Forty years into The Wonder Stuff’s existence, Miles Hunt remains gloriously unchanged. He still swears with the precision of a craftsman, still laughs like someone who’s seen too much to take anything too seriously, and still talks about music with the kind of unguarded affection that makes you remember why bands matter in the first place.

When we meet, he’s nursing a cold, a souvenir from a rare trip to London. “I live rurally and I don’t see many people” he says, half‑laughing, half‑complaining. “But I went to London and spent a fucking hour on the tube in rush hour. Exactly 72 hours later, I’ve got a cold.” It’s classic Miles: observational, irritated and amused, all at the same time.

We caught up with Ella and Finn from a London based band called CANDAR who perform some incredible alternative rock music, think of them as the reverse White Stripes!

We caught up with Harry and Caitlin from London based Neo-Soul outfir ACHILLES HEEL have earned their stripes since forming at Falmouth University some years back before moving to the smoke to further their music careers.

We caught up with Cornish legend PERI RAE who has earned her stripes over the past few years and played the same stage 2 years previously.

We caught up with Luke and Josh from 3 DAYS OF WONDER, a Devon based rock band who perform some fabulous music and have earned their stripes through relentless gigging around some of the best venues on offer.

Boardmasters 2026 didn’t so much begin as unfurl — a weekend that opened like a postcard, sunshine stretched across the coastline and a soft breeze rolling over the clifftops as if the festival itself were exhaling. Even before the gates properly swung open, there was that familiar hum: early arrivals drifting through Newquay, subtle site changes to clock, the ritual wristband shuffle, and the quiet thrill of knowing you’re about to spend three days chasing music, stories, and whatever madness the Cornish weather decides to throw at you. It felt charmed from the off, the kind of start that tells you you’re in for something special.

Just another Wednesday in sleepy Devon for most, but not for anyone crammed into Things Happen Here. For the lucky few who snagged tickets to this sold‑out show for The Bluetones, Dartington briefly stopped being sleepy and became something closer to electric.

FAN GIRL have never been a band defined by a single era. From early uni‑formed friendships to devastating loss, shifting line‑ups, and the strange dislocation of writing across continents, their story is one of constant reinvention. What’s remained is the spark: a commitment to making music that feels exciting, challenging, and defiantly their own. In this conversation, the Melbourne/Naarm outfit dig into the memories that shaped them, the chaotic colour of their sound, the buoyant local scene they adore, and the wild, distance‑warped process behind their latest EP 8HRS. They also lift the lid on recording with Andy Savours in London, dream festival lineups, and the kind of dinner party only FAN GIRL could host.

For more than three decades, Evan Dando has been one of alternative rock’s great wanderers, a songwriter with a golden ear, a troubadour’s heart, and a life lived in beautiful, chaotic technicolour. When The Lemonheads return to the UK this September and October for a sprawling run of dates, they’ll be bringing a version of Evan that feels newly sharpened, newly grounded, and newly joyful.

There’s something quietly magical about a festival that knows exactly what it is, and refuses to become anything else. As the UK festival season edges toward its final hurrah, Mucky Weekender returns to Vicarage Farm, Winchester, from 10–12 September, once again proving that intimacy, community and a bit of glorious chaos can outshine any mega‑weekend with a million‑pound production budget.

Los Angeles quartet Exploding Flowers are heading back to the UK this August, carrying their jangling, harmony‑rich guitar‑pop across a run of dates that feel tailor‑made for fans of Big Star, The Soft Boys, and the Paisley Underground’s kaleidoscopic shimmer. It’s a tour that lands just ahead of their fourth album — due later this year via Meritorio Records — and arrives with the promise of new material, including the forthcoming single Spinning Carousel.

PRESIDENT have spent the last year building a cult-like following through anonymity, atmosphere, and a refusal to play by genre rules. Now, the UK-based collective finally step into the light with “dark heaven”, the latest glimpse into their debut album Blood Of Your Empire, arriving 4th September via Atlantic Records.

Stockton-on-Tees is gearing up for another year of organised chaos, the good kind, as The Gathering Sounds drops a heavyweight second wave of artists for its 2026 edition. If last year felt like a festival levelling up, this year feels like the moment it plants a flag in the ground and says: this is where the future starts.

Independent music was never meant to be a genre, it was a rebellion, a refusal, a way for artists to create outside the machinery of the major‑label world. Yet somewhere between the DIY spirit of early labels like Rough Trade and Factory, and the algorithm‑friendly playlists of today, “indie” has been flattened into a catch‑all term for almost any guitar‑based band with a hint of alternative edge.

This feature digs back into the roots of true independence, the labels, the ethos, the bands who shaped the movement, to explore what indie really means, how the term drifted, and whether it should ever have been treated as a genre at all.

Eli Paperboy Reed has never been one to chase trends — he’s spent the past two decades proving that soul music doesn’t need reinventing so much as it needs believing in. Now, with a brand‑new album produced by the legendary Swamp Dogg and a UK tour set for March 2027, Reed is stepping into the next chapter of a career built on grit, gospel fire, and a deep love for the roots of American music.

Los Bitchos have never been a band you could pin to one place, one tradition, or one tidy genre box — but their next chapter looks set to push that spirit even further. Fresh off the back of Let The Festivities Begin! and last year’s Talkie Talkie, the London‑based trio return with “Hang Up (Pt 2)”, the first glimpse of an upcoming studio album built around collaboration, vocalists and global musical exchange.

Ruud Dielen has spent the last decade shaping Glorious Wolf into one of the most quietly ambitious and emotionally resonant projects in modern prog. What began as a one‑man studio experiment has grown into a richly collaborative, ever‑evolving musical world — one driven by instinct, curiosity and a deep awareness of the times we’re living through.

In this Q&A, Ruud opens up about the origins of the Glorious Wolf name, the moment he committed to music full‑time, and the global challenges that inspired his latest album Elements Of Hope. From the impact of world events on young people to the joy of building a studio that finally matches his creative vision, this is a candid, thoughtful conversation with an artist who has never stopped growing.

Dead Defined has always been a project built from lived experience — the kind that leaves marks, reshapes you, and ultimately pushes you toward something stronger. In conversation with vocalist and songwriter Craig Ewan, it’s clear that the band’s latest chapter isn’t just about refining a sound, but about sharpening a message. With One Life, Craig leans fully into the emotional core of Dead Defined: hope, resilience, and the belief that the hardest moments don’t have to define who we become. What follows is a candid look at the journey behind the music, the intention driving the new release, and the vision shaping what comes next.

Some songs arrive quietly, almost by accident, and then end up defining a moment for a band. For Santa Barbara indie outfit exPorter, “Letting Go” has become exactly that — a track that started life as a loose collaboration with friends, evolved into a staple of their live set, and unexpectedly found an audience far beyond their hometown.

False Heads have never been a band to do things by halves. Whether it’s Jake Elliott locking in on bass even after going “arse over head” onstage, Charlie Gregory powering through drum takes with machine‑like precision, or Luke Griffiths pouring every ounce of energy into the songs he writes, the trio have carved out a reputation as one of the UK’s most fiercely committed alternative acts. With a decade of graft behind them, a charting second album, and a third record that Luke describes as their “best written and produced” yet, the band stand on the cusp of a new chapter — bigger, heavier, and more emotionally charged than anything they’ve done before. We sat down with Luke to talk origins, influences, chaos, growth, and the bleak beauty at the heart of Oldest Part of Hell.