Luvcat is currently enjoying the success of her debut album release, Vicious Delicious, with a sold-out UK tour across multiple cities. I was lucky enough to secure a last-minute ticket to her Bristol show at Trinity, a 600-person venue inside a church in the city centre. As a new fan of hers I didn’t know what to expect from the crowd or her performance, but both were on top form. 

It hardly felt like twelve months had passed since Shiiine On 2024, but as we unpacked our “survival kits” into the caravan of love, we knew sleep would be scarce. Some of us were here to party, others — myself included — to work: taking photos, interviewing bands, and scribbling notes that would become this review. The setup was unchanged, proving once again that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a mantra the organisers live by.

Bristol’s genre-hopping day festival SIMPLE THINGS returned with a bang, threading punk, jazz, electronica and spoken word through the city’s most beloved venues. From the Beacon’s grandeur to the Sportsmans’ sticky floors, Simple Things was a celebration of sonic contrast and community spirit.

My experience of Jah Wobble extends mainly to his work with PIL from 1978-1980 (playing and collaborating on their first two albums) where he drew on punk’s dub influences to help mould the sound of the celebrated post punk outfit. Since parting company with John Lydon, Wobble (real name John Wardle) has continued to draw inspiration from dub, rock and world music, releasing no less than 61 albums and collaborating with a diverse range of artists from Brian Eno, The Edge, Bjork, Primal Scream and Sinead O’Connor to dance acts including the Orb, the Shamen, Andrew Weatherall, Paul Oakenfold, Francois Kevorkian and Bomb the Bass.

There’s something about firsts — first gigs at new venues, first albums from rising bands, first moments when music hits you in the chest and makes you move. On November 6th, Oswald Slain delivered all three in one glorious swoop at Bristol’s Jam Jar, a venue I’d somehow never visited until now. That nagging voice of “Why haven’t you been?” was finally silenced — and what a way to make an entrance.

Some bills feel too good to be true. On November 9th, Bristol O2 Academy hosted a night that felt like a gift — a double headline of poetic powerhouse Kae Tempest and Mercury Prize-nominated rising star Jacob Alon. The city responded in kind, packing out the venue early and ready to be moved.

If your idea of a perfect Christmas involves power chords, flying drumsticks, and a ukulele-wielding frontman serenading you in multiple languages — then rejoice, because Spike and the Gimme Gimmes are sleighing their way across the UK this December with their “All I Want For Christmas Is You” tour.

Download Festival 2026 is shaping up to be an absolute stormer. From June 10th to June 14th, Donington Park will be set ablaze by an epic lineup of both legendary and emerging talent, with three headline acts that are guaranteed to leave you in awe.

Simple Things Festival returns to Bristol on 8 November 2025 with its most ambitious edition yet—an all-day, multi-venue celebration of boundary-pushing music curated by Crack Magazine, Team Love, and Bristol Beacon.

Slam Dunk Festival celebrates 20 years with its biggest lineup yet—Knocked Loose, Good Charlotte, Sublime, and over 40 more acts will ignite Hatfield and Leeds next May. Two new heavy stages promise nonstop chaos with zero set clashes.

I was sent the latest track ‘Margate’ from Swiss indie-pop artist CORI NORA, I listened to it, loved it and wanted to learn more about the artist behind it. Read on to see how we got on chatting to her about her musical upbringing, influences, artistic freedom and returning to her flat in East London.

British-Norwegian horror auteur Kyle Sevenoaks makes a chilling debut with Taste In Music, a cosmic cabin nightmare that’s already earning standing ovations and festival acclaim.

Bloom’s sophomore album The Light We Chase is a cathartic, genre-defying triumph—melding melodic hardcore with shoegaze haze, post-hardcore grit, and emotional depth. Released 31 October via Pure Noise Records, it marks a bold new chapter for the Sydney five-piece.

London’s KEO are leading the charge in the UK’s guitar renaissance. Following the breakout success of their debut EP Siren and a sold-out UK/Ireland tour, they now announce a 14-date headline run across March and April 2026.

Dominic Harrison, aka YUNGBLUD, continues his meteoric rise with a collaborative EP titled One More Time, dropping 21st November alongside rock legends Aerosmith.

Emerging from the windswept edges of Cornwall, Fletchr Fletchr—formed by childhood friends Rohan Fletcher and Adam Sanders—are ready to make their mark with debut EP We All Feel the Same, landing Friday 28th November.

Sananda Maitreya, the artist formerly known as Terence Trent D’Arby is on 9 date tour of the UK that kicked off last week.

The Damned announce special new covers album

“Not Like Everybody Else” in tribute to Brian JamesAlbum out 23rd January 2026, on earMUSIC

First single "There's A Ghost In My House" out 30th October

One-off covers show announced in Manchester 28th January 2026

French collective Nouvelle Vague is back — and they’re bringing their signature bossa nova shimmer to UK stages this November for a 16-date celebration of their genre-defying legacy.

Micko & The Mellotronics have announced their infectious new single “Misery Guts”, out now.