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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...
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
DROPKICK MURPHYS
Proud though they unquestionably are of their punk credentials, the Dropkick Murphys are equally comfortable acknowledging the influence which bands like The Rolling Stones and AC/DC have had on their music.
Although more than a quarter of a century old now, the Massachusetts six-piece remain as popular today as they’ve ever been - if not more so, in fact - and are stopping off in Birmingham as part of a European tour.
O2 Academy, Birmingham, Tuesday 4 February
THE RIFLES
Indie outfit The Rifles are promising to bring recently released album Love Your Neighbour’s ‘sunbeam of optimism’ to the darkest spell of the year when they stop off in Stoke this month.
Establishing themselves as a band to keep tabs on with their first two albums, the Chingford four-piecehave been making music since the mid-noughties, taking their inspiration from numerous diverse sources, including The Clash, The Jam and 1990s Britpop.
The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent, Wednesday 5 February
FAIRPORT CONVENTION
Given that seminal album Liege & Lief is hailed as having been the inspiration for the electric folk movement, it’s hardly surprising that Fairport Convention are considered to be one of English folk rock’s most important groups. Founded in 1967, the band have, at various times, boasted some of the country’s most talented musicians. The current line-up features founding member Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals, Dave Pegg on bass guitar, Ric Sanders on violin, and Chris Leslie on fiddle, mandolin and vocals. They will be joined on stage by former member Dave Mattacks (on drums).
New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Wednesday 12 February
THE RILLS
Described by Clash as indie-rock rabble-rousers and lauded by the NME for their energetic anthems and poetic vulnerability, The Rills hail from Lincolnshire, live in London and are visiting the Midlands this month in support of their recently released album, Don’t Be A Stranger. Coming to prominence during the pandemic, the boys are evolving their sound at a frenetic pace, so it might not be too long before well-established comparisons with, among others, The Libertines become obsolete.
Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, Thursday 13 February; Albert’s Shed, Shrewsbury, Thursday 20 February
CYNDI LAUPER
“There’s no book on ‘how to be famous for dummies,’” says Cyndi Lauper, who, at 71, retains her New York drawl. “You just do what you can. All of a sudden, you get to the top of the mountain and everybody around is like, ‘You can’t do that! Don’t do this! You’ll be ruined!’”
Never a woman to rest on her laurels, Cyndi has always been ready to risk ruination - why else would she have bravely taken the plunge into musical theatre by writing hit show Kinky Boots? However, it would appear that she is, now, finally, intending to take her foot off the pedal somewhat, having announced that her current tour will be her last-ever major one. It’s also her first all-arena tour since True Colors way back in 1986.
Expect all the hits, including Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (from which the tour is taking its title) and Time After Time.
bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, Friday 14 February
DREADZONE
Presenting an eclectic fusion of dub, reggae, techno, folk and rock music, Dreadzone formed in 1993, during their early years employing backing vocalists who included Melanie Blatt, Denise van Outen and Alison Goldfrapp. Their sophomore album, 1995’s Second Light, was vigorously championed by the legendary John Peel, who cited it as one of his favourite records of all time... They visit Wolverhampton this month in support of their most recent official studio album, Nine.
Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton, Saturday 15 February
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
Kentucky rockers Cage The Elephant formed in 2006, moved to London two years later, and released their debut album shortly after settling on this side of the Atlantic.
They’ve since released a further five records, including last year’s Neon Pill, the title track of which has a chance of winning the Best Alternative Music Performance award at this month’s Grammys.
The Civic at The Halls Wolverhampton, Sunday 16 February
HINDS
Black Lips, The Parrots, The Strokes and The Vaccines feature on the list of artists who Hinds credit as major influences on their sound.
Themselves likened to, among others, Velvet Underground and The Pastels, the Spanish indie rock duo - featuring Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote - are stopping off at the Castle & Falcon in support of their fourth studio album, Viva Hinds, which was released to significant acclaim last autumn.
Castle & Falcon, Birmingham, Tuesday 18 February
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; Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Wednesday 26 February
LOLA YOUNG
South East London troubadour Lola Young is racking up the milestones like they’re going out of fashion.
From signing her first deal by the age of 18 and releasing her first body of work a year later, she then bagged a nomination for the Brits’ Rising Star Award in 2021 and was chosen as the voice of the much-loved John Lewis Christmas advert that very same year. She released her first studio album in 2023 and took the US by storm last year.
Lola is visiting Birmingham in support of her second studio album, This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway.
O2 Institute, Birmingham, Thursday 27 February
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