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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.
Gaye Bikers on Acid – Saturday 5 August
Duffy’s Bar
An explosion of sounds and styles, Leicester’s Gaye Bykers on Acid were among the leaders of the short-lived ‘grebo’ scene, which proved instrumental in bridging the gap between rock and hip-hop. Formed in 1987 they’ve had major label deals, world tours, break ups and make ups.
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.
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INTERVIEW: Wake Up Promotions
Wake Up Promotions know a thing or two about the local music scene, regularly working with different venues to programme events, including top tribute bands, local artist showcases, and more. We caught up with the man behind it, Paul, to find out what’s coming up.
How important are local promoters to the Leicester music scene?
Quite important I think as we take the pressure off venues having to book all the shows themselves and we programme an eclectic mix of shows in the city. It’s never been tougher since covid and the cost of living crisis but we keep going as we love this city’s wonderful venues, and it would simply be heartbreaking to lose them.
Tell us about some of your upcoming events?
This Saturday sees a great upcoming local band line up at the Musician featuring BilloBuckers, The Novas, Obi Demin & Dean Welch followed by a grunge tribute night there on 11 August. We’re then hosting a Paul Weller vs The Who night at the Donkey on Friday 18 August, featuring Heavy Sol live. September’s highlight is the incredible Aziz Ibrahim #Lordofthestrings at The Donkey, which is a show not to be missed
Who are some of the local acts that you’d recommend people should check out?
Billobuckers – a local indie acoustic artist who now has a band behind him and is gigging up and down the country. Definitely one to watch.
What’s the best gig you’ve been to this year?
Blur at Wembley – one of the best shows I have ever seen! (The beer prices weren’t so great though!)
How important is it that people continue to support the local music scene?
Incredibly important at the minute and if you can’t attend a show then just sharing it on social media really helps and is appreciated.
What has been your highlight since promoting shows in Leicester?
Ian McCullouch (Echo & the Bunnymen) at the Y theatre & the Sugarhill Gang at the 2Funky Music Cafe. Both very stressful shows but worth it in the end!
How can people keep up to date with what you have on?
The best way is to follow up on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and keep a look out for all of our event announcements.
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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.