Last evening saw the tenth in the series of ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraisers for The Tin, but the first for 2026 and the first one to be ...

Christmas time probably deserves extra special live musical experiences and as the last gig of 2025 in my diary after a year of, as I review it in ...

I'm not too sure if mere words (at least any I can find) could possibly due justice to last evening's ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser at & ...

This time of the year tends to generate "special" events & last evening at Kenilworth's United Reformed Church was no exception.

You'll pardon me I hope any inadequacies in my report on our eighth ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin: the one you'll have seen ...

When I broke my duck for attending allotment based gigs back in September when I went to the Coventry Food Union "Song & Soil" event at their base ...

As predicted in my review of its release, Concrete Fun House duly launched their debut album 'I Guess It's Time We Got Into This' later that same ...

After the great pleasure I derived from the previous Crypt Sessions organised by Coventry Food Union in the Wyley Chapel under Coventry Cathedral ...

After a little break for summer holidays and to avoid getting in the way of our friends at CovTember, the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraisers ...

This piece is just going to be a litany of praise & my main problem is going to be reining myself in & not straying into hyperbole.

In my recent review of the Coventry Food Union "Song & Soil" event featuring Izzie Derry which they held at their Sherbourne Valley Allotments HQ, ...

As you know, with all this wonderful original musical talent around in Coventry & Warwickshire these days,  I do worry about having sufficient ...

Pleased as I was to report the great news from Kenilworth Old Town Festival & from the much improved Leamington Ecofest regarding facilities for ...

I am pleased to say that after the revelation last week that there are some genuinely well organised local festival events when I enjoyed the ...

I'd like to begin this article with a focus on an aspect of live performance opportunities which I don't usually foreground: festival organisers.

Last night saw the fifth of Coventry Food Union's intimate fundraising gigs in the Wyley Chapel which is in the crypt of the ruined Coventry ...

One aspect of the evolving series of fundraising gigs for The Tin featuring ‘Hot Music Live Presents' featured (and intended featured) artists ...

In these uncertain times it would be remiss not to address a very obvious issue around the Godiva Festival: there were fewer stages & fewer local ...

Fantastic live music is definitely what inspires a reviewer but the odd irony helps add a little splash of extra detail too.

If only the uncut meadow parts of St Nicholas Park in Warwick had contained a few more (wild) flowers to provide the perfect setting for WLDFLWRS ...

I must surely have been to gigs on Fridays the thirteenth before & go away with it.

I am pleased to report that after reporting her trauma via her last single "If They Knew What You Did", the song seems to have had something of a ...

I suppose it's an indicator of success when people start praising a gig online before you have had time to complete your own formal review: it is ...

My emotional palette is always refreshed by a Lauren South concert but when she manages to put together a larger band, such as the one with whom ...

I know I've praised the recorded output of WorldSong, including their current album ‘Together As One: A Celebration of Community Singing' and ...

In many ways, values & attitudes shape my attraction to certain artists as much as their talent & prowess.

Having addressed the current unease around independent venues' sustainability in my last review, now onto the equivalent need to support record ...

Last evening's "Hot Music Live Presents" fundraiser at and for The Tin Music & Arts certainly rose magnificently once more to the challenge of ...

It was a pleasure & a privilege (the gig sold out swiftly) to witness the Leamington leg of the Dirt Road Band's national tour with The Milk Men ...

As with the previous "Hot Music Live Presents" curated fundraiser for The Tin, words can scarcely do adequate justice to what I witnessed last ...

Recent events in our area & the focus of Independent Venue Week have brought home some stark truths about the sort of places where the type of ...

In describing to you last night's Christmas Show put together by Izzie Derry, since she headlined and was supported by Lauren South (who was ...

A selection of photos from Ace Ambrose's "Balcony Session" at the HMV Empire yesterday afternoon

For ages, an Ellie Gowers gig at The Tin would have seemed a suitably prestigious gig for one of the area's foremost artists.

Only a few weeks after seeing Duck Thieves help celebrate FarGo's tenth birthday, it's their turn to reach a similar milestone.

