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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.
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.
SKAM (acoustic show) – Friday 22 September
The Guildhall
A three piece, flick rock band from Leicester who play a blend of classic British rock with elements of punk and heavy metal. They have been compared to the Foo Fighters, Therapy? and AC/DC. With a reputation for delivering no nonsense, gutsy, classic sounding British rock music, played with passion and conviction the band have steadily built a strong local following.
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.
Uncle Frank – Friday 6 October
The Soundhouse
Multi-instrumentalists Frank Benbini (one third of Fun Lovin’ Criminals) and Naim Cortazzi from Leicester are the founding members of Uncle Frank. “Oh my, this is the blues as originally intended, James Brown and all the funkery that goes with that. Add in a dose of electro pulsation and you have something that sits easily in the here and now but also pulls from the glorious past.”
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PREVIEW: Don Broco club tour includes Leicester date
Following their incredible main stage performances at Reading & Leeds Festivals last weekend, DON BROCO hit the road again in the UK this autumn. Having blown audiences away in March when they headlined huge venues including the likes of Alexandra Palace and Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, DON BROCO will be taking to the stages of some of the smallest venues they’ve played in years. AND it includes a date at Leicester’s O2 Academy.
Vocalist Rob Damiani reveals, “We’re buzzing to be heading out on The Birthday Party Tour in November and December, hitting up some of our favourite spots in the UK that we haven’t been to in a little while and some future faves we’ve never been to before! Broco at Koko the first time around was a huge night for us and can’t wait to be back for round 2!”
To celebrate the news, the band will be releasing a brand new single on September 15th. ‘Birthday Party’ is yet another left-turn from the Bedfordshire four-piece, who continually evolve and surprise with new musical directions. A skittery, genre-bending electro-blast of crunching beats and distorted guitars, it’s topped off with Rob Damiani’s ennui-drenched vocals, full of disappointment and dismay. As he explains, “Birthdays can be the absolute worst. You get all hyped up for what you think is a guaranteed top day, but when that doesn’t work out you can’t help but feel EXTRA bad. I don’t really like birthdays because of this, but one year tried throwing a last min shindig and in classic form it was not well attended, haha. I can’t say I took it well but my only option was having a party for one and this song is the story of that night.”
The 15-date Birthday Party Tour will be a much more celebratory affair, with DON BROCO playing a hits-packed set and getting up, close and personal with their exuberant fan-base. Making the shows even more special will be the fact that anyone with a ticket who is celebrating their birthday on the day of each gig will be treated to their own mini-birthday party by being invited to an exclusive meet-and-greet with the band before the show. Full details will be revealed on the band’s website in due course.
Tickets for the tour are on sale now and are available from www.myticket.co.uk
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Check out this week’s playlist filled with artists 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.