This weekly music guide is brought to you in partnership with PPL PRS Ltd. Big thanks for their ongoing support of local acts and venues.
Stay in the know and be the first in line. Every week.
Diary Dates
The Soundhouse Summer Sessions – Every Saturday
The Soundhouse
The Soundhouse Summer Sessions are back every Saturday afternoon throughout the summer. Join them for an afternoon of outdoor music from some of the best local live acoustic acts, with free entry, outdoor stage, dog friendly and family friendly.
Sunday afternoon gigs at The Donkey
Another one for a sunny weekend, don’t miss the free Sunday afternoon gigs at The Donkey on Welford Road. Starting from 3pm, when it’s sunny the music will move to their outdoor stage so you can soak up the tunes and the sun with a few beers and a bite from their food menu.
Gerry Jablonski Band – Saturday 12 August
The Musician
Scintillating Rock/Blues from Scotland’s premiere live band. Packing killer riffs and striking solos, Jablonski and his explosive band redefine rock blues on their own terms. Gerry is master guitarist with the well honed stagecraft of a seasoned performer. Blending blues roots with the influences of Classic Rock, Gerry and the boys make this a blistering powerhouse of a British Blues band.
Magpie Arc – Thursday 17 August
The Musician
A cross-border, five-piece, folk-rock band, featuring Nancy Kerr, Martin Simpson, Adam Holmes, Tom A Wright and Alex Hunter.
Weller v The Who featuring Heavy Sol – Friday 18 August
The Donkey
Heavy Sol are a 5 piece live band from Leicester covering top tunes from the likes of Paul Weller, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, The Who, The Jam and Small Faces!
Ginger Wildheart – Saturday 19 August
The Musician
Ginger Wildheart remains one of the UK’s most prolific singer/songwriter/guitarists. Best known through his work with The Wildhearts, Ginger Wildheart has spent the last twenty years writing and recording some of Britain’s best rock music and building a fanatical following.
You Me At Six – Tuesday 22 August
O2 Academy Leicester
Pop-punk heroes, You Me At Six are back with their huge album, ‘Truth Decay’ and intimate warm-up shows ahead of their appearance at Reading and Leeds 2023.
Crazyhead – Saturday 26 August
The Donkey
Enjoy a dose of garage punk from Leicester’s Crazyhead. Their songs range in theme from trenchant social commentary to the surreal, but always with an underlying vein of black humour. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like The Ramones, The Stooges and Captain Beefheart.
The Della Grants (Acoustic) – Friday 1 September
The Guildhall
Performing acoustically in a beautiful setting, don’t miss The Della Grants at The Guilhall.
Bluesmusicfan.com – “The blues world need to hear this band in a big way…” Blues Review (USA) – “Spectacular guitar based Blues/Rock.” Blues Rock Review (USA) – “Get ready for The Della Grants 9/10”
Aziz Ibrahim – Saturday 2 September
The Donkey
Former guitarist with Simply Red and The Stone Roses, and sometime collaborator with Ian Brown. Now a solo artist in his own right, Aziz has a unique East meets West sound and his guitar playing has been described as Ravi Shankar crossed with Jimi Hendrix.
Witch Fever – Saturday 9 September
The Soundhouse
Manchester all female punk band Witch Fever provide big grungy riffs and totally manic performances.
Trevor Nelson’s 90s and 00s Mixtape – Friday 15 September
O2 Academy
One of the country’s top r’n’b and hip-hop devotees. Resident DJ at Funk at Sound and regular contributor on Radio 1 and MTV. He is without question the main man in all that’s hiphop, RnB, soul and reggae related, while his 1xtra breakfast show is usually what rouses you out of bed in the morning.
Gengahr – Monday 25 September
O2 Academy
Gengahr create effortlessly smooth and melodic indie-rock that journeys along a laidback sun-kissed path with a sound that could easily stem from influences drawn from icons such as The Smiths and Modest Mouse, to the more recently revered Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Youth Lagoon.
••••
PREVIEW: Cosmpolitan Arts present For the Love of Jazz Festival
Get ready to immerse yourself in a vibrant celebration of musical excellence as Cosmopolitan Arts brings an extraordinary weekend of events to Leicester City. Across the 12th and 13th of August, Cosmopolitan Arts Immersive Exhibition will unfold at the Haymarket Shopping Centre as part of For the Love of Jazz Festival, which will conclude on Sunday 13th of August with a fantastic lineup of Jazz greats alighting the stage at Jubilee Square.
This immersive showcase will allow visitors to relive the magic of the recent Cosmopolitan Arts Festival held in July. The festival, which celebrated the city’s diverse heritage, concluded the days of events with an evening spectacular, which showcased an inspiring blend of talent, from musicians to dancers, and acrobatics, all accompanied by captivating mapped projections.
Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to relive the magic of the evening performance through curated recordings, allowing them to experience the awe-inspiring performances up close and personal.
On August 13th, join us for an extraordinary celebration of jazz in the heart of Jubilee Square. This highly anticipated and free event will feature a handpicked lineup of jazz greats that promises to ignite your senses and have your toes tapping in no time!
Hosted by DJ Schooly (Jazz FM), the festival’s lineup will include the soulful rhythms of jazz artist Helen Gayle and her band Latin Voices, the electrifying performance of The Fourmasons, the unique fusion of classical cello and contemporary jazz by The Urban Cellist, and the captivating IndoJazz set by clarinettist Arun Ghosh, among many other talented artists.
Both events are organised by Cosmopolitan Arts, a recently designated National Portfolio Organisation by Arts Council England. They are supported by Leicester City Council, Leicester Jazzhouse, and MJazz, ensuring an electrifying and unforgettable festival experience.
Join them on Jubilee Square at 11.30am on August 13th to experience the magic of the ‘For the Love of Jazz Festival.’ And don’t miss the enchanting ‘Cosmopolitan Arts Immersive Exhibition at the Haymarket Shopping Centre from the 12th to the 13th of August, 11am to 4pm.
••••
WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Check out this week’s playlist featuring acts that you can see live in Leicester over the coming weeks.
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.