After the intense disappointment of my last experience of Monday Nights live when their beautiful songs were run through the mangle of ...

As with last year's event, COVtember 2024 must rate as a roaring (in every sense) success.

Having published my review of their single "Japan" which comes out tomorrow, it was serendipitous that Monday Nights were playing this afternoon ...

I had a very pleasant couple of hours in this afternoon's late summer sun enjoying those fine acts The Twin Flames & Hannah Woof.

I'm glad to say I caught some great performances of original material from highly talented musicians yesterday at Coventry HMV Empire's all day ...

Having had to lower my expectations of the musical aspects of Leamington's "Art in the Park" over the years, with 2023 representing something of a ...

After my over-enthusiastic attempt to visit the Vortex Creates "JOY: Inspired by Nature" exhibition at the Herbert on July 3rd (well before it was ...

As you've probably noticed (and I fear when I overdo it, been bored by it), I do try & go beyond mechanistic reviews where possible & try & ...

There can be few more civilised pleasures than sitting by Stratford Upon Avon Bandstand on a sunny summer Sunday afternoon & listening to such ...

You will have noticed my considerable respect for & excitement concerning the Live On Stage project if you've been reading my article over the ...

As you'll have read in my in my article about Matthew Mansfield (aka Matt Hernández) earlier this week, my intention had been to pop down to the ...

This article is pretty much a mirror to my anticipatory one on the 2024 Godiva Festival which I wrote a month ago: having looked forwards to ...

I am so pleased that if you read the magazine & check out the tracks on "Hot Music Live", one of the stories it tells about the exceptionally ...

One of the phenomena I experience with live reviewing is to enjoy the moment (and why not?) and then have subsequent reflection suggest bigger ...

Well that might be described as a double ambition fulfilled in one trip.

I set off on Sunday to catch Katherine Abbott at Pete Willow's ...

Reviewing multi stage festivals when I have limited time generates its own dynamics and when the event itself, like Motofest 2024 in Coventry has ...

It's always uplifting: morally, emotionally & physically to witness a Liam Vincent and The Odd Foxes' gig (I was sufficiently rendered ...

The sad news is that there was less music than usual at this year's Earlsdon Festival.

The latest top class Sink or Swim promotion (look out for a lengthier appreciation of what Joe Colombi does in the magazine shortly) was John ...

From time to time, "severe weather events" with their own names hit the UK: earlier this month we had Storm Kathleen and now Hurricane YNES has ...

As you will know, I always greatly enjoy the music of Clemency and usually preface my reviews with an element of regret over the period of time ...

Ironically, the tremendous personal enjoyment I got out of attending "A Celebratory Cruise on a Tiny Boat with Lauren South & friends" at the ...

I'm sure that my review of the debut album ‘New Beginnings' from Project Overload left you in no doubt of my excitement at the emergence of this ...

As foretold in my recent account of my visits to two workshops for Streets Arts Project, the professional musicians who facilitate them came ...

As you'll know from various earlier reviews, both of Street Arts Project releases & of their associated launch gigs, I thoroughly support this ...

Reviewing a band's live performance when you saw them only a fortnight earlier presents its problems of finding what new to say, but given the ...

It's always great to catch up with John Rivers about what he's been up to at Woodbine Street Studio in Leamington: though he's been so busy that ...

Among the various categories of concerts one can go to, there exists the one where the artist can not just slip one new song into their setlist ...

I can't imagine that any regular reader of my reviews could doubt my enthusiasm for the music of Septic and the Tanks, so after a lengthy fallow ...

I'm delighted to be posting my first live review of 2024 so early in the year & indeed it's my first for quite some time: too long.

Some years back, I was lucky enough to attend the live debut of the Folly Brothers (back when they were a duo) and in the intervening time, I've ...

The first thing to note about COVtember 2023 which was held over the weekend (three days' worth) is that as ever, it raised money for Coventry ...

