All photos - Les Linyard FRIDAY After a lively opening set from Leatherat, whose jigs got the early afternoon crowd moving about, The Bevis Frond opened the Abrahams / Wood stage with a set suggesting they deserved a place higher up the bill. They’re a four piece rock band with a distinctive psych edge to..
Isiliel – The Underworld, London (26 July 2026)
A Sunday evening is Camden is one of the quieter times in that frenetic quarter of London, and that was also reflected in the modest turnout at the Underworld for metal band Isiliel. I, myself, didn’t really know what to expect. I went almost on a whim after the streaming service I use put one..
KARNATAKA – St Helens Citadel, 17 April 2026
When the band return after a short hiatus they go immediately into Unforgiven... Already impressive in its studio guise, this live rendition ups the power and emotion on every level, with Sertari's incantatory Latin recitation sharing the honours with Luke Machin's coruscating lead guitar work to make this a truly stunning piece of music. PHOTOS:..
BLACK SABBITCH: Re-igniting the ‘tribute band’ debate. Some are more equal than others…
Black Sabbitch could easily have wheeled out most of the Paranoid album, a few from the debut and Master Of Reality, and not much else ... The man in the street is happy as long as he gets to sing along to Paranoid, Iron Man and the rest of the usual suspects, and he likely..
The Damn Truth/Parker Barrow/The Greyfox Conspiracy – The Corporation, Sheffield (15 November 2025)
Outside, this was a wet, wild and windy day. Inside, the "Corp" was just the opposite as three quality bands all delivered the goods to a full house. First up were the Greyfox Conspiracy, of whom I knew very little but was quickly impressed by the musicianship and sheer fun these....um....mature gentlemen were having. Born..
Hollow Souls / Troy Redfern, The Real Time Live, Chesterfield (17 October 2025)
I love going to smaller venues like this little gem, with a capacity of around 300 you get a "real" full-on live experience - and for blues /blues-rock that can make all the difference. A nearly full gathering of folk who clearly knew their blues rock - and anything by Kris Barras in particular -..
FRANCK CARDUCCI & THE FANTASTIC SQUAD – St Helens Citadel, 12 Sept 2025
The crowd's evident enthusiasm clearly fed back into the band's performance, and we saw something of that symbiosis which can occur when band and audience both take energy from each other. Photos: Andy Cowley This was a show which had taken quite some time to come to fruition - almost three years in fact! In..
A Sunday In September – The Bedford, Balham, London (14 September 2025)
This was the fifth edition of this annual all-day musical festival in South London. In its first iterations, A Sunday In September was heralded as a progressive music event, but since last year its organiser, Chris Parkins of London Prog Gigs, has subtly changed that definition to ‘an all-day boutique festival of eclectic, progressive and..
WEDNESDAY 13 (Sheffield Corporation, 29 July 2025)
It feels like a sign. Heading into Sheffield to see Wednesday 13 at the Steel City’s Corporation venue, the ominous clouds hang heavy and apocalyptic, with only a colony of bats needed to complete the eerie scene. People continue to stream through the doors as The Nocturnal Affair performs their second cover song, Haddaway’s 1990's..
W.A.S.P (Nottingham Rock City, 27 July 2025)
While W.A.S.P.'s social media captured a very healthy queue patiently waiting to get inside Nottingham’s Rock City, the part that was missed was that it was a five-minute walk and the end of that line was in another post-code. And apart from W.A.S.P. shirts, have a guess at what the next most popular shirt was..