Seb Lowe / Springfield Elementary / The Lanks - Stockport Bask - 29th September 2022

Seb Lowe headed to Stockport's new venue Bask for its first ever full-band show on Thursday night as part of his tour of venues in the south of Greater Manchester. An eleven-song set confirmed the growing belief that he's on his way to much bigger venues in the not too distant future. Support came from Springfield Elementary and The Lanks.

Ian Brown / Dermo - Edinburgh O2 Academy - 27th September 2022

“Do you like me band?” The third night of the Ian Brown tour rolls into town with the added attraction of a set from former Northside frontman Dermo. Stuart Ralston went along. 

The Big Moon / Gently Tender / Arxx - Manchester Academy 2 - 25th September 2022

A pandemic and a pregnancy pushed back The Big Moon's biggest Manchester headline show by two years but finally, ahead of the release of their third album Here Is Everything, Juliette, Celia, Soph and Fern played this sold-out show on Sunday night. Support came from Gently Tender, with a familiar face in the band, and Arxx.

Just Mustard / White Flowers - Glasgow Broadcast - 25th September 2022

Just Mustard brought their mesmerising new album Heart Under to a fanatical sell out crowd at Glasgow’s Broadcast with stellar support from White Flowers. Stuart Ralston was there.

The Charlatans - Manchester New Century Hall - 22nd September 2022

As part of the opening celebrations for Manchester's newest old venue New Century Hall, The Charlatans performed their second album Between 10th And 11th in full on Thursday night before finishing with a mini-greatest hits set.

TRACK OF THE DAY : The Murder Capital - A Thousand Lives

The Murder Capital continue their long-awaited return with a new single A Thousand Lives and the announcement of their second album Gigi's Recovery and a UK and European tour for February 2023.

Wyldest / Mui Zyu / Lass - Manchester Gullivers - 21st September 2022

Wyldest brought their third album Feed The Flowers Nightmares to Gullivers ballroom in Manchester on Wednesday night, performing the album in full with support from Mui Zyu and Lass.

The Slow Readers Club - Interview

We caught up with The Slow Readers Club last week in Liverpool as they prepared for the second night of their current UK tour to talk about being back on the road, the adjustments they've had to make since COVID stopped the momentum of their top ten The Joy Of The Return album and their next record. Today they've announced a UK and European tour for 2023.

Ist Ist / Pale Puma - Rotterdam V11 - 18th September 2022

Ist Ist opened their series of sold-out Dutch dates in Rotterdam on Sunday night in the hull of V11 in the port area of Rotterdam in front of an adoring fan base who'd snapped up the tickets for this show in under a minute when they went on sale. Support came from local Dutch act Pale Puma.

Dirty Laces - Manchester Academy 3 - 17th September 2022

Dirty Laces celebrated the release of their new single Midnight Mile on Saturday night at Manchester Academy 3. An hour plus set of old favourites and new material confirmed their transformation from an archetypal Manchester lads band to a much more powerful and compelling sound.

Ash / The Gulps - Manchester Ritz - 15th September 2022

Ash returned to Manchester on Thursday night for what feels like an annual tradition of a gig at The Ritz. Celebrating the reissue of their third album Free All Angels with a show performing the album in full with selected added tracks as an encore and with then-guitarist Charlotte Hatherley guesting on the tour, they delighted a packed crowd with a set full of their usual energy and memorable singalong tracks from one of Britpop's defining bands. Support came from The Gulps.

Loose Articles - Chaos EP

2022 has been the year where you can't move around Manchester without seeing Loose Articles somewhere. What's been missing so far is a full release and the Chaos EP has arrived to fill that gap, picking up this year's single releases and more.

Ist Ist - Interview

Ahead of their debut European tour that starts later this week with sold out shows in Berlin, Amsterdam and two in Rotterdam as well as a return visit to headline Porto's Post Punk Strikes Back Again Festival, we caught up with Ist Ist for a chat about success at home and further afield, their Manchester headline show at The Ritz and other plans for 2023.

The Slow Readers Club / Klangstof - Liverpool Academy - 11th September 2022

The Slow Readers Club headlined Liverpool O2 Academy on Sunday night in front of a devoted boisterous audience that sung along to every word of a set that featured a lot of deeper cuts from across their career as well as many of their best known songs. Support came from a slimmed-down Klangstof ahead of the release of their Godspeed To The Freaks album out on Friday.

Little Sparrow / Chris Flynn - Manchester Portico Library - 10th September 2022

The intimate and beautiful surroundings of the Portico Library, hidden away above The Bank pub on Mosley Street played host to a rare Manchester outing for Little Sparrow performing tracks from her debut album Wishing Tree as well as from her long-awaited follow-up supported by Chris Flynn.

Pale Blue Eyes / Modema - Manchester Retro - 7th September 2022

Pale Blue Eyes brought their highly-acclaimed debut album Souvenirs to the hot and humid basement of Retro Bar in Manchester on Wednesday night for an hour-long set that was rapturously received by a crowd that reveled in the trio's pure joy of playing live music. They were supported by an impressive debut performance by Modema.

Dream Wife / Bleach Lab - Hebden Bridge Trades Club - 2nd September 2022

Dream Wife headed to Hebden Bridge for an intimate warm-up for their appearance at Manchester Psych Fest on Friday night supported by Bleach Lab. Mixing new material that promises to be their strongest to date with crowd favourites from their first two albums they created a real sense of communal purpose and message whilst drawing everyone in the room into their joy of performance.