Unfortunately, life intruded and my plans to attend both days of Leamington Food Festival turned into just seeing Carrick perform on Leamington ...

As noted in my review of ‘Recovery', the new Streets Arts Project album, the launch event was held at Stratford Playhouse last evening & it was ...

It's been a while since I'd seen, or reported on, the Jack O'Bones (apart from all the issues we all know about, the band are so in demand in ...

Rather more through luck than anything else (see below), I caught excellent sets by Hannah Woof and Monday Nights on Leamington Bandstand this ...

You'll be glad to know that I'm keeping up my record of seeing nearly every Ivy Ash gig ever.

Thankfully despite the rain and despite some very disappointing sound (I made an incautious comment in the magazine some weeks ago about the ...

It's always a pleasure to give "Hot Music Live" magazine readers my impressions of the Godiva Festival: just not quite as big a delight perhaps ...

First of all, credit to Rob Halligan for pulling the music together for Coventry MotoFest 2023 (and previous years of course) & managing it over ...

After the pleasures of catching The Old Flames at last week's Open Arts Festival gig on Leamington Bandstand, the weather was even more glorious ...

It was back last March when I was privileged to be present at the live debut of The Old Flames: as part of the Open Arts Festival on Leamington ...

What an historic day! I refer of course to the launch of ‘Fabric of a Flawed Society', the debut album by Liam Vincent and The Odd Foxes, which ...

After a (too) long break from experiencing live music, it was a joy to be there for the sets from the ever excellent Shanghai Hostage, The ...

Less than a week after that magnificent gig I reported on with T8PES, Andrea Mbarushimana's poetry & headliner Luke Concannon, here I am ...

Can I get through a review of "Hush! An Autumnal Celebration" (another collaboration between "Hot Music Live Presents" and Earlsdon Carnegie ...

As you might imagine with a three day  festival, my getting to see every act was always going to be difficult (I couldn't) but I'll begin by ...

While I admired their fortitude & commitment to rock, I was disappointed for Luna Kiss at the Art in the Park event in Leamington last month since ...

Much as I (and loads of other people to) enjoy the Godiva Festival, it's not the easiest event to review in a conventional manner.

Sadly we don't feature too many live reviews from Rugby (if anyone based over that way would like to cover their thriving scene, please let us ...

The Godiva Festival is many things to different people: indeed that is alone one of its glories: how is manages to cover so many bases at once is ...

"Hush! A Harvest Celebration" yesterday was the latest in the collaboration between "Hot Music Live Presents" and Earlsdon Carnegie Community ...

As  I indicated in last week's report on "Art in the Park" in Leamington, I was delighted, after reviewing a string of fine singles by her, not ...

Thankfully, despite the circumstances, the unusual weather & the traditional/legendary/notorious event organisation, I managed to witness at least ...

I am sure I'd have supported the Elevate Festival last evening regardless of the stellar lineup, as it was both celebrating fifty years of ...

Last evening at Earlsdon Carnegie Community Library saw the "Hush! A Summer Celebration" event, another in the series of collaborations between ...

Thanks to (adverse) fate, I've not actually written about a live Greg Brice gig in the magazine before, which is quite embarrassing given his ...

As you'll know from previous writing in the magazine & the inclusion on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Eight' of "Wake Me Up Tomorrow", the ...

As I've got out more in recent weeks to see live music again, I've been most fortunate to catch some artists whose reputations were made in the ...

As those of you who were kind enough to read my interview with Paul McLoone last week (and what an interesting one that was for me to enact) will ...

As anticipated in my interview with Bid last month, yesterday evening saw a magnificent gig at the Tin with the Monochrome Set being supported by ...

Sadly it's been a couple of years since I was last able to post an article on the splendid Clemency (it was their February 2020 gig at ...

 Last evening saw the follow up to the highly successful "Hush! A Spring Celebration" collaboration between "Hot Music Live Presents" and ...

Last evening's Stratford Playhouse Folk Club meeting was as intriguing a juxtaposition of two talents as its predecessors.

