More Music News
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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...
PEATBOG FAERIES
Although mainly influenced by traditional Celtic music, the Peatbog Faeries create a sound that also embodies numerous other styles and influences, including electronica, folk, rock and jazz. Well established on the circuit, having formed some 35 years ago, the ensemble’s music brings together a blend of programmed effects with traditional Celtic arrangements played on bagpipes, fiddles and whistles.
The Faeries visit the Midlands mid-month as part of a UK-wide tour.
Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Friday 19 June; Malvern Cube, Friday 30 October
FOREST LIVE
This month’s festival of live music in the nation’s forests sees Cannock Chase hosting five nights of top-quality entertainment... Billy Ocean is joined by special guest Marti Pellow on Wednesday the 24th, with Fatboy Slim setting out his woodland stall the following evening.
The weekend then begins with Becky Hill (pictured) headlining a Friday concert. UB40 featuring Ali Campbell take to the stage on the Saturday, while pop-rock favourites McFly round off proceedings on Sunday the 28th.
Cannock Chase Forest, Wednesday 24 - Sunday 28 June
CIRCA WAVES
Distinctively infectious post-punk anthems are the name of the game for Liverpudlian four-piece Circa Waves, who first made their mark more than a decade ago with singles including Get Away and Stuck In My Teeth. Their nervy, melodic indie rock has seen them favourably likened to, among others, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines. Fourteen-track debut record Young Chasers, released in 2015, has since been followed by six other studio albums, including last year’s Death & Love, parts one and two.
KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, Thursday 25 June
LILY ALLEN
Kickstarting her music career 20 years ago with debut album Alright Still, Lily Allen has been busy with other projects in more recent times: getting sober, getting married, chiselling out a career as an actor, marketing her own sex toy, and selling images of her feet on OnlyFans.
So it was surely a relief for those admirers for whom her music matters most when she finally returned to the studio to record West End Girl - a 14-track album which she says was partially based on the “demise” of her marriage to Stranger Things actor David Harbour.
The record has enjoyed massive global success, being streamed a staggering 150 million times and inspiring Lily to launch the biggest headline tour of her career.
This Birmingham stop-off sees her performing the album in its entirety, ‘and in the order that the songs appear on the record’.
bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, Friday 26 June
INSPIRAL CARPETS
A seriously important element of the infamous ‘Madchester’ movement of the early 1990s - they were one-third of the scene’s ‘holy triumvirate’, alongside Stone Roses and Happy Mondays - 1960s-inspired garage punk-pop favourites Inspiral Carpets have a back catalogue awash with hit singles, This Is How It Feels, Dragging Me Down, Two Worlds, Joe, Collide, She Comes In The Fall and Saturn 5, to name but a few.
Making a comeback in 2023, after a seven-year hiatus following the tragic death of drummer Craig Gill, the band are supported for this month’s Midlands gigs by Trampolene.
Their performance at The Buttermarket will be followed by the England-Panama World Cup match, televised live on the venue’s giant screen.
The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury, Saturday 27 June; The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunday 28 June
BEVERLEY KNIGHT
Wolverhampton-born Beverley Knight MBE returns to her geographical roots this month with latest touring show Born To Perform.
Beverley’s been labelled the UK Queen of Soul - and with her influences including the likes of Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, it’s easy to see why.
“I’m excited to get back on the road, but with a different kind of show [to the sort] folks are used to with me,” says Beverley, who three years ago bagged the ‘best supporting actress’ Olivier Award for her performance in the hit musical Sylvia.
“Born To Perform is me taking you on a journey through my life - on both music and theatre stages - using my memories, and of course, my songs. I’m stripping back my sound so that the audience can lean in a little closer and really hear my soul.”
The Civic at The Halls Wolverhampton, Tuesday 30 June
THE BAD PLUS
“Evolution is necessary for life and creativity. We’ve evolved, but we’re still The Bad Plus.”
So say founding members Dave King and Reid Anderson, who will be joined in Coventry by guitarist Ben Monder and tenor saxophone Chris Speed.
