I was considering creating a musomuso ‘Best of 25’ feature for the site but then I thought, why not ask bands/artists to nominate their favourite tracks or moments of the year instead. I reached out to a few acts that we have featured on the world famous SONIC NOMADS PODCAST and JOE SIMON said he’d be more than happy to share his thoughts. read on to see what helped make his 2025 that little bit more special. Joe recently moved to Liverpool to study, leaving behind his band mates from THE VIVE, a plucky indie rock quartet, to carry on without his guitar skills. Read on to see what Joe has selected as his 5 standout moments of 2025….
1- Playing on stage with Sam Fender (yes folks, you read that correctly!). On 12th June 2025, I went to night two of three of Sam Fender’s monster return to Newcastle. It became a bit of a trend where he invited a fan on stage to play his song The Borders, so I wanted to give it a go as I’m a massive Sam Fender and Newcastle United fan. And it happened, I got the chance to play the song, on stage with my hero to 50,000 fans at St James’ Park!
2- My first release of the year In February 2025 I released my second single ‘Too Little, Too Late’ and first release of this year. It ended up getting played on BBC Introducing, and getting a few thousand streams!
3- Playing at The Cavern Club, Liverpool In September 2025, I relocated to Liverpool to pursue my career and go to university, studying music. I then had the incredible opportunity to play my original music at the Cavern Club live lounge with a half an hour set. Turns out members of The Royston Club were in attendance!
4- Dartmouth Music Festival In May 2025, I had the privilege to play at the incredible Dartmouth Music Festival. It was a great experience to play my original music on Friday afternoon with a full band, to a packed crowd.
5- Seeing OASIS was an incredible experience to see live this year, the band I’ve idolised all of my life. I went to see them in Cardiff on the opening night with my dad and brother and made memories I’ll never forget.
We’d like to thank Joe for sharing his top 5 moments of 2025, I think he’ll have to pull something very special out of the hat to top joining Sam Fender on stage but with Joe, you just never know! Keep up to date with his musical journey HERE