I can't quite believe that here I am, writing my third live review in four days… an idea which has been unthinkable for so long.

It's gives me a extra frisson of pleasure to be able not only to publish my second live review in the space of three days but one about an event ...

Having reported on last month's inaugural Stratford Playhouse Folk Club gig, I was delighted to make its follow up as well.

My tendency as you know is to focus in particularly on local Coventry & Warwickshire artists for my reviews: in the last couple of years certainly ...

I am delighted to report that this week a plaque was erected on the original site of Woodbine Street Recording Studio by Leamington Town Council, ...

Last night was another little milestone for me: my first pub-based gig for two years.

The other day, while reviewing the new Chessi O'Dowd single, "The Pines", I commented that the first gig I had scheduled which was cancelled by ...

If you enjoyed "Auriga" by Mintakaa on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Six' then it's a fair assumption that you'd be interested in catching ...

I'm sorry to say that I'd never previously attended one of the summer Sunday afternoon concerts on the Bandstand in Stratford before but I'm glad ...

To be honest, as delighted as I was that live music in some quantity was back at an expanded "Art in the Park" (two stages rather than the usual ...

In my recent review of the "Women Pioneers" event at Coventry Cathedral, I drew your attention to its companion event centring on the 2 Tone ...

Saturday night was another real landmark for me: my first Saturday evening out since the pandemic struck.

It is unfortunate that catching every artist on a multi musician event isn't always possible, but the short time I was able to be at the Record ...

Strange and wonderful times: I find myself today writing my second live report inside a week.

It seems almost unreal and a bit transgressive to find myself writing a live review after so many months of reviewing the recorded activities of ...

It was only yesterday when Facebook reminded me that it was exactly twelve months since I had last see King of the Alps play live.

Somewhat to my surprise, yesterday afternoon I found myself enjoying live music in the actual physical presence of the musicians creating it for ...

Some six months ago, I wrote what to date is my penultimate live review for the magazine: concerning Wes Finch's Leap Year gig.

In my latest feature on how local music related businesses are coping with, adapting to & evolving through the current circumstances, I am looking ...

Back in March, I shared some of my reflections, fears & thoughts about the impact of lockdown on the local music scene & more or less left it on a ...

After the success of my recent features on Ian Todd & Chloë Boehm, here is another one I think you'll find interesting & I think topical.

If you are anything like me, among the myriad challenges to our communities currently being presented, the probable curtailment of live music for ...

February 29th is an unusual date. A rare date even. I rarely attend gigs on that date nor write reviews.

I expect we all agree that music can actually do things to us & for us: improve our mood & morale, lift our spirits, transform our psyches.

Welcome to another of my series of reviews of Coventry & Warwickshire musicians whom I hold in very high regard yet have hitherto failed to review ...

It has been far too long since I had last caught a full Titine La Voix live set.

What a great way to start off 2020. The Old Number 7 Band gig at the Railway Inn in Leamington has set a very high bar already in so many respects.

It is always a challenge finding the right words for any review: trying to describe one medium in another is itself tricky & then if you review ...

I have to admit from the start that I found writing a review which captures the essence of Tigermask adequately, having seen him play at the Town ...

Watching TwoManTing last night at the Town House in Leamington, one of my immediate thoughts was "it's been too long" since I last saw them live.

This review in some ways is able to address an omission among my pieces for "Hot Music Live": although I have alluded to Will Ball in respect of ...

Although I have seen them play before, and greatly enjoyed their performances, I have not actually ever given them a full review for some reason ...

Well here I am again, this time reviewing not one but two artists on whom I fear I may have already used up my supply of appropriate superlatives ...

Few "Hot Music Live" readers will need introducing to the name nor talents of Sam McNulty.

One of the issues which is a perennial worry for me in writing for "Hot Music Live" is how to cover even the most excellent of artists, the ones ...

The gig at the Magic Lantern last night was described by venue creator & owner Adrian Gains as "one of the best nights we have had so far.

By now I'm sure you'll be aware of the many bees in my bonnet as I tend to repeat  much the same obsessions in most reviews, so when I rave on ...

