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Diary Dates
Northern Soul & Motown Night – Friday 27 January
The Donkey
Get your dancing shoes on and enjoy the best of Northern Soul and Motown with this Friday night out to celebrate the end of January. Tickets are just £4.
A Band Called Malice – Friday 27 January
Ronnie Roos
The Definitive Tribute to The Jam. A Band Called Malice continue to wow audiences by being the number one choice tribute-act to The Jam. This talented trio are the real deal and guarantee to take you back to ‘When You’re Young.”. As Jam fans themselves, A Band Called Malice shows are full of high-octane energy, angst, aggression and the passion displayed by their idols.
Pip Blom – Saturday 28 January
Firebug
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Never listen to people who want to change your music. With that advice from a fellow musician Amsterdam based Pip Blom started making songs. First with a three string Loog guitar with the 14 track demo album Short Stories as result. Some years later, the sound has changed completely. Gone is the ‘girl with little guitar’. Enter electric guitars, bass and drums. But it is still Pip.’
Benefits – Wednesday 1 February
Firebug
Benefits are taking the UK by storm with their brutal punk music. An issues based music collective from Teesside in the North East of England, they write songs about the urgencies that concern them. These songs are loud.
SOFY – Thursday 2 February
The Soundhouse
Leicester-raised artist, SOFY, picked up a pen and started work on her collection of songs in 2021, throwing herself headfirst into music after being placed on furlough. Her hip-hop inspired indie-pop bops quickly earned her recognition among top industry tastemakers such as Clara Amfo, Jess Iszatt, & Gemma Bradley. SOFY was runner up in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge’s nationwide talent search following over 10,000+ applicants – selected as the most promising new artist in London, with over 4,000 entries from the capital alone – and now counts the likes of YUNGBLUD, Sam Fender, Arlo Parks, and Tom Grennan among her fans.
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INTERVIEW: Kiz looks ahead to Gift of the Gab
Leicester musicians and spoken word performers will use an upcoming ‘Gift of the gab’ event to raise awareness and funds for LAMP at The Y Theatre on Saturday 28 January. Led by Leicester musician Kiz and creative agency Rock Kitchen Harris, the event will focus on how people can better speak up about their mental health, and help those they know to do the same. We caught up with Kiz to find out more about it all.
What inspired Gift of the Gab?
Gift of the gab came off the back of my music slogan, which initially reflects my use of wordplay and punchlines within my lyrics. With lockdown causing so many issues for people mentally, and then to see such a rise in deaths and suicides, specifically an increase with men too, it was something always on my mind. In terms of timing, I thought it would be perfect to start off the new year by giving back to the city and encouraging people to support the battle against mental health in Leicester and surrounding areas. Before myself it’s everyone else. I too have seen close ones around me struggle and I also have had points where things have been difficult to talk about but to see it push people to certain extents where they feel they have no options left, I feel this is where the big issue lies and we need to encourage people to feel more comfortable about talking to one another, whether it be just friends of family or professional help.
What performances can people look forward to on the night?
On the night, we will have hot food catered by Caribbean Express, followed by a talk from LAMP, then by the Y Theatre team – discussing the work they carry out. After both talks have taken place, there will be poetry, spoken word and rap performance from myself (Kiz) and two others.
Tell us a little more about Kiz and your musical style?
Kiz is an up-and-coming rapper from Leicester. Working on various styles and genres through rap to cater to different audiences. I’ve been rapping now for 2 1/2 years and now finally started to make a presence in the Leicester music scene. Gift of the gab, was in fact my first freestyle and video that I released on to my own YouTube channel and the phrase has stuck since.
How did you first link up with LAMP?
Once the idea had come together, I checked for mental health charities in the local area and LAMP came across as the most relevant cause to support for this. The charity were over the moon with the idea and have been very keen to work with us on this.
Where can people find out more and buy tickets?
People can find out more info by visit my social account on instagram – @kizofficial1 or by visiting the Eventbrite page. For those who cannot attend but are keen to support still, the go fund me page link is here: https://gofund.me/c1207eeb
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
This week’s playlist we’ve got a selection of Leicester artists for you to wrap your ears around.
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.