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...  

ELBOW

Across 20-plus years and 10 studio albums, Manchester band Elbow have scored some massive successes, in the process winning, among other coveted gongs, three Ivor Novellos, a Mercury Music Prize and a Brit Award.
Comprising lead singer Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter, Pete Turner and - joining this year - touring & session drummer Alex Reeves, the band boast a well-deserved reputation for delivering shows that combine scale with intimacy... This month’s Ludlow concert features special guests Villagers, Nadine Shah and Katherine Priddy.     

Ludlow Castle, Friday 26 July

GUY DAVIS

“There is no tale so tall that I cannot tell it, nor song so sweet that I cannot sing it.” 
So says two-time back-to-back Grammy nominee Guy Davis, a man whose lyrical storytelling sees him blend roots, blues, folk, rock, rap, spoken word and world music to comment on and address the frustrations of social injustice.
Guy is joined for this Worcester gig by US guitarist Michael Roach, a well-respected performer who promotes African American culture through the use of blues music.

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Saturday 27 July

ALKALINE TRIO

Sweet melodies and stark, unflinching lyrics are combined to excellent effect in the output of grungey punk rockers Alkaline Trio. The 27-year-old Chicago band visit Birmingham this month in support of 10th album Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs, a follow-up offering to 2018’s Is This Thing Cursed?.

O2 Institute, Birmingham, Wednesday 31 July

SKIDS

Green Day and Manic Street Preachers are among the bands whose influences include Skids, the legendary Scottish punk rockers who rose to stardom in the late 1970s and scored a still-loved hit with 1979 single Into The Valley. 

Following an initial five years together, Skids went their separate ways for the next quarter century, re-forming in 2007 to celebrate their 30th anniversary. 

Another lengthy hiatus then followed, before the landmark of their 40th birthday once again brought them back together - at which point they even released a new album; their first since 1981!

The Crossing, Birmingham, Saturday 16 November

EMBRACE

After building a following through their EP releases, Yorkshire rockers Embrace went straight to number one in the UK albums chart with their 1998 debut offering, The Good Will Out. They’ve since enjoyed a colourful career, bagging themselves further number one albums and even being chosen to record an official England World Cup song (2006’s World At Your Feet). 

The boys stop off in Coventry this month to perform a warm-up gig in preparation for a summer of festivals and an autumn tour.

O2 Institute, Birmingaham, Saturday 30 November

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