I am a big fan of the performing & writing of Ross Darby so it was a big pleasure to get another chance to review him for this magazine on the ...

I should really like first of all to voice my appreciation to the members of both Shanghai Hostage & Brass Hip Flask.

I could, I suppose, run through every act I saw & enjoyed at the 2019 Godiva Festival in detail which would give them the credit they thoroughly ...

Another cracking evening which saw the grand musical talent of Warwickshire displayed on several levels.

I have reviewed the consummate musicianship of Holly Hewitt & David Page for "Hot Music Live" on several occasions, though it isn't, I admit, ...

Here I go again: another evening spent in the company of really talented musicians who not only perform in a way that touches my soul but ...

I flatter myself that some of you may remember my reviewing the Hansel Brothers in the past for "Hot Music Live" (most recently on February 10th).

Another wonderful night of song writing craft & passionate performances at the Magic Lantern last evening & two more great local musicians who ...

What a beautiful evening's entertainment & soul sustenance of original music at the Tin.

What an interesting & subtle band Burning Salt are. No wonder they are getting a lot of attention, though like me, much of those recognising their ...

In 1996 Elvis Costello held an event he called "A Case For Song" which was filmed for the BBC: collaborating with a range of other ...

It is always really great to have new talent introduced to you & it is a clear & highly  admirable feature of much of the music scene locally ...

Who likes being out of their comfort zone? As reading my reviews in "Hot Music Live" will show, I can mostly find some words (if any words can ...

The keynote description being used at the Calton Kelly gig last night at the Magic Lantern  was "lush" and who am I to argue with that? I could ...

What a difference a day makes: after the intimate & cool jazz I experienced on Friday night with the Jazz Apples at the Magic Lantern, ...

Under normal circumstances, reviewing, or attempting to review, precisely the same musicians I had less than four months ago (see my ...

It was nearly a year ago (January 28th 2018) that I reported in the pages of "Hot Music Live" that Holly Hewitt & David Page of Retroville were ...

Every Yuletide, Johnny Satsangi of APE Promotions gifts to us is a multi artist gig at the Zephyr Lounge under the "Wrongmas" banner, always ...

I find myself drifting into describing gigs at the Magic Lantern as "magical": unfortunately the label is accurate.

You can keep your headphones & your immersive sound systems. There is no better musical experience than sitting four feet away from a top quality ...

There are few finer feelings than being immersed in the finest music in an intimate setting so it not merely impacts on your hearing but defines ...

If people think that the closure last autumn of Leamington's HEAD Records was a blow to the music lovers of Leamington: they were wrong.

The purposes of this event were several: having released a four track EP and two 21 track albums of "the cream of Coventry & Warwickshire music, ...

I have seen locally based Country supergroup Honky Tonk Rose several times since their formation.

It was several years ago that I first saw the excellent trash/garage/rock & roll band the Dirty Robbers & frankly loved them.

This was something of a coup for Jonny Roden's "Tunehouse at the Townhouse" night: a really interesting specialist musician from Charleston, ...

Most readers of this piece will know of Joe Meek & his revolutionary production techniques, but fewer will be aware of his work with one of the ...

The practice of universities awarding honorary qualifications often seems to result in the famous, rich, powerful & previously honoured getting ...

It is not easy to think of a musician who has graced so many bands of such quality & influence & featuring such diverse styles over 40 odd years ...

Some of you may have noticed a gig on at The Squirrel in Coventry on Saturday 21st October entitled "Anthony Harty featuring Sam McNulty ...

On Thursday 21st September 2017, Coventry Music Museum officially launched its own eponymous record label, the first release being a limited ...

On Saturday 6th August 2017, the latest Artist of the Month was unveiled at Coventry Music Museum.

Readers will recollect how in 2016, Leamington's favourite punk band The Shapes reconvened from around the world to celebrate their 39th ...

I have spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out how on earth to capture my Godiva Festival 2017 experience in one concise article (I was there ...