A jazz group formed in the year 2000, The Bad Plus spent the following two decades performing as a piano trio, before ditching the ivories and transforming into a quartet back in 2021. They’re visiting Coventry just a handful of months after Dave and Reid revealed that the boundary-pushing quartet will be disbanding later in the year.
Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Friday 3 July
ALKALINE TRIO
Chicago band Alkaline Trio are visiting Birmingham this month as part of a tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Although never quite breaking through to the extent of fellow alternative pop-punk bands such as blink-182 and Green Day, the trio have established a significant cult following thanks to a winning blend of punk-rock energy, dark, introspective lyrics and infectious melodies.
O2 Institute, Birmingham, Friday 3 July
DEF LEPPARD
Forming in Sheffield in 1976, Def Leppard have sold well in excess of 100 million albums worldwide and become one of rock’s most influential bands... Their Birmingham show comes as part of a UK and Europe-wide tour. Expect all the hits, including classics such as Rock Of Ages, Pour Some Sugar On Me, Animal, and Foolin’.
bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, Saturday 4 July
DOOM GONG
What do you get if you blend psychedelic rock, jazz fusion, prog rock, bedroom pop, lo-fi, and contemporary classical music?
The answer? A sound produced by Doom Gong which the Louisville band refer to as Denim Psych! Formed in 2022, the seven-piece tug their collective forelock in the direction of modern acts such as All Them Witches and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, while simultaneously paying homage to iconic influencers of yesteryear like Black Sabbath and Frank Zappa.
The Tin at The Coal Vaults, Coventry, Monday 6 July
HEART ATTACK MAN
Although as a band they’ve been playing together for more than a decade, Heart Attack Man actually started out as a solo recording project for Eric Egan.
“I wanted to try something more chill than what I’d been used to,” singer/guitarist Eric told getalternative.com. “I wanted hard but catchy songs that didn’t make people want to beat the sh*t out of each other. I always have and still do like aggressive music, but in the beginning I wanted to perform something different.”
The Flapper, Birmingham, Thursday 9 July
AMRITA KAUR
Equally adept whether singing lullabies or anthems, Amrita Kaur’s voice has been described as a therapeutic journey and a sonic landscape of healing and harmony.
The daughter of renowned kirtaniya Bhai Yadvinder Singh, her soul-stirring musical repertoire spans an impressively wide spectrum, including devotional, ghazal, Sufi, Punjabi folk & pop, classical, semi-classical and Hindi film music.
This month’s concert marks Amrita’s first time performing in Birmingham.
Birmingham Town Hall, Saturday 11 July
THE CHRISTIANS
Soul, gospel & acoustic pop veterans The Christians formed in Liverpool way back in the mid-1980s, with the band’s original line-up consisting of brothers Garry, Russell and Roger Christian (the latter sadly passed away in 1998) and songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Henry Priestman.
A self-titled debut album, released in 1987 and spawning hit singles Forgotten Town, Ideal World and Hooverville, propelled them to stardom, with two further records being released before the group took a step back from the limelight.
Re-forming in the new millennium with a revamped line-up, they appear at The Buttermarket mid-month on the back of a sell-out show at the venue last year.
The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury, Friday 17 July
JOOLS HOLLAND & HIS RHYTHM & BLUES ORCHESTRA
Jools Holland is often viewed - somewhat unfairly, it should be said - as little more than an arch-fan, albeit one with his finger firmly on the musical pulse.
His well-established BBC TV show has long been an eclectic mixture of styles and genres, encompassing music from across the world. His own talent on the piano is immense, his attitude towards his famed Rhythm & Blues Orchestra friendly and egalitarian. The result is a joyous celebration of music, and a sound to which you can’t help but tap your feet.
Jools and the gang are joined for this Wolverhampton concert by Roachford and guest vocalists Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Sumudu Jayatilaka.
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sunday 19 July
THE FLAMING LIPS
Drawing heavily on the 1960s/70s psychedelic tradition, Oklahoma rock band The Flaming Lips formed 43 years ago and, according to Q Magazine, are one of the ‘50 bands to see before you die’.
Best known for tracks including The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, Do You Realize?? and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1, the three-time Grammy Award winners visit Wolverhampton this month as part of a UK and European tour.
