With a number of the UK’s biggest and most impressive venues in our patch, we Midlanders are guaranteed a chance to see some of the music industry’s brightest stars as they tour the country. Our grass-roots music scene is super-cool, too. Here’s a selection of gigs worth grabbing a ticket for over the next few weeks...  

VICTORIES AT SEA

Local lads Victories At Sea formed back in 2010 and earned plenty of praise for their first full-length record, Everything Forever.  Fusing a vivacious combination of brutalist electronic hooks, soaring post-punk guitars and dolorous wordplay, the band have been championed by the likes of the NME, the Guardian, BBC Introducing and Radio X’s John Kennedy.

Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, Tuesday 17 December

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DAN OWEN

When Shropshire lad Dan Owen released his debut album, Stay Awake With Me, back in 2018, he felt like he’d come to the end of a long journey. “It’s what I’ve been working for since I first picked up a guitar at the age of eight,” he said. “A lot has happened since then, and the songs on my album cover some of the high and low points, both for me and for some of those closest to me.”
The six years since he released the record have seen him significantly swell his fanbase and work methodically on increasing his output, his winning brand of gritty, blues-infused pop/rock being beautifully served by his arresting and husky vocals. 

Shrewsbury Abbey, Tuesday 17 & Wednesday 18 December

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THE AMY WINEHOUSE BAND

Amy Winehouse’s friend, long-term musical director & bass player Dale Davis here leads the late singer’s original band in a ‘joyful and emotional’ celebration of her songbook. 

Fronted by vocalist Bronte Shandé and coming complete with on-screen visuals and unique footage, the show is being promoted (and not without good reason) as ‘the only completely authentic reimagining of the Amy Winehouse sound’.

Birmingham Town Hall, Wednesday 18 December

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ST AGNES FOUNTAIN

Fairport Convention’s Chris Leslie once again teams up with multi-award-winning duo Chris While and Julie Matthews to perform a concert celebrating the festive season. The trio have been presenting ‘carols with a curve’ for more than 20 years - alongside David Hughes until 2020 - and are visiting the Midlands having recently released brand-new album Christmas Starts With…St Agnes Fountain Live.  

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Wednesday 18 December

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THE TWANG

The Twang were signed in 2007 and lauded as Britain’s best new band by NME, enjoying great success with debut album Love It When I Feel Like This, which reached number three in the charts. They followed it up with Jewellery Quarter in 2009 - and it’s in celebration of that record’s 15th anniversary that they’re currently touring. 
The boys will be performing the album in full for the very first time, alongside ‘all the favourites and a few surprises’.  

O2 Academy, Birmingham, Saturday 21 December

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BAD MANNERS

Long in the tooth they may be, but English 2 Tone ska wizards Bad Manners still command a significant following around the globe. Very much a novelty act, courtesy in the main of the on-stage antics of bald-headed frontman Buster Bloodvessel, they spent the early-1980s vying for chart positions with fellow ska revival bands Madness, The Specials and The Selecter. 
Hit albums include Gosh It’s... Bad Manners, Loonee Tunes! and Ska’n’B.

KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, Friday 27 December

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ALISON RAYNER QUINTET

Richly nuanced compositions, rhythmic interplay and folk-infused melodies are a cast-iron guarantee when the Angela Rayner Quintet combine their many and varied talents. 
Making music with a strong sense of narrative and an unmistakably cinematic quality, bassist & composer Alison is joined by Diane McLoughlin (saxophone), Dierdre Cartwright (guitar), Steve Lodder (piano) and Buster Birch (drums) to play what they term ‘songs without words’.

The Hive, Shrewsbury, Saturday 11 January

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THE SLIVER LINES

To provide some understanding of what they’re all about, The Silver Lines ask the uninitiated to imagine wearing a scratchy, hand-knitted sweater and playing flat-out rock & roll music in a stuffy and dilapidated English country cottage. 

The Birmingham four-piece was formed by Dan and Joe Ravenscroft. Uninspired by the landscape of guitar music at the time, the brothers decided to create a sound that ‘turned them on’. 

