A weekend of world-class music is back at the Downs, this time in the guise of Forwards Festival. Any suggestion of slow ticket sales beforehand is negated as throngs of revellers burst through the turnstiles, ready for one last… Continue Reading
15th July 2022 “I don’t mind having a morning off, but not two and a half years” says frontman and prime songwriter Stuart Murdoch halfway through tonight’s set. Indeed, it’s been a long time coming; essentially a curtain raiser… Continue Reading
13th July 2022 When, toward the end of tonight’s performance, Chic drummer Ralph Rolle incites the packed harbourside audience to show their appreciation for main man Nile Rodgers, he invokes a staggering statistic that, as producer… Continue Reading
29th June 2022 (Photo by Danny Clinch) Of all the acts to have emerged into the alternative/indie rock universe in the past decade, Melbourne based singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett makes a solid claim to being the most brilliant and unique.… Continue Reading
27th June 2022 Having begun with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ pre-Glastonbury show last Wednesday night, this year’s Bristol Sounds – the largest to date with a programme of six quality headliners performing over consecutive evenings – ended in… Continue Reading
26th June 2022 When three unfamiliar musicians enter stage left at 8.30pm and perform a short instrumental interlude, one can be forgiven for feeling a slight sense of confusion. A rugged, long haired guitarist stands in the spot once… Continue Reading
25th May 2022 (photo by Poonah Ghana) Seven tunes into tonight’s nine song opening slot for Australian indie rock outfit Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, fellow Aussie Stella Donnelly admits “this is something a support act should never do”… Continue Reading
“What are the chances we can get a boat tomorrow?” Matthew E White asks the crowd in The Fleece. “We’ve got a day off in Bristol. Does anyone here have a boat?” A dinghy is offered.… Continue Reading