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...  

IAN MCNABB

A winning blend of soaring melodies, powerful vocals and poetic lyricism define the music of Ian McNabb. 
After rising to prominence in the 1980s as the frontman and creative force behind The Icicle Works, the charismatic singer-songwriter kicked off the shackles of band membership in the 1990s, launching what has since proved to be a hugely successful - and prolific - solo career.   

Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, Friday 24 April

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BADLY DRAWN BOY

Damon Gough’s debut album, The Hour Of Bewilderbeast, announced him as a star in the making, winning him the Mercury Music Prize in the year 2000. Two years later, he penned the score for the Hugh Grant film About A Boy, and then quickly followed up with two further albums: Have You Fed The Fish? and One Plus One Is One.

Touring solo for much of the time since those heady early-career days, he’s recorded only one album in the last 14 years but retains a solid fanbase.

Damon’s late-afternoon Shrewsbury show combines songs, stories and conversation. The event is hosted by BBC 6 Music’s Chris Hawkins and is fully seated.

The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury, Sunday 26 April

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BOOSHLE G

Keeping his songs simple, honest, and straight from the heart, Booshle G hails from South Africa and admits that finding his place in the sun has been no walk in the park...

“For years, I didn’t understand what people saw in me,” he explained to Indie Music Center. “My dad used to tell me not to compare myself to anyone... and that maybe I should just give myself a chance. I didn’t listen... But at some point, something shifted. Not a big moment with fireworks... Just a quiet voice inside that said, ‘Stop waiting. Do it your way. Do it now.’”

The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, Thursday 30 April

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MAMMAL HANDS

With former GoGo Penguin drummer Rob Turner now on board, Mammal Hands bring their winning blend of jazz, contemporary classical, electronica, folk and minimalism to Coventry in support of sixth studio album Circadia - a record which they’re describing as a meditation on renewal and the beauty of change. 
The new release is the latest development in a career which has routinely gone from strength to strength, the driving beats and hypnotic textures of their sound helping them carve out an enviable reputation as boundary-defying artists. 

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Thursday 30 April

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VIRGIL AND THE ACCELERATORS

Cult blues band Virgil And The Accelerators have a new line-up, are returning to their core identity as a stripped-back, raw-power trio, and will be using their Worcester date to relaunch themselves... Expect a night of high-octane blues-rock, heavy grooves and mesmerising guitar mastery. 

The Marrs Bar, Worcester, Friday 1 May

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LOOPFEST

Shrewsbury’s LoopFest event returns to the town centre across the May bank holiday weekend and looks set to enjoy another successful year.

“What makes our event different from other festivals,” explain its organisers, “is that our focus is on bringing Shrewsbury to life by filling as many venues as possible with music, and providing a fun and safe atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.”

This year’s get-together will see more than 250 acts performing across the town, with the list of participating venues including Shrewsbury Castle and St Mary’s Church. The 2026 line-up includes Ash (pictured), Reef and The Bluetones Acoustic, all of whom will be performing in the town’s Quarry Park on Friday the 1st. 

Various locations around Shrewsbury, Friday 1 - Sunday 3 May

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BOYZLIFE

Take a member of 90s & noughties boyband supergroup Boyzone and a member of 90s & noughties boyband supergroup Westlife, put them together and what do you get?...

Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden forming middle-aged-man duo Boyzlife, that’s what! 
The fun-loving fellas first came together a decade ago and are now once again reuniting for a UK tour, including this early-month Worcester Cathedral gig. 

The show will see the dynamic Dubliners perform a mixture of hits from those heady boyband days. Think Boyzone’s I Love The Way You Love Me, All That I Need and No Matter What, and Westlife’s My Love, I Lay My Love On You and Uptown Girl.

Worcester Cathedral, Saturday 2 May

THE ENEMY

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Bursting onto the scene in the mid-noughties with an aggressive and working-class indie sound, Coventry trio The Enemy quickly made a name for themselves, assisted to some considerable degree by NME famously hailing them the act most likely to ‘break your windows’ in 2007. 

A number-one debut album, We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, set the band on the road to fame and fortune, but various factors along the way culminated in a 2016 break-up. Reuniting six years later, they’re now back on home territory to celebrate the recent release of fifth studio album Social Disguises.

hmv Empire, Coventry, Friday 8 May

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TAME IMPALA

The psychedelic music project of Australian singer & multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, Tame Impala formed in 2007 and came to prominence three years later with the release of debut album Innerspeaker. 
Two years afterwards, follow-up effort Lonerism scored a massive hit with the critics, being hailed one of the best albums of 2012... Making psychedelic hypno-groove melodic rock music, Tame Impala are stopping off in Birmingham in support of fifth and most-recent album Deadbeat.

Utilita Arena Birmingham, Saturday 9 May

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EMMYLOU HARRIS

Half a century into a stellar career - and indisputably one of the most revered voices in American music - folk & country legend Emmylou Harris is waving goodbye to the UK as part of her last-ever European tour. 
The 14-time Grammy Award winner and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee is using her mid-month Symphony Hall stop-off to say a big thank you to her Midlands-based fans “for all the years of memories, and the support that you’ve shown me.”

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wednesday 13 May

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LOOSE ARTICLES

With tongues firmly in their cheeks - and probably pints in their hands - high-energy all-female quartet Loose Articles deliver their discordant, hypnotic and repetitive sound with a fierce, in-your-face, punk-fuelled attitude. They’ve been making their presence felt since 2019, presenting humorous songs about working-class-relevant subjects. “We have a lot of political messages about what’s on our mind,” says bassist & vocalist Natalie Wardle. “I just write whatever pisses me off at the time. It touches on subjects like work, being scared of buses, and having social anxiety in big public situations.”

