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...  

SUPERGRASS

Such was the eagerness of Supergrass to move on from their chirpy Brit Pop beginnings that they stopped performing Alright, their biggest hit, at their gigs. 
They’ll certainly be performing the track at Ludlow Castle this month, though, given that the concert is a celebration of I Should Coco, the album (their debut release) on which the song featured. 
Playing the whole record live - alongside other greatest hits - the boys are joined for the show by singer-songwriter Jake Bugg and indie bands The Cribs and Overpass.  

Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, Friday 25 July

ORUÃ

Significant players on Brazil’s music scene, Rio de Janeiro-based band Oruã mix the electric pulses of deconstructed guitars over a mesmerising groove, producing music which takes both audience and band into a collective trance. Led by critically acclaimed guitarist & producer Lê Almeida, their sound is a quirky blend of lo-fi indie rock, krautrock, noise, afrobeat and Brazilian influences.
“I believe very strongly in the power of music, both as a healing power and as therapy,” Lê told Psychedelic Baby magazine. “Oruã’s concerts stir up a lot of energy, and that moves me a lot. It makes me think very carefully about what to say in my lyrics... There is a lot of resistance in Oruã’s music, and I try to make this resistance make sense to other people. I see this clearly at the shows.”

The Tin at The Coal Vaults, Coventry, Friday 25 July

JACK BROADBENT

Jack Broadbent’s fanbase is huge, ever-growing, and includes legendary keyboardist & singer-songwriter Bill Payne. “Jack’s playing is superb,” says Bill, in waxing lyrical about the man who’s been hailed ‘the master of the slide guitar’. “[He shows] an almost reckless abandon when he gets revved up. He is performing on the edge, and if he falls, so be it. The pieces will not break. Jack can whisper or shout in equal order with a power and sensitivity that speak volumes. Embrace his music... You will be amply awarded.”

Temperance, Leamington Spa, Friday 25 July

THE DEVOUT

Depeche Mode fans who fancy an extra dose of their favourites (well, kind of) should get along to this concert by fast-rising counterfeits The Devout.
“We are more than aware and respectful that DM have fans of all ages,” say the tribute stars, “which is why we want to create a unique experience; to use all of the skill, talent, production and design possible to create a show that transports you back to the live gigs that [saw] Depeche Mode [become] established as a worldwide act.”  

O2 Academy, Birmingham, Saturday 26 July; Watson Hall, Tewkesbury, Saturday 27 September

​TWOMANTING

Jah-man Aggrey and guitarist Jon Lewis) write songs about subjects as wide-ranging as politics, childhood memories, and, er, duvets... Playing a brand of bouncy ‘Sunshine Afro-roots’, they’ve garnered plenty of media attention since coming together 21 years ago, with BBC 6Music’s Lauren Laverne once saying of their sound, “If you want a bit of early summer, then get this into your earholes!”

The Morgan, Malvern, Sunday 27 July