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Diary Dates
Bellowhead – Saturday 12 November
De Montfort Hall
During lockdown in 2020 the 11 members of Bellowhead first re-connected online to remotely record ‘New York Girls – At Home’. That led to re-uniting in person for a one-off performance which was streamed to mark the anniversary of Hedonism. Thousands of fans watched the concert (one of the biggest online streams of 2020) confirming that Bellowhead are still one of the biggest and most in demand UK folk acts despite not performing for nearly 5 years.
The stream led to pleas from fans for more and now the stars have aligned and they are to reunite for a mammoth UK tour to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their fourth album Broadside!
Nick Harper – Sunday 13 November
The Musician
Son of legendary Roy Harper, Nick Harper has been described as ‘One of the finest guitarists of his generation, his soaring vocal range and propensity for epic song place him somewhere between Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley’ (Mojo). A folk troubadour, an acoustic balladeer – with a touch of rock ‘n’ roll on the side. He’s not folk. He’s emo skiffle. Pastoral hard rock. Progressive soul.
BDRMM – Wednesday 16 November
Firebug
Hull based quintet, Bdrmm, walk the line between dream pop and shoegaze, switching between ethereal melancholy and driving delay with ease.
Baskery – Wednesday 16 November
The Musician
Baskery is a Swedish blues / Southern rock band made up of three sisters and their dad. They started off ‘playing cover songs for drunk people’ and have created their own roots / Americana influenced style with a straightforward punk edge.
Space – Saturday 19 November
The Soundhouse
Cheeky, scouse outfit whose quirky, uplifting brand of indie-pop has produced many smiles, as well as some irresistable tunes (‘Neighbourhood’, ‘Female Of The Species’, ‘Me And You Vs The World’). Record company wrangles led to them being silent at the start of the new millennium, but in 2012 Space were back with a vengeance and playing material from their new albums ‘Attack Of The 50ft Kebab’ and ‘Give Me Your Future’.
Ibibio Sound Machine – Thursday 24 November
O2 Academy
Fronted by London-born Nigerian singer Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine is a clash of African and electronic elements inspired in equal measure by the golden era of West-African funk and disco and modern post-punk and electro. Weird and wonderful folk stories, recounted to Eno by her family as a child in her mother’s Ibibio tongue, form the creative fabric from which the band’s unique musical tapestry is woven. Evocative Nigerian poetic imagery set against an edgy Afro-Electro soundscape by producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton give the band a unique space within the current wave of modern Afrocentric sounds sweeping across the globe.
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PREVIEW: Steve Mason
Ahead of his UK tour, which is visiting Firebug in December, Steve Mason has announced details of the release of his fifth solo album, Brothers & Sisters, which is due for release next March.
His most open, honest and vibrant solo record to date, it marries the personal and the political but does so in an emotive and uplifting manner. Written against a backdrop of fear and uncertainty, and at a time when those in charge lurched from one disaster to the next mismanagement with increasing regularity, Brothers & Sisters is in fact an incredibly joyous, even spiritual, listen.
With musical contributions from feted Pakistani singer Javed Bashir, British gospel singers Jayando Cole, Keshia Smith, Connie McCall & Adrian Blake and Kaviraj Singh on the santoor it’s a record about bringing people together through art, music and culture.
“To me, this record is a massive ‘Fuck you’ to Brexit,” explains Mason. “And a giant ‘Fuck you’ to anyone that is terrified of immigration because there is nothing that immigration has brought to this country that isn’t to be applauded. Can you imagine what this place would be like without that [immigration]? I mean what would it be like? Cornish pasties and morris dancing?.”
The first track to be taken from the album is ‘No More’ ft Javed Bashir, which is accompanied by a visually stunning video featuring Steve and Javed, which was filmed across the South of England and Lahore in Pakistan.
Talking about ‘No More’ Steve said: This track is about Imperialism and in a subtle way, relative to some of my other work, references Australia, Partition and Africa through a combination of lyrics and music. I like to imagine the spirits of these cultures and people haunting the families who profited and were involved in their destruction down through the generations. Never giving them real peace. I can never square in my mind the idea of going to a new country with such horror in mind and struggle to believe that those who carry out such deeds are in fact Human. Sitting in incredible splendour with everything around you, dripping in the blood of incredible and ancient civilisations. This subject has been gone over in depth by many highly intelligent people over the years and is of course nothing new but given the message behind this ‘FUCK BREXIT PRO IMMIGRATION’ album I felt a little history and context was needed.
Steve’s tour visits Firebug on 3 December 2022 and tickets are on sale now.
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
This week we’re having a listen to some of the acts 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.