The Flapper, Birmingham, Friday 15 May

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WILLY MASON

Raised on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, Willy Mason’s rise to fame was ably supported by fellow musician Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, who signed him to his Team Love label and released his debut LP, Where The Humans Eat, in 2004. 

Drawing on a deep well of melody and story passed on from his songwriter parents, Willy is well worth an evening of your time. And given that his studio output has been somewhat limited in recent years, catching him in person is definitely the best way to appreciate him nowadays.     

Wolverhampton Arts Centre, Friday 15 May

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MIRANDA SYKES & JIM CAUSLEY

Acclaimed Show Of Hands singer & bassist Miranda Sykes and Devon-born singer-songwriter Jim Causley - a man once hailed by Mojo Magazine as ‘the finest singer of his generation’ - were a couple of decades into their friendship before they decided to pool their impressive resources and release an album. The result, Everything Possible - featuring some of their favourite contemporary songs from the UK folk scene - forms the basis for this sure-to-be-popular Shropshire gig.   

The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock, South Shropshire, Friday 15 May

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CHANCE PEÑA

Texas-born artist, songwriter & producer Chance Peña is heading to Birmingham in support of his most-recent album, When I Change My Mind I Don’t Mean It. The record is a 14-track collection of soul-searching songs, delivered in his trademark gravelly voice and steeped in the immersive indie-folk for which he’s become known.

O2 Institute, Birmingham, Saturday 16 May

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STEVE CRADOCK

“It’s a great time for me to reflect on my career and share the stories and songs of the last 25 years,” says Steve Cradock, in talking about Travellers Tunes, the debut solo tour that’s bringing him to Huntingdon Hall mid-month... A founding member of local superstars Ocean Colour Scene, Steve’s distinctive riffs ignited such classic numbers as The Riverboat Song and The Day We Caught The Train, helping propel the band to the double-platinum glory of their classic 1996 album, Moseley Shoals.

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Sunday 17 May

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SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA

Submotion Orchestra are a seven-piece project from Leeds whose influences include jazz, dubstep, soul and ambient electronica. The band have performed across the world, with appearances at The Big Chill, Latitude,  Glastonbury, Outlook and Bestival featuring among their career highlights.  

With five full-length albums and five EPs to their name, they’re visiting Birmingham just a few days after the release of their sixth album, Passed Me By.

Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, Tuesday 19 May

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HOWLING GIANT

Nashville-based heavy-jamming psych-wizards Howling Giant have been building up an impressive head of steam for more than a decade now, reaching new heights with last year’s massive and mercurial third album, Crucible & Ruin. 

Their Coventry visit, coming as part of a European tour, sees them sharing the limelight with Alunah and Tellemahookah. 

The Tin Music & Arts, Coventry, Tuesday 19 May

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BLUE

Noughties boyband Blue will have plenty to celebrate when they pay a visit to the Black Country this month. Not only have they got a brand spanking new album - Reflections - to promote, they’re also marking a quarter century since first bursting onto the scene with debut studio album All Rise. 

Expect a mix of new and classic material, as well as guest appearances by Mina Simioni and fellow long-in-the-tooth ‘boyband’ 911. 

The Civic at The Halls Wolverhampton, Friday 22 May

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SCOTT BRADLEE'S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

Postmodern Jukebox, the internationally acclaimed music collective famed for their signature time-twisting style, transforming some of our most loved songs into dazzling vintage masterpieces, has announced a brand-new 20-city UK tour for May and June 2026, as part of their globe-spanning The Future Is Vintage world tour.

Concertgoers can expect a dazzling, inspiring trip through the PMJ Universe — where modern-day earworms and iconic pop hits alike are reimagined in classic genres like 1920s jazz, Swing, Doo-wop and Motown, and brought to life by a cast of some of the world’s best singers, dancers, and instrumentalists. Think “The Great Gatsby” meets “Sinatra at the Sands” meets “Back! …To The Future”.

Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Saturday 23 May

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QUILL

 

When bass guitarist Ben Brain died suddenly in 2012, his wife and Quill’s lead singer, Joy Strachan-Brain, was of a mind to call time on the popular Tamworth band’s 30-plus years of musicmaking. Eventually, though, she decided it was more important to battle on, in so doing ensuring that the numerous songs Ben had written for a new album would eventually be heard...

Now featuring longtime local legend Bev Bevan, Quill visit Lichfield with a show in support of latest release Midland Beat. 

The album is a celebration of some of the Midlands’ music scene’s best-known artists, including Duran Duran, Moody Blues, Black Sabbath, Slade, The Move and ELO.

Lichfield Garrick, Sunday 24 May

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RICKIE LEE JONES

Veteran singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones released her first album the better part of half a century ago and has been making music-industry waves ever since. 

Once memorably hailed ‘the Duchess of Coolsville’ by Time magazine, the double Grammy Award winner has recorded in various musical styles, including rock, R&B, pop, soul and jazz, leaving her indelible mark by virtue of some seriously soulful melodies and evocative storytelling.  

Her Coventry gig early this month sees her performing a selection of timeless classics and personal favourites.     

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Friday 29 May

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ARKAYLA

Layered guitar tones and telling lyrics combine to create complex yet dreamlike innovations in the music of Arkayla, a Manchester rock band who burst onto the scene a handful of years ago with a string of singles. Since that breakthrough, they’ve earned themselves a legion of dedicated fans by virtue of some seriously captivating live performances. 

The boys have been likened to The Strokes, The Smiths and The Doors, comparisons which speak volumes for the impact of their style and the quality of their sound. 

Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, Saturday 30 May

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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