining festival atmosphere without the hassle of camping. Hosting legendary performances since the 1970s, the 2026 series features artists like Two Door Cinema Club, Kneecap, The Offspring, Snow Patrol, and Alanis Morissette, attracting eager fans and selling out rapidly.
Words and video by John Bownas, Photos by Sara-Louise Bowrey PHOTO GALLERIES 3 Daft Monkeys – A Certain Ratio – Anarchistwood – Au Pairs – Bad Nerves – BCUC – Beans on Toast – Big Special – Chalk – CMAT – EMF – Everything Everything – Fat Dog – Ferocious Dog – GANS – Garbage…
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The BBC recently heralded Getdown Services as “possibly the best band/musicians to come out of Minehead.” It’s a bold claim, though a quick look at the Somerset coastal town’s musical exports reveals their fiercest competition mainly consists of esteemed 20th-century cathedral organists like Peter Hurford and John Langdon (or perhaps local pub-rock veterans, Rough Justice). Still, taking the crown as Minehead’s…
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Words by Nick Linzasoro, Photos by Sara-Louise Bowrey It’s been quite some time since I’ve visited the compact gem that is The Folklore Rooms, which is centrally located a stone’s throw from Brighton’s Main Clocktower. I find myself here in order to check out a live rendition of tracks from the debut long player by…
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If you’re gearing up for The Great Escape 2026 here are some of the bands who the previews and tastemakers are already highlighting as a fantastic mix of global exports, genre-benders, and local heroes. Headlining Buzz & Global Exports Standouts from the ‘First Fifty’ Showcases The Experimental & Genre-Benders Brighton Hometown Heroes
LIME GARDEN + HOTWAX + LONNIE GUNN + MAGDA (1999) – Green Door Store, BRIGHTON 19 April 2026 Words: Peter Greenfield, Photos: Sara-Louise Bowrey Brighton’s Green Door Store threw its first ever outdoor party like it had been waiting all winter for the excuse. The Trafalgar Arches turned into a sun‑drenched mini‑festival: cold drinks sweating…
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Nova Twins + BEX + Venus Grrrls, Chalk Brighton, Friday 13 March 2026 Words: PETER GREENFIELD, Pictures: SARA-LOUISE BOWREY Nova Twins launched the opening night of their 2026 UK and EU tour in support of their new album ‘Parasites & Butterflies’ in Brighton. The London duo of Amy Love and Georgia South have built a…
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We just stumbled on this great little animated romp through the psychedelic ’70s free festival scene and spoke to it’s creator, Jude Montague, about the project. The free festivals of the 1970s were full of sensory experiences. I did manage to pop in to Glastonbury but the local one up north was Deeply Vale with…
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Brighton’s Chalk got the full‑blast treatment as HotWax wrapped up the UK leg of their UK/EU tour on home‑turf. Words: Peter Greenfield, Pics: (from the London leg of the tour) Sara-Louise Bowrey HotWax HotWax closed out the UK leg of their 22 date UK/EU tour in support of their acclaimed debut album, “Hot Shock” with…
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Camden Underworld, Thursday 5th February 2026 (words and pictures by Sara-Louise Bowrey) Camden Underworld is the kind of venue that doesn’t let you stay passive. It’s a room that demands sweat, noise, and something real happening right in front of you. On a cold Thursday night in January, it got exactly that. HotWax’s biggest London…
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The Great Escape Festival 2026 is already shaping up a weekend where your favourite playlist gets mugged in a back alley and replaced with something somewhat more relevant. This batch of artists is a snapshot of where “new music” actually lives right now: in the gaps between genres, in DIY corners, and in the moments…
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If rock’n’roll was a house party, it was the late 70s were that awkward moment arrived and someone carelessly spilled a drink on the stereo just as the neighbours started banging on the shared wall, and everyone realized that what they thought of as ‘grown-up’ music had gone just a wee bit bit beige. Then…
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Future Sounds, Real Tickets: Catch Our 2025 Festival Finds Live in 2026 Every festival season has that moment: you’re wandering between stages with a lukewarm pint and a “maybe we’ll just go home” posture… and then a band snaps the whole weekend into focus. A hook lands. A crowd lurches forward. You look at your…
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Bearded Theory 2026 Preview: Derbyshire’s Beloved Bank Holiday Break-Out Each spring, as fields across the UK thaw out and come to life, one festival noisily blossoms with an irresistible blend of music, community and creative spirit. Bearded Theory has grown from humble beginnings behind a village pub in 2008 to one of Britain’s most cherished…
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Brixton Academy 2026: bass pressure, guitar bite, and big-room catharsis If Brighton Dome’s diary is a beautifully curated mixtape, Brixton Academy’s upcoming run is a full-volume festival in a single room: drum & bass history lessons, electronic royalty, punk-ska chaos, indie icons doing victory laps (without turning into tribute acts), and one seriously heavy metal…
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Brighton Dome 2026: a run of gigs that covers shanties, synths, swagger and symphonies Brighton Dome’s upcoming diary reads like someone spilled a record collection down a staircase and decided to book the whole thing. There’s post-rock you can get lost in, dancefloor royalty, literate indie, big-voiced pop-soul, folk with a horn section the size…
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Green Door Store Continues Birthday Festivities with Another Standout Night Celebrations for the Green Door Store’s 15th birthday rolled on with a second free showcase, this time bringing three acts that spanned warmth, atmosphere and full‑throttle intensity. Little Grandad eased the room in with their tender indie‑Americana, Goodbye expanded the space with immersive vocal soundscapes,…
