COOL AS LEICESTER

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Diary Dates

Boo Hewerdine – Thursday 12 May
The Musician

For over 30 years Boo Hewerdine has been considered one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters. As lead singer of seminal band, The Bible, through his subsequent solo work and his long-time collaboration with the incredible Eddi Reader he has become something of a national treasure. Since Swimming in Mercury was released in 2017, Boo has been writing, recording and touring with Eddi Reader, Chris Difford, Kris Drever and Emily Barker among others. He is in demand as a writer, producer and performer. This Autumn he will be undertaking an extensive tour, singing songs from his new album ‘Before’ and his extensive back catalogue. A naturally gifted raconteur his gigs are always a total joy.

Marisa & The Moths – Friday 13 May
The Musician

For fans of Halestorm, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, 5-piece Marisa And The Moths, fronted by Marisa Rodriguez, bring to mind the best hard rock and grunge bands of the 90s. The band deliver a deeply personal sound, detailing Marisa’s struggles with anxiety and everyday sexism amongst other themes. The music is the perfect vehicle for Marisa’s voice, soulful and powerful, as well as guitarist Sophie Lloyd’s eye-popping riff skills.

Moon Music – Friday 13 and Saturday 14 May
2Funky Music Cafe

Join some of Leicester top talent across urban and afrobeats for two nights of free live music and fun as part of Tour De Moon. Tour De Moon is a free arts festival that encourages you to think differently. Join them for free activities across the city all weekend. Grab tickets from www.tourdemoon.com.

Sports – Saturday 14 May
The Soundhouse

Sports first introduced themselves with their 2015 debut single, You Are The Right One, a concentrated slow drip of funk. Their debut project, Naked All The Time (2015) and its follow-up, People Can’t Stop Chillin (2016) delivered additional critically-praised singles including: Panama, Whatever You Want, and Someone You’d Rather Be Dating. The band returned in 2018 with their first full-length album, Everyone’s Invited, a vibrant offering that received acclaim from Pitchfork, Pigeons & Planes, and Ones To Watch.

Kae Tempest – Monday 16 May
O2 Academy Leicester

Kae Tempest is a published playwright, poet and recording artist. Their playwriting credits include Wasted (Paines Plough) Brand New Ancients (BAC) and Glasshouse (Cardboard Citizens). They have written poetry for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Barnado’s, Channel 4 and the BBC. Kae is a two times slam winner at the prestigious Nu-Yorican poetry cafe in New York and they have played all the major UK and European music festivals either solo or with their band Sound Of Rum. Kae’s 2014 debut album Everybody Down became a Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize nominee and each track on the album correlated with a chapter in their debut novel.

The Luka State – Tuesday 17 May
Firebug

With Conrad Ellis on lead vocals and guitar, their previous incarnation, The Targets, they played alongside the Subways, The Sounds, and Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly amongst others. Now they plan to be bigger and better as The Luka State.

This weekend 2Funky Music Cafe plays host to Moon Music as part of Tour De Moon. On Friday and Saturday night you can catch some of the best local talent across soul, urban, afrobeats and more, as encourage you to imagine a new, radical world. One of those artists is up and coming star, Mar!k. We caught up with him to find out what we can expect from the show.

How would you describe your music for anyone who isn’t familiar? 

Soulful and diverse. I rap and sing and produce everything I put out so my sound is hard to compare to other artists. There’s always something fresh that you can groove to or catch a vibe from.

What are your live shows like?

Lively, Engaging, A Vibe. You’ll have to come to one of my shows to see but you probably won’t see anything like it anywhere else.

Which 3 artists would be listed in your “for fans of” section?

Masego, The Internet, Little Simz

Tell us about your background in music?

I’ve been playing bass and guitar since secondary school, but I’ve been writing songs and performing since I was 6. I’ve been producing about 4 years now and I’d describe my sound as a combination of every genre through the lens of soul music and UK hip-hop.

What can we expect from your performance at Tour De Moon’s Moon Music at 2Funky Music Cafe?

An incredible band. A good time. An experience you’ll never forget.

What else does 2022 have in store for you?

Collaborations with artists from all over the UK, more shows, new music. Maybe even a few interviews.

Where can people hear more of you?

Besides Saturday night at the 2Funky Lounge, You can find me on Spotify as ‘Mar!k’ and Instagram @musicbymarik

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WEEKLY PLAYLIST

In this week’s playlist you can listen to some of the best acts you can catch live in Leicester over the coming weeks.

Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.