Yard Act’s return to Bristol this July feels less like an in‑store and more like a checkpoint in the evolution of one of Britain’s most consistently surprising guitar bands.

The setting is the beautiful Westonbirt arboretum, Gloucestershire. With the Sun setting and the temperature cooling to a balmy 16 degrees after the high heat we have had it felt good, the several thousand crowd were donning coats and moving towards the stage. With the slight smell of ‘herb’ in the air you felt the expectation that Richard Ashcroft was about to come on stage.

There’s something about Download Festival that makes interviews hit differently. Maybe it’s the roar of the main stage that you just cannot escape, no matter where you stand! Maybe it’s the mud‑splattered adrenaline that everyone, artists, fans, crew, seems to run on. Or maybe it’s the simple fact that Donington has a way of stripping away the noise and leaving you with the raw truth of who a band really is.

Lewis Capaldi has a way of stopping the world mid‑scroll, mid‑conversation, mid‑breath, you just HAVE to look up and check what is happening. Over the past few years he’s delivered a run of spellbinding, heart‑thumping songs that have turned everyday moments into emotional epics, they are the kind of tracks that feel like they were written for YOU, even when millions are singing them at the same time. There’s a vulnerability to his voice, a lived‑in honesty to his writing, and a self‑deprecating charm that somehow makes the heartbreak hit even harder. It’s this rare combination that’s pushed him from rising star to cultural phenomenon, a storyteller whose appeal stretches far beyond genre or generation.

After a week of record-breaking temperatures, there was something peaceful about arriving at the Eden Project on a Friday evening, the biomes glowing in the late sunshine as hundreds of fans streamed down to the arena to witness one of alternative rock’s most influential bands play in Cornwall. The heatwave showed no signs of easing, as the doors opened and some ran for their spot at the barrier, with others relaxing on the grass hills towards the back with their double pints of cider. 

A Tuesday afternoon in June saw my family and I pile into the car, headed for the winding country lanes of Cornwall that led us to the unmistakable greenhouse domes of The Eden Project. It’s one of the UK’s most unique concert venues, nestled amongst lush tropical gardens and Mediterranean landscapes. Even before a single note was played, this gig felt like a special one.

When I heard that Alanis Morissette was performing at Powderham Castle this summer, I was excited – very excited. And I’ll admit it: a small, delusional part of me was quietly hoping she’d walk out and play her debut album front‑to‑back. I know it absolutely wasn’t going to happen, but the fantasy is half the fun.

When Colour TV frontman Sam Durneen isn’t sweating through one‑day festival marathons or accidentally manifesting Shed Seven frontmen into existence, he’s obsessively dissecting the artists who shaped him. For the debut edition of Five That Formed Me, Sam sat down to talk through the five acts that moulded his songwriting, his worldview, and even the artwork on Colour TV’s debut EP.

What follows is a portrait of a musician shaped by melody, melancholy, brevity, emotional honesty, and a fascination with the tension between beauty and darkness.

“The universe is alive with forces of love, creativity and wonder,” says Gabi Garbutt. Damn right. On new album Radical Love, the West London singer-songwriter delivers an optimistic, nature-oriented, sexually-charged call to arms: their most contemporary-feeling, emotionally candid work to date.

Brandon Flowers is stepping out of the stadiums and into something far more personal this autumn, announcing a rare and intimate solo performance at Bristol Beacon on Saturday 17 October 2026. For fans who’ve followed his journey from Las Vegas indie upstart to one of modern rock’s most recognisable frontmen, this is a chance to see him in a completely different light.

Thousands of music fans poured into the Powderham Castle estate last night as TK Maxx presents Live At Powderham roared into life for its 2026 edition, with Teddy Swims delivering a powerhouse headline set that set the bar sky‑high for the weekend ahead.

Beabadoobee has never been afraid of reinvention, but her newly announced fourth album Pylon — out 18 September via Dirty Hit and Interscope, feels like the moment she rips up her own rulebook and starts again with sharper teeth, louder guitars and a far more confrontational emotional core.

The Isle of Wight Festival 2026 arrived with the kind of confidence only a true summer heavyweight can muster, four days of sun‑splashed chaos, emotional headline moments and a site packed with future stars, cult favourites and generational icons. From Thursday’s opener to Sunday’s finale, the island felt alive at every turn, and the cameras barely stopped firing. What follows is a full rundown of the weekend, the sets that defined it, the surprises that shaped it, and a whole lot of photos capturing the festival exactly as it unfolded: loud, bright, joyful and unforgettable.

Yard Act are stepping confidently into their next era. With their third album You’re Gonna Need A Little Music arriving on 17th July via Island Records, the Leeds quartet have dropped its second single, ‘New Beginnings’, a track that feels like a deliberate exhale after the darker, heavier tones of lead single Redeemer.

There aren’t many bands who can claim to have shaped glam rock, reinvented synth‑pop, out‑weirded new wave, collaborated with Giorgio Moroder, inspired half of modern indie, and still be selling out major venues in 2026. But Sparks aren’t “many bands”. They’re Sparks — the endlessly inventive, permanently unpredictable partnership of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, now more than five decades into a career that refuses to slow down, settle down, or even behave.

Download 2026: “Bigger, better, louder than ever.” With the capacity increased by 20,000, it seems the punters agreed. For me, this journey started decades earlier, a one‑day Monsters of Rock in the early nineties, headlined by AC/DC and Metallica, plus a 14‑hour round trip from Penryn in Cornwall. So how would a four‑day camping marathon with ten times the number of bands stack up? We set off in the rain on Thursday to find out.

The Snuts are stepping into a new era, and they’re doing it with clarity, heart, and a renewed sense of purpose. Today, the West Lothian four‑piece announce their fourth studio album, Joy In Short Moments, landing 23 October via Happy Artist Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group. Alongside it comes a brand‑new single, ‘Defibrillator’, a euphoric, drum‑driven jolt of life that sets the tone for what might be their most personal work to date.

Blossoms are back in technicolour, unveiling their brand new single “Meet Me In Love”, a shimmering, disco‑kissed rush of romance, alongside a cinematic video starring none other than Maya Jama. It’s the band at their most playful, most widescreen, and arguably their most instantly addictive in years.

The second single from rising singer‑songwriter Bella Cutts does more than just build on the momentum of her debut, it sharpens her voice, her perspective, and her place in the new wave of emotionally intelligent pop. Curious is a bright, rhythmic, quietly devastating look at modern connection, wrapped in a hook that refuses to leave your head.

HENGE don’t do things by halves. The Manchester cosmic‑rock travellers have announced the most ambitious mission of their decade on Earth: a 75‑date world tour spanning the UK, Europe, Canada, the USA and Mexico, with even more territories still to be revealed. For a band who’ve built their reputation on euphoric, intergalactic live experiences, this feels like the moment everything goes supernova.