Doobie Fontaine are a musical alter ego for a roving international four-piece from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Based in London, they make timeless, country highway-inspired music, with hints of blissed-out psychedelia and invoking pastoral bliss. I was recently sent news of their new single ‘Sugarcoated’ which is out now and is being showcased at a launch party on December 20th at the famous Shacklewell Arms in London (more on that below).

I wanted to learn more about the band and contacted them to see if they’d be up for a chat, they were…..read on to see how it went.

Where to start, really? Whilst I am still reeling in layers of JOY from the recent IDLES end of year / era gig at Ally Pally last weekend, they only released ‘Mercedes Marxist’, apart from the seriously exciting trio of new tunes as live, so I cannot list them here. It matters not, since it’s highly likely they will be front, centre and forward by this time next year.

Read on to see which bands and artists lit up 2019 for us….

Exhaustion – pure, beautiful, raw and ragged exhaustion. That is how IDLES leave you – and me – feeling at the end of their shortish, end of year tour, which has stretched from Glasgow to London in the space of just over a week.

We were invited to North London landmark the Alexandra Palace to review and photograph what for me, was THE gig of 2019, read on to see how we got on….

Catch them live at SHACKLEWELL ARMS on Friday 20th DECEMBER

It was almost two years to the date since we last saw Scouting for Girls play live in Exeter. They released a new album The Trouble With Boys in September 2019 and it was on the back of this that we happened upon the band again in Exeter as they toured the country to promote the new material.

FOUR DAYS OF MUSIC DISCOVERY AND DISCUSSION

FUTURE FEMALE HEADLINERS AND EMERGING INDIE BANDS

24 SHOWS ACROSS LONDON, 1 DAY OF TALKS

FIRST WAVE OF ARTISTS ANNOUNCED

In honour of the 30th Anniversary of The Stone Roses’ era-defining gig at Spike Island, get ready for a celebration like no other.

‘SHOW 2000 - LIVE AT NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY - 15/12/16’ CD/DVD RELEASED DECEMBER 13, 2019

NEW UK TOP 3 ALBUM: ‘NO MAN’S LAND’ (OUT NOW)

It was for musical reasons that we found ourselves at Plymouth Pavilions on this cool December evening, Sam was in the city promoting his debut album Hypersonic Missiles which, having hit the top spot on the UK album chart, was doing very well indeed.

It was a Monday night and with everyone’s minds set on Christmas, it was refreshing to see so many people having made the effort to get out and catch Sam in action.

We were invited to attend his sold out show in Bristol, hosted at the famous O2 venue where he was playing tracks from his #1 album Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. As we approached the venue, one thing was for sure, people were excited, both for the prospect of being there and also to get a glimpse of one of THE finest songwriters that is currently entertaining his loyal fans the whole world over.

To say that the past few years have been a bit hectic for British singer songwriter Jade Bird is something of an understatement, she is fast becoming one of THE most exciting new voices and demand for her shows have been incredible. She has won the hearts of fans across the globe with her debut EP, ‘Somewhere American’ and followed this up with ‘Lottery’, an incredible single which really helped to put her on the map.

Having already performed on ‘Later with Jools Holland’, ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ and ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’, she has amassed a global following and seeing as she is just 20 years old, I imagine that her future is looking VERY bright indeed!

We were invited to watch her and her band perform at The Lemongrove in Exeter, we packed our bags and headed off to watch this incredible musician do her thang….

Sunset Sons are a three-pieced British/Australian band who, earlier this month released their second album: ‘Blood Rush Déjà Vu’. Having previously supported Imagine Dragons and Nothing But Thieves, Sunset Sons have just started a UK wide headline tour before looking to take over Europe. We caught them on their first sold out show at Bristol’s classic venue ‘Thekla’.  

I last saw WILDWOOD KIN when they played to a full house at Phoenix Sound Record Shop in Newton Abbot, this exclusive in store show took place a day after they had released their self titled sophomore album and the place was literally fizzing with excitement to catch the ladies showcasing new material from it.

Fast forward a few weeks and I find myself at The Lemongrove which is part of the Exeter University complex where they would be performing a full length live show to their adoring fans.

I woke to the (belated) news that one of my favourite bands on the entire planet, NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN are releasing an acoustic album on December 13th under the name NEDS ACOUSTIC DUSTBIN. I personally cannot see how this will work as Rat’s unique overdriven guitar sound will be nowhere to be seen and also missing from the equation are Mat and Alex’s harmonious bass parts and Dan’s superb drumming. I do think that the tracklist from the new album looks fantastic and, even with a niggling doubt in my head, I am sure that Rat and Jonn will have done a tremendous job!

They’re also playing a handful of live shows from December 2019, more details below.

A single that stands as their first new material in over two years, the band’s insurgent comeback track is now accompanied with visuals that supercharge its dizzying momentum.

2019 marks the 25th anniversary since Snow Patrol formed, 25 years is a long time and I’m sure the band look back over the past quarter century at what they have achieved thus far.

Tonight, the band were at Plymouth Pavilions for the second date of their November/December ‘Reworked’ tour, performing hits from their back catalogue but with a little bit of a twist. They decided to make this an ‘all seated’ tour, allowing people to take in the sheer breadth of the music and the spectacle of seeing additional musicians on the stage, providing strings and brass to the songs.

I saw a brilliant duo called OKAY, BYE play at The Cavern in Exeter last weekend as part of a music networking event and as they were packing up, I introduced myself to Grace (guitar/vocals) and she agreed to have a chat for our ‘Introducing’ feature on the site.

A very good friend of mine was the first British journalist to interview Nirvana featuring a very young Kurt Cobain back in the late 80’s and it transpires that I am the first journalist to interview Okay, Bye. What you read below could be history in the making!

We got together and had a good chat about how the band formed, DIY touring and a new album that is in the making, read on to find out loads more about this great band….

When we heard that BROOKE BENTHAM was joining Sam Fender on his SOLD OUT November/December tour of the UK and Ireland, we had to get in touch and learn a bit more about this super talented musician.

We chatted about how she found out that she was going on tour with Sam Fender, her fear of playing two SOLD OUT shows at Brixton Academy and which bands she’d have headlining her very own mega-festival…..

Formed in Brighton only five years ago, YONAKA are the latest band to tear up the highly populated alt-rock scene. Previously, the band have supported Bring Me the Horizon and have had their song ‘F.W.T.B’ remixed by Grandson. Earlier this year, the band released their first album, ‘Don’t Wait Till Tomorrow’ and on the strength of this are midway through a UK wide tour. We were invited to see them at SWX in the heart of Bristol, read on to see how the evening unfolded.

Following a sensational string of packed-out shows across the UK, today SHEAFS are pleased to announce a fresh run of shows for March 2020.