Monday 25 January 2016

LISTEN: Little Mammoths 'Out For Glory' and 'Way Out West'



Fronted by Matt Owens (bassist of Noah & The Whale), rockers Little Mammoths have recently finished their debut album - and have just put up a couple of tracks online, Out For Glory and Way Out West. After seeing the band play a sort of album preview show back in October, I'm really looking forward to hearing the record, it was a very fun show!

Though I'll be busy at King Charles' London date of his tour, I wish I could make the Little Mammoths headline show at Cargo on 18th Feb, tickets and info are here.

Wednesday 20 January 2016

TOUR NEWS: Frances (May 2016)

Source: https://www.facebook.com/officialfrances
Having recently supported James Bay on tour over in America, been nominated for the Brits Critics' Choice Award, and various other great achievements - 2016 is looking pretty great for Frances. She's currently working on her debut record, and has just announced some UK dates for May, with a show at London's KOKO on 18th May. I first saw Frances on the Communion New Faces tour and since caught a bit of her set at Bushstock, as well as an instore at Truck Store in Oxford, she's a mesmerising performer so get along to a show if you can!

Tickets are on sale on Friday at 9am, with some presale tickets available through DICE here

WATCH: Jack Savoretti - 'Catapult'


2016 has kicked off in style for Jack Savoretti, who's been a favourite of mine for a while. Last Friday saw a slot on Friday night TV with a performance on The Graham Norton Show, his album has since peaked at top 3 on the iTunes chart, and he's got a UK tour coming up across Feb/March. He recently released a new version of his fourth album, Written In Scars, with a couple of new tracks (including Catapult, for which he's just released the above video) and live tracks, and he's gaining more and more success.

The February tour takes in places that were missed on Jack's recent UK tour in October, which means London was missed out on the original announcement, but an acoustic show at Cadogan Hall has recently been announced, which sold out on general sale in under 10 minutes - so I'm feeling very relieved to have got tickets for the show on the presale last week, it's going to be a really special night.

I'm so chuffed that everyone is finally realising how fantastic Jack's music is, and if you haven't listened to him yet then I hugely recommend checking out his latest record. Tour dates/ticket info are on Jack's site here

Friday 15 January 2016

LIVE: Fred Abbott at The Forge (14/1/16)

Last night I saw my first show of the year, and what a great bunch of people and display of live music to be my first! It was the first of Fred Abbott's (ex Noah & The Whale lead guitarist and keys player) three show residency at The Forge in Camden, which continues on the 21st and 28th of January. 

Fred Abbott
First up as support act was Hollie Stephenson who was pretty captivating with just her vocals and an accompanying pianist, she's supporting at the other two shows too - with drums and bass on those shows. Second to play, and bringing the vibe up sharply was Tom Figgins, who I've been aware of for a few years but has been getting some Radio 2 airplay (including a cracking session on Richard Madeley's show last Sunday!) I saw him live a few times last year and hope everything continues to go well for him as he certainly deserves it, and last nights full band performance was superb, and finished off beautifully by a cover of David Bowie's Heroes. 

Tom Figgins
Up next was Fred, joined by his band and kicking off the set as they meant to go on with the guitar solo intro to Learn About Love, a track from his solo record Serious Poke which was released last July. Taking the crowd through most of the record including it's two two singles, Adrenaline Shot and Funny How Good It Feels, we were having as much fun as the band themselves. Fred's Noah bandmate (and easily one of the most talented musicians I've met), Tom Hobden, joined Fred and his band for a few tracks, first playing with them for Awake - easily my favourite from Fred's album, a highlight of which, for me, is Tom's string solo (listen below) so to see them play it live together was a treat! Tom stayed with the band for a couple more songs including a cover of Bruce Springsteen's Atlantic City which featured a beautiful violin solo, after which the audience demanded an encore - "You asked for it!" Fred mocked as he walked back onto the stage. A brilliant night was had by all - will definitely be trying to get along to the show on the 28th as I'll be back in Oxford by then and it'll be easier for me to get to London. 


You can catch Fred Abbott at The Forge in Camden on the 21st and 28th of January, tickets for those shows are here, Hollie Stephenson supports at both dates, with Moxie Kicks and The Villainy supporting at the two dates respectively!

Tuesday 12 January 2016

LISTEN: King Charles - 'Choke'


Without turning into a King Charles appreciation blog... couldn't resist sharing this new track from his upcoming record which premiered online today (having been part of the live set since the tour in Feb last year.) Definitely some light relief in a pretty stress filled day regarding a clash of my modules at uni! Take a listen - and pre-order the record etc (out 22nd Jan!) through Charles' site here.

Thursday 7 January 2016

GIG NEWS: Pixel Fix (Feb 2016)

After selling out London's Waiting Room in December, Pixel Fix announced another London show for February - and they've just added an Oxford date at the O2 Academy 2 on 5th February. As the show is just after I start the next semester at university and my halls are a short walk away from the venue, I'll try and get to the Oxford show. I saw the band on the Communion New Faces tour back in November 2014 (alongside Amber Run, Kimberly Anne and Fyfe) and was impressed by their set and enjoyed their EP but haven't really kept up to date with them since, so it'll be interesting to hear new music!
Source: https://www.facebook.com/pixelfixmusic
Tickets for the Oxford show are on sale from Saturday, and London tickets are available here

WATCH: King Charles 'Animal Desires' for Mahogany


It's been a while but the eagerly anticipated new record from King Charles, entitled Gamble For A Rose, is released two weeks from tomorrow. Taking a look at the tracklist, as many of the tracks are old tracks, including the first that Charles ever wrote, I've heard all but one of the tracks live - so I'm fairly excited to hear New Orleans, as unlike the other tracks, I've no idea what to expect from it. Another track from the record is Animal Desires, which Charles performed for Mahogany Sessions back in 2011, and I can't wait to hear what he, and producer Marcus Mumford, have done with the track. Not long now...

Sunday 3 January 2016

WATCH: Sam Beeton 'My Doll' for Burberry Acoustic

An oldie but a goodie and a brilliant start to the year... After discovering him as the support act the first time I saw The Hoosiers back in May 2011, Sam Beeton has been a constant favourite of mine ever since, and released one of my favourite albums of 2015 last year with his debut, In The Yard. It has been just over 2 years since I last saw Sam live, so I'm hoping that will change soon and that he'll be added to my 2016 gig calendar promptly... which currently contains King CharlesRichard Walters, Busted (!) and Adam Barnes.

This is Sam's track My Doll, filmed for Burberry Acoustic, which I can't quite believe was uploaded nearly 5 years ago!