Wednesday, 29 December 2021
EVEN THE STARS 22 TIPS FOR 22
Thursday, 23 December 2021
EVEN THE STARS 2021 PLAYLIST
Wednesday, 22 December 2021
EVEN THE STARS ALBUMS OF 2021 - 5 to 1
Tuesday, 21 December 2021
Monday, 20 December 2021
Solis - Interview
Sunday, 19 December 2021
The Chameleons / Ist Ist / Salvation - Manchester Ritz - 18th December 2021
Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Apta - Echoes
Sunday, 12 December 2021
Ist Ist / Proletariat / Oceans On Mars - Manchester Academy 2 - 11th December 2021
Saturday, 11 December 2021
Lanterns On The Lake / Wyldest / Hector Gannet - Newcastle The Boiler Shop - 10th December 2021
Friday, 10 December 2021
Lanterns On The Lake / Wyldest - Hebden Bridge Trades Club - 9th December 2021
TRACK OF THE DAY : James Holt - The Wedding
Even The Stars favourite James Holt seems to be churning out more songs than Santa’s elves are busily making toys it would appear, and what a gift for our eardrums his new single The Wedding is.
Thursday, 9 December 2021
Ist Ist / Paid By Cash - Leeds Hyde Park Book Club - 8th December 2021
TRACK OF THE DAY : Sisterix - What Will I Wear To The Revolution?
Dublin sister duo Sisterix have released their latest single, What Will I Wear To The Revolution?, a song that captures the contradictions between fighting battles against the system and the expectations placed on people by society and social media to look good at all times.
Wednesday, 8 December 2021
The Libertines / Ed Cosens / Trampolene / Dead Freights - Manchester Academy - 6th December 2021
Sunday, 5 December 2021
James - London Wembley Arena - 4th December 2021
James concluded their UK tour at Wembley Arena on Saturday night. With a career-spanning set James once again defied those who wish them to be a greatest hits machine with something more cerebral that demands attention yet is ultimately far more rewarding.
Saturday, 4 December 2021
James / Happy Mondays - Manchester AO Arena - 3rd December 2021
James and Happy Mondays played triumphant sets at their homecoming show on Friday night at the cavernous AO Arena that both bands made feel intimate and celebratory in different ways. Happy Mondays delivered a set of their most well-known material whilst James played a stunning set that felt like a magical mystery tour through their extraordinary back catalogue.
Friday, 3 December 2021
The Red Stains / Pyncher / The Strangerz - Manchester Castle Hotel - 2nd December 2021
Thursday, 2 December 2021
Dry Cleaning / Garden Centre - Hebden Bridge Trades Club - 1st December 2021
Wednesday, 1 December 2021
James / Happy Mondays - Glasgow Hydro - 30th November 2021
James’ tour in support of their All The Colours Of You album with Happy Mondays rolled into Glasgow on Tuesday night for a show at the Hydro that once again contained a real mix of the old and new with a finale that had the whole floor bouncing out of the cavernous hall.
Tuesday, 30 November 2021
VLURE / The Novus - Leeds Headrow House - 29th November 2021
Monday, 29 November 2021
James / Happy Mondays - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena - 28th November 2021
James and Happy Mondays' UK and Ireland tour rolled into Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena for James' first gig in the Welsh capital for ten years and their first in this venue since 1999. As in previous evening, James' set was a career-spanning one, but one that setlist watchers would have been thrown a few curveballs by as they introduced a few rarely-played tracks to the set without ruining the momentum and energy of the night.
TRACK OF THE DAY : Charm Of Finches - As A Child
Sunday, 28 November 2021
The Charlatans / Martin Carr & What Future - Birmingham O2 Academy - 27th November 2021
Saturday, 27 November 2021
James / Happy Mondays - Birmingham Utilita Arena - 26th November 2021
Friday, 26 November 2021
James / Happy Mondays - Leeds First Direct Arena - 25th November 2021
Thursday, 25 November 2021
Ist Ist - The Art Of Lying
Wednesday, 24 November 2021
James / Bryony Williams - Wolverhampton KK's Steel Mill - 23rd November 2021
Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Courteeners / Vistas - Blackburn King George's Hall - 22nd November 2021
TRACK OF THE DAY : Molly Nilsson - Pompeii
Monday, 22 November 2021
Freya Beer / Prints In The Snow - Manchester Night And Day Cafe - 21st November 2021
TRACK OF THE DAY : Solis - Sunday
Solis has today released her third single Sunday ahead of the release of her debut album. The single fleshes out Solis's enchanting vocal.with a melodic backing that accentuates the emotional depth of the lyrics that deal with the frustration of youth and living a life that isn't quite your own.
