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 MOLOTOVS

From busking on the streets of London at the end of lockdown to garnering praise from such industry behemoths as The Libertines and Paul Weller, teenage siblings The Molotovs have moved at an impressive pace to establish themselves as a real force to be reckoned with on the UK music scene. Generating a distinctive sound via a winning combination of raw and gritty guitar riffs, punchy basslines, and riptide percussion, the London-based creatives have played more than 600 gigs in just a handful of years, a statistic which reflects their unbridled passion for performing live...

They visit the Potteries this month in support of debut album Wasted On Youth, slated for release exactly a week after their Sugarmill gig.    

The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent, Friday 23 January

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THE BLUETONES

Cast your mind back to the 1990s and you may recall that The Bluetones were teetering on the edge of Britpop greatness. 

So what went wrong?... Well, fate can sometimes deal a dodgy hand to those aspiring to musical greatness, and so it proved with The Bluetones. To give them their due, though, they’ve gamely battled on across the ensuing decades and enjoyed modest success on the touring circuit. 

They’re unlikely to win over any new fans at this stage in proceedings, but the existing ones are unlikely to desert them either.

Artisan Tap, Stoke-on-Trent, Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 January

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MARTYN JOSEPH

Modern folk artist Martyn Joseph is a unique performer who is driven by passion, social awareness, and an abiding love for his trade.

“Really, what I do is try to write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time,” explains Martyn, whose career has spanned 40-plus years, during which time he’s made 27 studio albums and accumulated more than half a million record sales. “A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Sunday 25 January; Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Thursday 29 January

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MON ROVÎA

With a sound that effectively blends indie-folk, Americana, and shoegaze pop stylings, Liberia-born TikTok star Mon Rovîa is reinventing Appalachian folk for a new generation. And he’s doing so from an unusual perspective, too - a Black West African, adopted by white Christian missionaries and taken from his homeland during a violent civil war. 

“Kids that have my experience are very lonely, you know?” he told the website BGS. “A Black person that spoke white - because I spoke pretty properly - there’s not really a place you fit. You don’t fit with the white kids because you’re Black in their eyes, clearly. And then the African Americans don’t accept you because you don’t know their world either.”  

O2 Institute, Birmingham, Monday 26 January

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KAIA KATER

Rich and low tenor vocals, jazz-influenced instrumentation, and beautifully understated banjo provide the fuel for the musical output of Montreal-born Grenadian-Canadian Kaia Kater, whose lush songwriting sees her draw on influences rooted in Quebec, Appalachia and the Caribbean. 

Kaia’s 2024 album, Strange Medicine, was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. 

Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham Tuesday 27 January

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KROOKED TONGUE

Modern alt-rock favourites like Death From Above, Highly Suspect and Royal Blood are among the bands to have influenced and inspired Bristol-based underground rock trio Krooked Tongue, who’ve steadily been making a name for themselves since the release of their critically acclaimed debut EP, No Vacancy Hotel, a few years back. 

Their late-month Worcester stop-off comes in advance of debut studio album I Know A Place, currently slated for release on Friday 24 April.   

Drummonds Bar, Worcester, Tuesday 27 January

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OSLO TWINS

“Although our music is both melodic and melancholic,” explain Oslo Twins’ Eric Davies and Claudia Vulliamy, “it’s also subtly influenced by dance, industrial and lo-fi music of the 1980s and 90s. But our melodies are pop melodies - we always like to have a hook.”

The Bristolian dream pop/trip-hop group stop off in Birmingham late this month as part of a short UK tour.  

The Victoria, Birmingham, Tuesday 27 January

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THE ORIELLES

The Orielles’ origin story is an unusual one. Coming together at a Halifax house party, they decided to form a band - even though sisters Esme and Sidonie Hand-Halford couldn’t actually play any instruments... “We decided, why not make a band,” Esme told Yorkshire Live. “We all got on and had the same idea about how we wanted to sound. When we first started out, we were much more of a post-punk band - the surf-pop sound came about as we naturally developed.” 

The Tin At The Coal Vaults, Coventry, Wednesday 28 January

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LUCINDA WILLIAMS

Lucinda Williams’ Town Hall concert comes in support of latest studio album World’s Gone Wrong, a battle-cry offering in which the three-time Grammy Award winner aims ‘to confront America’s socio-political chaos head-on’... The album is the Louisiana-born singer-songwriter’s 16th, released 47 years after debut offering Ramblin’ On My Mind whispered her arrival on the traditional country & blues scene. 

Birmingham Town Hall, Thursday 29 January

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THE GOLDEN DREGS

Tugging a forelock in the direction of the Velvet Underground, Cornwall band The Golden Dregs - led by baritone Benjamin Woods - boast an Americana-infused sound and wrap their music around some delightfully dark and funny lyrics. 

This Hare & Hounds gig provides further opportunity for the talented six-piece to hone their live act - their performances can sometimes feel a little bit awkward and in need of some sharper stage choreography.

Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, Thursday 29 January

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SOPHIE LLOYD

 

Four million followers across her social channels and more than 180 million views on YouTube is testament to the irrefutable fact that Sophie Lloyd’s star is most definitely in the ascendant. 

Highlights of her still-blossoming career have included touring globally as guitarist for Machine Gun Kelly and receiving a host of rave reviews for her debut album, Imposter Syndrome, released back in 2023. 
Sophie is joined on the bill at KK’s by punk rocker Bex.     

KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, Friday 30 January

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ROB LAMBERTI PRESENTS: PERFECTLY GEORGE

Now here’s a show that no self-respecting George Michael fan will want to miss. Quality counterfeit Rob Lamberti’s homage to the late superstar-singer features music from across George’s career - from the high-energy 80s pop of Wham!, all the way through to some of the best-known numbers from his time as a solo artist. 

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Saturday 31 January