A recent decision to shift away from being ‘just another all-white male indie group’ has seen them eschew songs about teenage love and rants containing empty pseudo prophetic quotes. Instead, they’ve chosen to tackle a range of taboo topics - from toxic masculinity and learnt behaviours from past generations, to an exploration of personal experiences which aims to connect with the listener on a much deeper level.​

hmv Empire, Coventry, Friday 17 January

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STORMO

Italian screamo/post-hardcore favourites Stormo include hardcore punk luminaries La Quiete and Raein among their heroes, also citing 80s & 90s cult bands Negazione, Wretched and Indigesti as significant influences. Originating in the Dolomite Alps region of Italy, the four-piece have travelled far and wide since coming together 20 years ago, amassing hundreds of appearances across Europe and in the UK... They’re joined on the bill in Coventry by three-piece feminist queercore band Shooting Daggers and local hardcore punk group Grail Guard.

The Tin Music & Arts, Coventry, Friday 17 January

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MARTYN JOSEPH

There’s a versatility to Martyn Joseph’s music that makes it difficult to categorise. Many have tried, resulting in labels such as folk, rock, soul, folk-funk and Americana all being applied to his sound.
With a career spanning 40-plus years and 27 studio albums, over half a million record sales and thousands of live performances under his belt, Martyn’s overwhelming passion, unique percussive style and powerful, showstopping voice make for a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable live show. 

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Thursday 23 January; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Saturday 25 January

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LAURENCE JONES

Liverpool-born blues rock guitarist Laurence Jones has long been critically acclaimed, with a host of awards and a career that’s seen him sharing stages with, among others, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr and Status Quo, testifying to the high regard in which he is held within the music industry.

“I grew up with the blues, and my playing is very bluesy,” Laurence told Uncut, “but my themes are more contemporary and my songwriting is very diverse. I’m trying to bring a younger audience into the blues, because it can be very purist, but for me, it’s all about the songwriting, the solos and playing my guitar. That’s what excites me.”  

The Station, Cannock, Friday 24 January

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NECK DEEP

Naming Architects and A Day To Remember as bands from whom they’ve taken their inspiration, Welsh pop-punk favourites Neck Deep have been stirring things up for over a decade now. Last year releasing their fifth album, the boys stop off at the O2 this month with latest and imaginatively titled touring show, Dumbstruck Dumbf**k.   

O2 Academy, Birmingham, Friday 24 January

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MG BOULTER

Although well established on the UK music scene, MG Boulter prefers to steer clear of labelling himself. 
“I never really think of my music as sitting in one genre or another,” he told the website pennyblackmusic. “I was described as Americana, but this changed to folk as the trends changed. I’m most comfortable with ‘singer-songwriter’ because that’s what I see myself as. I write songs, I play guitar, and in the studio I can make those songs whatever I want them to be.”

Temperance, Leamington Spa, Sunday 26 January

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LIVINGSTON

Diagnosed with autism at the age of 10 and bullied at school, Drake Jon Livingston Jr’s path through life has been littered with challenges. Music provided an outlet for his emotions during those troubled earlier years, and after developing his keyboard skills, he started posting covers on Tik Tok. 

He has since blossomed into an alt-pop-music maverick, crafting songs which are positively teeming with film-worthy orchestration and sky-high hooks. 

O2 Institute, Birmingham, Monday 27 January

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JOHN CRAIGIE

Expressive and stirring songcraft, emotionally charged vocals, lively soundscapes and uncontainable spirit combine in the output of American folk-music troubadour John Craigie, whose Birmingham gig this month will no doubt see him performing material from his most recent album, Pagan Church. 

“The music is always evolving and devolving with each new record,” explains John. “With my [previous] album, Mermaid Salt, I really wanted to explore the sound of isolation and solitude as everyone was heading inside [due to the Covid lockdown]. With Pagan Church, I wanted to record the sound of everyone coming back out.”  

Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, Monday 27 January

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NIGHT SWIMMING

While they’re happy to give a nod in the direction of, among others, Wolf Alice, Daughter and Warpaint when it comes to artists who have influenced them, it’s dream-pop band Night Swimming’s love of film that lies behind the creation of their signature sound; a style of music that comes complete with a cinematic aesthetic. 