Sunday, 21 November 2021
VLURE / Shredd - Edinburgh Mash House - 20th November 2021
Friday, 19 November 2021
Seb Lowe - Half-Decent EP
Social and political commentary set to music is nothing new. Doing it via the medium of Tik Tok is relatively and that's where Seb Lowe found his audience. The viral nature of the platform meant that word very quickly got around and the Half Decent EP is his first release on a more traditional format. Clocking in at thirteen minutes for the seven tracks, that we'd hesitate to call songs as they're more short pieces of urban poetry set to music, yet Half Decent places Seb at the forefront of those seeking to ask the difficult questions.
James - The Campfire EP
Back in June James released their sixteenth studio album All The Colours Of You. Prior to that the band reconvened for the first time in eighteen months at Broughton Hall in Skipton to rehearse and record radio sessions. From that retreat comes a four-track EP that strips down three tracks from All The Colours Of You and an old favourite Just Like Fred Astaire to show a very different side to a band about to embark on an arena tour.
Wednesday, 17 November 2021
The Jesus And Mary Chain - Glasgow Barrowland - 14th November 2021
Scotland's greatest ever band return home for three nights as they launch their long overdue European Darklands tour. Stuart Ralston caught their first Barrowland show.
Tuesday, 16 November 2021
TRACK OF THE DAY : VLURE - I Won't Run (From Love)
NewDad / Crush - Manchester Yes Basement - 14th November 2021
Monday, 15 November 2021
Bullet Girl - Manchester Retro - 14th November 2021
Sunday, 14 November 2021
Dan Selwood - Manchester Castle Hotel - 13th November 2021
Saturday night saw the first ever show by Dan Selwood and his band opening for Trunky Juno at The Castle Hotel in Manchester. The four-piece band put on an impressive debut showing that betrayed the fact they hadn't played together in front of an audience before and put Dan's songwriting very much on our radar.
Saturday, 13 November 2021
Working Men's Club - Manchester Ritz - 12th November 2021
Fever - Manchester Deaf Institute - 12th November 2021
Friday, 12 November 2021
Ist Ist / Solis - Manchester Deaf Institute - 11th November 2021
Thursday, 11 November 2021
Suede / Nadine Shah - Manchester Victoria Warehouse - 10th November 2021
Suede rolled into Manchester for the penultimate night of their long-delayed anniversary tour for their 1996 album Coming Up performing the album in full in the first half of their set with a mix of singles and more recent tracks in the second half. Support came from Nadine Shah.
Wednesday, 10 November 2021
Willy Mason / Voka Gentle - Manchester Night And Day Cafe - 9th November 2021
Tuesday, 9 November 2021
Stephen Fretwell / George O'Hanlon - Manchester Gorilla - 8th November 2021
Sunday, 7 November 2021
Jane Weaver - Manchester Gorilla - 6th November 2021
LIINES - Glasgow The Flying Duck - 5th November 2021
To coincide with COP26, The Vegan Society have teamed up with Blue Dot to host a short series of events, gigs and discussion panels to raise awareness of their Plate Up For The Planet campaign. Eating vegan is one of the best ways to reduce your environmental footprint. Blue Dot invited Manchester's LIINES along. The three-piece played a storming fourteen song set, featuring old favourites and a host of amazing new tunes. Stuart Ralston went home for the evening and reports back.
Saturday, 6 November 2021
A Certain Ratio - Manchester Gorilla - 5th November 2021
Friday, 5 November 2021
Odd Morris / Yuka Tree - Manchester Gullivers - 4th November 2021
TRACK OF THE DAY : James - Miss America (Library Session)
James have revealed an intimate stripped down version of Miss America from their recent All The Colours Of You album. The track was recorded during the band's first post-lockdown get together at Broughton Hall in Skipton in May and is one of four tracks featured on their forthcoming Campfire EP that precedes their UK tour with Happy Mondays that kicks off on November 25.