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.
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Diary Dates.
Grandma’s House – Thursday 16 March
Duffy’s Bar
Bristol-based, queer punk-trio, Grandma’s House, are known for their fast and raucous guitar riffs, thumping bass lines and aggressive drums. Combining their love of post-punk with surfy melodies, Grandmas House have created a captivating sound that grabs you right by the throat. With vocals compared to artists ranging from The Raincoats to Motörhead and described musically as a mix between Courtney Barnett and The Slits, the original, fresh sound coming from this band is undeniable.
Goldie Lookin’ Chain – Saturday 18 March
O2 Academy
With more razzle-dazzle jewellery than Mr T, this novelty rap act from South Wales manage to make The Streets’ Mike Skinner appear positively middle-class. The 15 chavs that make up GLC were somehow signed to independent label EastWest on the dubious strength of a handful of tracks that had been burnt to CDR and passed around the pubs of Newport. Now, armed with songs about smoking weed, shagging monkeys and, erm, ‘cider enemas’, they are headlining gigs around the UK.
Sweet Baboo – Wednesday 22 March
Firebug
A native of the North Wales countryside, Sweet Baboo aka Stephen Black is a single minded, idiosyncratic singer possessing an ear for sparkling melody and a gift for a deft lyrical turn – from darkly funny to piercingly tender, twinkling boastful to deliciously self-deprecating. Sometimes performing solo with an acoustic guitar, sometimes with a full electric band, his music is influenced by the likes of The Beach Boys, Daniel Johnston and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. but with a unique delivery all of his own.
From Inside – Friday 31 March
The Shed
From Inside are a fresh alternative metal band from UK culture capital, Liverpool. The aim of the band is simple; to offer listeners something which will help them through the dark times in their lives. Drawing comparisons to Bring Me The Horizon and the earlier Linkin Park albums, From Inside have a sound driven by an atmospheric blend of distorted guitars and emotional lyrical content, layered over captivating orchestral synths.
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FOCUS ON: PPL PRS celebrates five years in Leicester
Regular readers of our Weekly Music Guide will have seen PPL PRS across the branding. The music licensing business has sponsored our music content for a number of years now, allowing us to shine a spotlight on upcoming and showcase local artists. Now, as they celebrate five years in Leicester, we thought it was time to shine the spotlight on them.
The end of February saw PPL PRS Ltd, the joint venture for public performance licensing from PPL and PRS for Music, celebrate five years since it began operating from its home in Leicester at Mercury Place.
The launch, which saw hundreds of thousands of music users transition from the two parent companies to a new joint licence, ‘TheMusicLicence’, ended the need for customers (including shops, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, live sports and music festivals) to purchase separate PPL and PRS for Music licences. In addition to bringing the respective rights and repertoire together, customers have benefited from a streamlined service and a single point of contact, making it easier for them to use music and create a better experience for their staff and customers.
In March 2020, when PPL PRS had only been trading for two years, the business had to close its doors due to COVID-19, however they quickly transitioned their workforce to work from home to ensure that they could continue to support their customers who were facing the same issues. During lockdown and restriction periods, both local and national, customers of TheMusicLicence were not charged for their licence – easing some of the financial burden many business owners were experiencing.
Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic the company has continued to grow and now employs over 250 people in both full time and flexible roles in Leicester, with staff enjoying the welcoming and inclusive culture that has been built within the business. This includes a stylish, music-related working environment, healthy breakfasts provided to everyone, Mental Health First Aiders, an array of employee benefits along with a strong employee engagement programme.
During the five years the business has been trading it has become a prominent member of the business community, forming partnerships with the likes of Leicester Tigers and HQ CAN Community Interest Group. During this time the business and its employees have also raised money for local charities, including Soft Touch Arts, Help the Homeless Leicester, and LAMP.
And it’s not only the business community that PPL PRS have been engaging with over the last five years. The launch of the company in the East Midlands, was a significant moment for both PPL and PRS for Music, the wider music industry and the local area. PPL PRS is one of the city’s largest employers and is well established within the business community, working with local colleges, universities and cultural and creative partners across the region.
By providing support to Curve, the theatre was able to increase its engagement with local young people by launching Curve Youth and Community Company (CYCC) hubs across Leicester schools ensuring young people of all ages could engage with the arts.
In 2022, PPL PRS also worked with The World Reimagined when they brought their artistic globes and education programme to the city to highlight the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the fight to make racial equality a reality – a cause which is very close to the heart of the business as they have a strong Diversity and Inclusion Policy.
Heading into 2023 the business has also provided support for The Spark Festival, which brought creative arts to children in the city and surrounding areas.
Speaking on the five-year anniversary, Managing Director Andrea Gray said: “I am really proud to have been a part of the PPL PRS story here in Leicester. Having joined the business late in 2019, I was faced with the unprecedented events of 2020 and 2021, and the business and all our colleagues adapted fantastically. The people we have at PPL PRS all work incredibly hard and there is a real sense of collaboration and team work, and this is shown through the wonderful inclusive and diverse culture we have built here.
Being a part of the thriving Leicester business community has been so exciting over the last few years. Forming partnerships with Curve, Leicester Tigers, BID Leicester and being involved with events such as BrewBeat and The Spark Festival helps us to support local businesses, whilst also bringing creative arts and music to the people of Leicester. I am looking forward to the new challenges that 2023 will bring, and working with all our local community partners again this year.”
Next time you see the PPL PRS logos pop up, or see the sponsorship info on our website, it’s just another little reminder of the great impact they’ve had on the city since moving to Leicester.
You can find out more from www.pplprs.co.uk.
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Deciding which gigs to hit up over the coming weeks? Check out our playlist of acts you can see live in Leicester.
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.