The Civic at The Halls Wolverhampton, Tuesday 21 July
IAGO BANET
Fingerstyle. Gypsy Jazz. Blues. Rock. Tex-Mex. Country. Dixieland Swing. Pop. Folk. You name it, Iago Banet plays it.
Widely admired for such versatility, the Galicia-born guitar master moved to London over a decade ago, played in various bands and eventually branched out on his own.
Taking his inspiration from legends like Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel, Iago continues to redefine the boundaries of the acoustic guitar.
Lichfield Garrick, Tuesday 21 July
THE STREETS
Greatly admired for his stand-out lyrics and clever blending of musical styles, Midlands-raised singer-songwriter Mike Skinner - the man behind The Streets - has experienced his fair share of mental turmoil down the years. Not that being in the comfort zone of contentment suits Mike all that much either - at least artistically speaking...
“There have been times when I’ve struggled to have something to say in my songs,” he admits. “That’s what can happen when you gradually make your life easier and easier.”
O2 Academy, Birmingham, Friday 17 July; Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, Thursday 23 July
BEAUX GRIS GRIS & THE APOCALYPSE
California-based roots rock band Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse sees Louisiana born & raised musician Greta Valenti teaming up with UK British Blues Hall of Fame inductee Robin Davey to present a blend of blues, rock Americana, country and soul.
Joined by a line-up of musicians that changes across tours, the duo are visiting Leamington as part of a UK and Europe summer tour.
For the record, Beaux Gris Gris is pronounced Bo Gree Gree.
Temperance, Leamington Spa, Thursday 23 July
WARWICK FOLK FESTIVAL
Now in its 45th year, Warwick Folk Festival boasts the very best in contemporary and traditional folk arts from the UK and beyond. As well as an extensive line-up of performers, the four-day camping event features workshops, dance performances, children’s entertainment and a festival village.
2026 line-up includes: Eddie Reader, Fisherman's Friends, Spiers & Boden, Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, Flit, Trip, Naragonia Quartet, The Wilderness Yet, Rory McLeod, The Rheingans Sisters, Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones and more.
Castle Park, Warwick, Thursday 23 - Sunday 26 July
THE SELECTER
Coventry-based 2 Tone ska revival band The Selecter formed back in 1979. Fronted by the iconic Pauline Black, they’re best known for their political and controversial lyrics.
“It’s a way of being,” explains Pauline, “a way of life and a way of identifying yourself. 2 Tone unified all those different groups, and we can still do that. We can go anywhere, and that’s the beauty of 2 Tone. It’s the hybrid nature of it that makes everything possible.”
Stourbridge Town Hall, Saturday 25 July
CAYLEE HAMMACK
“As a little girl who always just wanted a man to bring her flowers, I decided I’d be better off if I just learned how to grow my own.”
So says Caylee Hammack in explaining her decision to determinedly take control of her destiny and chart her own course.
Landing in Nashville aged 19, the now-32-year-old turned heads with a sound that spoke to a unique mix of influences, ranging from David Bowie and Kate Bush to Dolly Parton and Tom Waits.
Caylee visits Birmingham with two albums so far under her belt, the most recent of which, Bed Of Roses, was released last year.
Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, Tuesday 28 July
REDSKIES
A real talent for blending post-grunge, stoner rock riffs and alt-rock has seen bright young things Redskies carve out an interesting space for themselves on the UK music scene.
They’re joined for this Worcester gig by two local bands: Lukash - a pop punk/rock scene-influenced trio who are making a return after 20 years for a one-off show - and PHON - a heavy grunge/sludge trio whose reputation has been greatly enhanced by their on-stage antics and colossal riffs.
Marrs Bar, Worcester, Thursday 30 July
CHANTEL MCGREGOR
Blues-rock musician Chantel McGregor was once told by a major label that she had “a great voice, but girls don’t play guitar like that!” Ignoring their view, she enrolled at the Leeds College of Music and became the first student in the college’s history to achieve a 100% pass mark at BTEC, with 18 distinctions.
She’s since released three studio albums of new material, including debut offering Like No Other and last year’s The Healing.
Temperance, Leamington Spa, Sunday 6 December