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...  

DURAN DURAN

The legendary ‘Brummie’ boys are back on the road, heading for the city of their origin as part of their first full UK arena tour in three years. It’s more than four decades since the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees exploded onto the music scene, racking up record sales in the blink of an eye with hits like Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf, Girls On Film and Ordinary World. They’ve even got a Bond theme to their name: 1985’s A View To A Kill. 

Still making a massive impact globally after all these years, the boys added to their success story back in the spring with Free To Love, a critically acclaimed single featuring Nile Rodgers... Don’t miss this comparatively rare opportunity to see one of the greatest-ever live bands in action on home turf.

Utilita Arena Birmingham, Tuesday 20 October

FAT FREDDY'S DROP

New Zealand-originated Fat Freddy’s Drop are bringing their euphoric and diaphragm-wrecking music to Birmingham as part of a tour to celebrate the 21st anniversary of their first studio album, Based On A True Story. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by musicians from other Wellington-based groups, Freddy’s produce a sound which, to a certain degree at least, defies categorisation, being characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm & blues and techno.

The autumn tour marks the first shows since their talismanic founding member, Chris Ta’aloga Faiumu (aka DJ MU aka Fitchie), passed away suddenly in July of last year. 

O2 Academy, Birmingham, Thursday 22 October

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIEW

For anyone not in the know, during the 1960s and early 70s, Creedence Clearwater Revival were widely considered to be one of America’s greatest rock bands, headlining the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969. Although they split up more than half a century ago, their music has emphatically stood the test of time, and is here brilliantly recreated by these talented tribute artists. 

Walsall Arena, Thursday 22 October; Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Fri 23 October

THE CORAL

Influential five-piece The Coral came to the fore in the early noughties with a self-titled debut album that brilliantly combined psychedelia with dub, disco groove with pop, and ragtime with Egyptian reggae. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, they’re heading out on their first headline UK tour in almost three years, visiting the second city in support of acclaimed 13th album 388.

O2 Institute, Birmingham, Saturday 24 October

​AZIZ IBRAHIM

Virtuoso guitarist, session musician and one-time Stone Roses member Aziz Ibrahim is finally releasing his long-lost debut album, some 25 years after it was first recorded. Lahore To Longsight - named to reflect his father’s journey from Pakistan to the Manchester suburb of Aziz’s birth - is a musical melting pot he describes as ‘Asian blues’. Now restored and remastered, the album, which features star contributors including the Roses’ Reni and Mani, Paul Weller, Talvin Singh, and Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce of The Smiths, will get its first public airing at a limited number of showcase dates, making this gig a real must-see event

The Feathers Inn, Lichfield, Thursday 29 October; The Asylum, Birmingham, Friday 6 November

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.

Malvern Cube, Friday 30 October

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