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Diary Dates
Prolapse – Wednesday 26 October
The Y Theatre
Prolapse formed in the summer of 1991 under a table at Leicester Polytechnic’s Friday night disco, ‘With the aim of being the most depressing band ever’, earned a cult following for their live set, particularly for the tension within songs such as ‘Tina This Is Matthew Stone’, which were not so much sung as acted to a musical accompaniment. In 1994 they released two EPs on Cherry Red Records, ‘Crate’ and ‘Pull Thru Barker’ both of which were singles of the week on Radio 1’s The Evening Session with Steve Lamacq and Jo Wiley. They followed this with the single ‘Doorstop Rhythmic Bloc’ and album Pointless Walks to Dismal Places, which won critical acclaim, being hailed by the Melody Maker as the real alternative to the Blur vs Oasis Britpop wars. Following these releases they left Cherry Red records, they then went on to release a variety of singles and EPs on a bewildering number of different labels.
Gaz Brookfield – Wednesday 26 October
The Musician
Anti-folk artist and winner of Acoustic Magazines’s UK singer-songwriter competition. His songs are instantly accessible, everyman tales of life, love and everything else in between. Played in a folk-ish style with occasional use of the guitar as a percussiv
Funknation presents The New Mastersounds – Friday 28 October
The Donkey
Funknation presents the one and only The New Mastersounds have been delighting audiences with their infectious brand of funky soul-jazz since they formed in Leeds in 1999. For the first five years of the band’s career they were regulars at the Jazz Café in London, before they began to turn heads on the funk scene in the US, where guitarist/producer/bandleader Eddie Roberts now lives. For over a decade they have been a staple act of the late-night scene during New Orleans’ annual Jazz Fest.
The Mary Wallopers – Friday 4 November
The Soundhouse
Brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy and their friend Sean McKenna formed The Mary Wallopers in Dundalk as a three-piece ballad group traveling the length and breadth of Ireland singing and collecting songs. Their early live performances exuded a raw energy and their first five track EP – 2019’s A Mouthful of The Mary Wallopers – perfectly captured their sound and ethos, one filled with warmth, intimacy, chaos and enough sparks ready to light any fire. The band recently expanded to a seven piece for live performances.
TV Priest – Tuesday 8 November
Firebug
TV Priest are a band from the outskirts of London who have been firm friends since their youth, first making music together as teenagers. They have been described as ‘….awash in a spectral sound somewhere between post-punk, prog and kraut-rock, the band cite the likes of PiL, Stereolab, Ought and The Fall among their formative influences’.
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EVENT FOCUS: Rough Draft
We love hearing about new creative activities in Leicester, but did you know that once a month you can head down to The Y Theatre and hear all the latest creative happenings as they develop?
Rough Draft takes places on the 4th Tuesday of every month, describes itself as a “cocktail shaker of creativity” and offers an opportunity for creatives to help develop their ideas, performance and writing.
Everyone loves hearing new material. From gut-wrenching theatre to side-splitting comedy, melodic music to punchy poetry, and all those arty bits in between, there is so much new and exciting stuff falling out of those creative brains. But more often than not, the first stumbling block when making something new is getting it seen, finding out if it works, and finding people to help you make it.
This is what prompted the launch of Rough Draft and has seen the event continue over a number of years.
Put together by a handful of Leicester creatives, Rough Draft is a platform for artists to test out their new material. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to share their work, be that script in hand or something more polished, followed by a chat with the audience to ask questions and get answers and honest feedback.
The events are held monthly at The Y Theatre and entry is free. The next 2 events are on Tuesday 25 October and Tuesday 22 November 2022. Book your free tickets on The Y Theatre website. You can also keep up to date with the latest news from the Rough Draft Facebook.
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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.