GIG NEWS: Stornoway at Royal Albert Hall (30th March 2026)

Would it be CMAT if I wasn't just sporadically jumping in to share news I'm excited about? 

Just over eight years ago, I was working on a Stornoway show at Oxford's New Theatre - the last date on their farewell tour. It was triumphant, emotional... they were bowing out on top, for sure - I wrote about it here. Thankfully, the split was short lived, and they're back and better than ever and I've had a brilliant couple of years following them around to some beautiful shows.

On noticing the anniversary of the gig, I messaged Oli, who told me that the band had some news coming, which they'd never have imagined would happen to them all those years ago. I'd just seen Bear's Den at Royal Albert Hall, had a little gush about that and got to thinking what on earth the Storno news could be...

Cut to a few days later and.... oh. 

Stornoway are only going and headlining the Royal Albert Hall next March. 

Wait - what?!!!!!!!!

As you can probably imagine, I am ridiculously excited for this show, which the band have described as once-in-a-lifetime, and 'a journey from sea to summit'. 

"What an honour and a privilege it will be to perform at the country’s most esteemed venue. We will be celebrating our 20th Anniversary with the most special and unique show we’ve ever done, including some very special guests and songs from our career so far. We are going to bring the outside inside, filling the hall with nature, taking you on a wild, musical journey from the open sea through marshes, woodlands and up into the mountains."

See you there?! 

Tickets go on pre-sale tomorrow (Wednesday 26 March) and general sale this Friday (28th). Details on the Royal Albert Hall website here.

ALBUM NEWS: Low Island - 'bird'

Back for my monthly blog post (sorry - I'm trying!!!) with news from this week of some excellent records on the way. I'll try and come back to ramble excitedly about new Christof van der Ven (!!!) and the debut from Jacob Alon but for now - news from friends of the blog and one of my favourite bands Low Island. Their new album bird is busy making its spring migration and will be available to listen to from 29th May - I cannot wait!!! 

The album announcement comes with new track and video spit it out which is below (and, as always, superb).

If you like what you're hearing and want to experience it in the round during album release week, the band are playing a few shows in Bristol, London, Brighton, Manchester and Oxford - tickets here. It has been far too long since I saw them live so I'm hoping I can make one of these or another show later in the year! 

Pre-order your copy of bird here.

Follow Low Island - Instagram.

LISTEN: Flyte - 'I'm Not There'

I've been feeling a little rough lately (haven't we all?!) and those best laid plans of writing more posts here haven't quite come to fruition yet, but I've been enjoying this new one from Flyte and wanted to share. The duo's first new music of the year, I'm Not There is a taster of more to come from a record made with producer Ethan Johns at his home studio and is just beautifully vintage Flyte. I adore them. 

On the process of creating the new track, Will shares:

Although regular therapy and the ever-enlightening practice of songwriting has helped me immensely over the years, a lack of self-love, self-forgiveness, and the baggage of family trauma still hangs around - sometimes heavily.

This song was written under a particularly dense cloud, with a rainy brain. I was draining my subconscious, not present in the slightest. From the few times we’ve played this song live, it’s been noteworthy how male leaning people of all ages have been quick to tell us about their immediate connection to it - make of that what you will.

What may also be interesting to some is that it’s a fully live performance, cut right at the start of the album recording session. We played it once and once only, and that’s all the listener hears bar a single piano added later. Nick, Ethan and I hadn’t played as this trio before and you can hear us introducing ourselves to each other, figuring the whole thing out as we played. Ethan, as well as being a sensational producer/engineer is an experienced, emotionally intelligent drummer, which provided a safety net that allowed us to step blindly into the performance with no preparation.

It’s taught us that there, in that risky place, is where the truth is most easily coaxed out of us.

 

Follow Flyte - Instagram | X | Facebook.

WATCH: Tara Nome Doyle - 'Lighthouse'

"Those who matter won't mind and those who mind don't matter." 

Completely and utterly haunting and beautiful, this one. Tara Nome Doyle is back with Lighthouse, taken from newly announced album Ekko, due via FatCat Records on 11th April. The track is currently sitting atop my acoustic/folk/chilled playlist for the year alongside songs from Hayden Thorpe, lilo and Martin Luke Brown and I can't get enough of it. 

On the track, Tara shares: "I wrote ‘Lighthouse’ for a friend who was going through a difficult time. I saw myself in her struggles to please everyone while neglecting her own needs. This song is meant to be a warm embrace, offering reassurance and gentle encouragement. The mantra ‘those who matter won’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter’ has guided me through my lowest moments, and it felt meaningful to share it through this song. I hope it reaches someone who needs to hear it, remember it and repeat it."

Pre-order/ pre-save Ekko here.

Follow Tara Nome Doyle - Instagram | Facebook

WATCH: Christof van der Ven - 'rock salt / driftwood'

All hail our indie-folk king, Christof van der Ven. A long-time firm favourite artist of the blog and a generally lovely person, I'm always delighted when he shares some new music. This morning I found new track rock salt / driftwood waiting for me on my morning commute and very much enjoyed, before taking a dive into his recent releases. What's In It For remains a beaaaaaut of a track. 

The new one follows recent tracks polaroid and For The Ages and is taken (I think... optimistically) from an as yet unannounced new album, which I'm expecting might arrive later this year. (I can speak it into existence, right?) 

If the live video above whets you're appetite, Christof is headed out on tour in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and England in May, with a show at London's Sebright Arms on 8th May. Full dates and tickets are available here.

While I'm here, I also have to direct your attention to this stunning performance of We Didn't Know We Were Ready from Christof, Ólafur Arnalds, The Staves, Memorial, Dermot Kennedy, Niamh Regan and more on RTÉ in honour of their friend Eoin French, who released music as Talos. Truly one of the most moving things I've seen in a long time.

Follow Christof van der Ven - Facebook | Instagram.