Hailing from Somerset, the band are drawn to music that is atmospheric in nature, revelling in their exploration of ‘the darker nuances of human experience’.   

Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, Tuesday 28 January

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THE K'S

The quality and popularity of indie rock four-piece The K’s escapist anthems - coming complete with infectious melodies, gritty guitar riffs and raw-sounding vocals - has seen them achieve cult status. 
And now they’re going mainstream. Last year saw the Merseyside quartet reach number three in the charts with their debut album (behind only The Libertines and Beyonce). They were also named breakthrough act of the year at the Northern Music Awards.  

“We’ve crafted our own sound,” says vocalist & guitarist Jamie Boyle. “Even if I’m not singing, you’ll know it’s a K’s song. We want to leave a legacy; to be more than just a band. I’ve seen it with my dad’s love of The Jam, where it becomes a lifestyle for people... 

“We want to be about so much more than just listening to the music.”

Keele University SU, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Thursday 30 January

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BOYZLIFE

Take a member of 90s & noughties boyband supergroup Boyzone and a member of 90s & noughties boyband supergroup Westlife, put them together and what do you get?...

Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden forming middle-aged-man duo Boyzlife, that’s what! 
The fun-loving fellas first came together almost a decade ago and are now once again reuniting for a global tour, including this late-month Symphony Hall gig. 

The show will see the dynamic Dubliners perform a mixture of hits from those heady boyband days, including Boyzone’s I Love The Way You Love Me, All That I Need and No Matter What, and Westlife’s My Love, I Lay My Love On You and Uptown Girl.   

They return to the Midlands this spring to play The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury.

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thursday 30 January; The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury, Thursday 8 May

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WET WET WET

Although Wet Wet Wet are best remembered for having topped the charts for a record-busting 15 weeks back in the mid-1990s with Love Is All Around, their success story stretches way beyond a single number-one song, with the group having amassed plenty of top-40 hits and sold millions of records... The current line-up features founding member Graeme Clark, longstanding guitarist Graeme Duffin and frontman Kevin Simm. They’re joined for this Potteries gig by Heather Small, who rose to fame as lead vocalist of M People.

Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Friday 31 January

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BULLETT FOR MY VALENTINE & TRIVIUM

Old friends coming together to celebrate a significant birthday is the story behind this concert. Pals for a good while, Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium are both marking the 20th anniversary of a significant album - in the former’s case, The Poison, in the latter’s, Ascendancy. It’s therefore no surprise that, having decided to hit the road together for the first-ever time, they’ve decided to call the tour The Poisoned Ascendancy! 

Both iconic albums will be played in full, with support coming from Orbit Culture.

Utilita Arena Birmingham, Friday 31 January

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THE REZILLOS

Following their inception in the mid-1970s,  Edinburgh band The Rezillos ripped into the music scene through a shared love of 60s garage rock. 

Emerging at the same time as other punk-rock groups, the band separated themselves from their contemporaries by choosing to strike a more lighthearted tone in their songs. Despite still touring, they’ve only ever released two full-length albums - Can’t Stand The Rezillos in 1978 and Zero in 2015.

Leamington Assembly, Friday 31 January

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SETH LAKEMAN

Starting out in the 1990s alongside brothers Sam and Sean, Seth Lakeman boldly stepped into the solo spotlight in 2002, immediately finding an audience with debut album The Punch Bowl. 
He then made even more of a splash with his sophomore offering... Released in 2004, Kitty Jay bagged him a Mercury Music Prize nomination and cemented his reputation as a performer of extraordinary talent. 
His Worcester stop-off this month comes as part of an autumn tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Kitty Jay.

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Monday 24 February

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​ELKIE BROOKS

With an impressive 60-plus years in the music industry behind her and 20 albums under her belt, Elkie Brooks quite rightly continues to hold the title of British Queen of Blues. 
Having kicked off her new tour, The Long Farewell, at Shrewsbury Folk Festival back in the summer, she’s this month returning to the town to present a gig featuring all her greatest hits, including Pearl’s A Singer, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Don’t Cry Out Loud and Sunshine After The Rain.

Birmingham Town Hall, Friday 28 February

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