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Stroll through Hastings in any month of the year and you’ll find something happening—from chess masters locked in deep concentration to clownish pirates strutting along the promenade. The “town” is, of course, technically two towns in one borough. Hastings itself is a contrasting pair: an Old Town and a New Town sitting cheek-by-jowl, while just…
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Brighton’s beloved Green Door Store marked its 15th birthday with the first of four free celebratory events. Three acts, three completely different energies: the introspective grit of Lonnie Gunn, the jagged dance indie chaos of Lemonsuckr, and the shadow-soaked experimentalism of Silver Gore. [Words Peter Greenfield, Photos, Sara-Louise Bowrey, Video, John Bownas] Lonnie Gunn New…
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HotWax Set to Bring Hot Shock to the Stage on Major 2026 Tour Hastings rock trio HotWax are gearing up for a significant 22-date headline tour in January and February 2026, marking their biggest run yet in support of their acclaimed debut album, Hot Shock. Released in March 2025, the album has cemented the band’s…
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GuilFest is officially back from the dead and ready to reclaim its spot on the UK festival map, dropping a seriously bonkers lineup that mixes disco royalty with Scottish folk-punk legends. Set for Stoke Park in Guildford on July 4th and 5th, 2026, this is the moment the Surrey weekender regains its crown. Saturday night…
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Times might be tough, but festival culture is stretching confidently into 2026, and the sense of momentum is unmistakable. That forward motion is captured neatly by Screen Daily’s regularly updated global film festivals and markets calendar, which has become essential reading for anyone tracking the international cultural circuit. As dates for Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto…
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The 2026 festival calendar is shaping up with both nostalgia and new names. Sadly, one long-lived local tradition has ended as Grand Rapids’ Festival of the Arts closes after 55 years of performances, community workshops, art and music, marking a poignant moment for fans and volunteers who grew up with the event. From endings to…
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A night capturing the future of British alternative Words and Pictures by Sara-Louise Bowrey The Brighton Centre has seen more than its share of landmark shows, but this one carried a particular charge. With Imogen and the Knife stepping confidently into the support slot and the rapidly rising The Last Dinner Party headlining, it felt…
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Rockaway Beach has almost done it again – this winter’s edition is down to its final handful of tickets. The UK’s favourite indoors-in-January alternative weekender has pretty much sold out, but if you move fast there’s still a last-chance window to grab a room for you and family or friends and start the new year…
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Multiple Venues, Brighton Words by Sara-Louise Bowrey with some by Peter Greenfoeld, all pics by Sara… Brighton’s Mutations Festival returned in 2025 with two days of thrilling unpredictability — a wild, city-wide circuit of punk, noise, experimental catharsis, and quiet, introspective gems. Its real magic lies in the contrast: hushed, intimate moments in one venue,…
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Friday 28 November** words and pictures by Sara-Louise Bowrey A Night of Pure, Unhinged Joy Snapped Ankles didn’t just play The Piper on Friday night — they lit the place up from the moment they emerged in their trademark woodland get-ups. One second the room was buzzing with anticipation, the next it was a sweaty,…
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With only 25% of tickets left and installment plans available to soften the financial blow (your bank account can stop hyperventilating now), Truck Festival has a frankly outrageous set of artists lined up for 23–26 July 2026. If you needed an excuse to escape to Hill Farm next summer, consider this your cosmic sign. The…
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Brighton Centre – 16 NovemberWith Sofia Camara & Nadia Sheikh Words and pictures by Sara-Louise Bowrey Arriving at the Brighton Centre on 16th November, the loyalty of Bastille’s fanbase was impossible to miss. By early evening, fans snaked around the venue — some having queued since 9am, many following multiple dates of the tour. Among…
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Two consecutive nights in London and Brighton revealed Gary Numan at his most intense, most vulnerable, and most deeply connected to his audience. The Telekon 45th anniversary tour was always expected to carry weight — but with the loss of his younger brother only days ago, these shows became something more. There were moments when…
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Here’s a feral, loud-eyed, slightly-unhinged review of the new PWEI album — loose, human, with typical PWEI energy. I’ve tried to let it breathe, snarl and punch as close to the band’s spirit as I can manage, adding a little swagger and sneer for good measure. Author: John Bownas PWEI’s Delete Everything: Smash the Reset,…
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Brighton’s Chalk hosted two of the UK’s most inventive acts: Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, fusing art‑rock intensity with poetic lyricism, and The Orielles, blending indie rock with disco grooves and cosmic textures. Together they brought sonic brightness to a dimly lit Chalk stage, balancing invention with emotion and showcasing confident evolution. Words: Peter Greenfield.…
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