Coming to The Musician in May 2024

Sam Carter returns with a tour of intimate venues, previewing material from his fifth studio album, which is due for release in 2024.

Over the course of his fifteen-year career, Sam has earned a reputation for vivid, narrative-driven songwriting ‘as penetrating as Richard Thompson’s best work’ (Uncut). A highly regarded instrumentalist to boot, Sam is renowned by many as “the finest Englishstyle fingerpicking guitarist of his generation” (Jon Boden) and has been described as having a ‘killer voice’ by Ivor Novello- winning musician Nitin Sawhney.

His impressive back catalogue and captivating live shows attest to his ability to bring together a diverse set of influences from English folk song and American shapenote singing through to hard rock. Sam has made appearances on national TV, won a BBC Folk Award, and has toured the world, sharing stages with some of folk’s leading lights, including Richard Thompson, Eliza Carthy, Martin Simpson and Nancy Kerr.

A guitar tour-de-force with unforgettable tones and playing! That Pedal Show is a YouTube channel that has built a large and loyal audience of tone-obsessed guitar players since 2015. Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor are on an endless quest for inspiring guitar sounds with a central mantra that there are no answers, only better questions. That Pedal Show Band brings it all together live, for what matters most: music!



Daniel is founder and owner of TheGigRig, a company that builds effects switchers and rig solutions used by some of the world’s leading artists.

Mick spent almost 20 years as a guitar journalist across a number of titles, notably as editor-in-chief of Guitarist, Total Guitar and Guitar Techniques.

Together they are That Pedal Show with over 380,000 subscribers and over 2.2 million minutes of video watched across the globe every month.



Andy Timmons is a titan in the world of rock guitar. Former Danger Danger member, he’d sold over a million records and had two #1 videos on MTV before expanding a successful career as a session guitarist and solo artist. Voted ‘Musician Of The Year’ four years running in the acclaimed Dallas Observer Music Awards, he has released a string of solo records and continues to wow audiences with incredible musicality and command of the electric guitar. He also has become one of the most respected and sought after clinicians representing Ibanez Guitars, touring the world on their behalf.

That Pedal Show band will play a set, Andy will play a set and then we’ll all play together.

: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThatPedalShow

Splintering Heart, a tribute to Marillion deliver an authentic performance bringing passion, musicianship and above all a performance that highlights the true talent and uniqueness of Marillion today. The band perform the 'H' era plus a few Fish favourites what Marillion play today. The band brings fans together from all eras of Marillion.

Established as leading UK tribute, YES PLEASE painstakingly recreate the outstanding music of the Prog-Rock giants, receiving high praise from YES fans wherever they perform. Whether it's hit singles like Owner of a Lonely Heart or Wonderous Stories or an epic masterpiece such as Close to the Edge, YES PLEASE perform classic YES music with authentic sounds, instruments, full vocal harmonies and energy!

It has been five years since the last offering from the popular husband and wife duo Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman and their latest album proves a ‘tour de force’ of musical and lyrical surprises.

‘Almost A Sunset‘, their seventh album, is a collection of thoughtful, varied songs that range from re-worked traditional ballads to the off-piste storytelling style that has become their trademark.

Recorded at Devon-pace in their studio on Dartmoor over the course of a year, the couple explore favourite characters, childhood memories and deep emotion to pull together a collection of songs that demonstrate their musical versatility, a sharp interest in the world around them and their own unique perspective on the folk genre.

Duos come and duos go, and some nurture and fine tune their art and watch it grow into something totally original and captivating. For over a quarter of a century Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman’s partnership has proved personal, permanent and pivotal.

From their early days in folk supergroup ‘Equation ‘ through to their new album this multi award-winning couple continue to exude timeless class with their exquisite brand of traditional and contemporary acoustic music.

BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Duo – 2016 & 2013

“Helicon have become a mythical force in the UK underground .” Shindig! Magazine

“Wow!” Gideon Coe, BBC Radio 6 Music

Formed by brothers John-Paul and Gary Hughes in East Kilbride, Glasgow, Helicon signed to Fuzz Club in 2017. Their self-titled debut album was recorded and produced by Tony Doogan at Mogwai's Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow. They recently collaborated with Will Carruthers (ex-Spacemen 3 , The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spiritualized, Dead Skeletons) for the hilariously profound, mind-melting single 'Im More English Than You, You C*nt!'.

Championed by Gideon Coe and Deb Grant on BBC Radio 6 Music; ‘God Intentions’, Helicon’s third studio album, was released 28.04.23 on Fuzz Club.

Their most ambitious, collaborative and psychedelic record to date. Mastered by Mark Gardener (RIDE), collaborators include Lavinia Blackwall, Anna McCracken, a string quartet, French avant-garde violinist Sotho Houle and more.

HELICON is: John-Paul Hughes, Gary Hughes, Graham Gordon, Mike Hastings, Mark McLure, Billy Docherty, Seb Jonsen.

Alia Tempora, a modern metal phenomenon featuring members from Czechia and Mexico, captivate their listeners with a unique blend of metal, energetic dance beats, uplifting melodies and a prismatic image that defies genre conventions. Their harmonious kaleidoscope of genres is appealing to fans of rock, metal, and pop music alike.

Led by the lively pink-haired unicorn princess, Markie Morávková, Alia Tempora is not just an entertainment, it is a celebration of uniquenes and unity. By fostering strong sense of community and belonging, they create a special bond with their fans, embracing them as cherished members of the unicorn family.

Jana Varga is a UK based vocalist, singer songwriter and multi- instrumentalist. Her folk/roots and gospel influenced debut album ‘Foreigner Face’ (2022) was shortlisted in the ‘Best Emerging Artist’ category of the British Blues Awards - a testimony to its cross-genre appeal. With an album called ‘The stuff Carnegie Hall shows are made of 'by FATEA magazine and rated ‘One of the classiest records I’ve heard all year ‘ by Paul Sexton (BBC, Billboard), Jana’s music is surely making its mark on audiences. It transcends boundaries and takes listeners on a timeless journey. With a genuine passion for storytelling, she weaves personal narratives into every note. Having to ‘settle’ down in several countries throughout her life, her lyrics often reflect struggles and challenges when starting from zero in a new environment, creating new bonds and finding a community to belong to. Wearing influences of Janis Ian, Joni Mitchell and the well-traveled folk of Paul Simon, Jana has her own distinct voice that continues to evolve.

Diesel Park West are for many people the most enigmatic band from the late eighties still performing today. Back in those Thatcherite days the psychedelic guitar ground they occupied was often dismissed as a mere throwback to the mid-sixties with only an enlightened minority realising its real musical significance. The beating heart of rock ‘n’ roll is now far more aware of the Diesels' sound and maybe that’s why any live performance by the band is considered an event worth seeing. Drawing upon eight albums worth of material and the hippest cover versions imaginable, Diesel Park West continue to prove beyond a doubt that they really are the torchbearers for an entire genre.

Sack Sabbath are the UK's finest, longest serving and most authentic tribute to the original masters of metal, Black Sabbath. Formed in 2002, Sack Sabbath have delighted audiences across the UK and Europe over the last decade with their stunning take on the classic era of Black Sabbath. Playing only the very blackest of Sabbath from the classic years 1970-78, they deliver a powerhouse performance with every song reproduced to perfection by some of the finest rock musicians in the UK and fronted by the best Ozzy impersonator in the business bar none. And lets face it-you don't get better recommendations than from the Black Sabbath road crew!

"I worked for the real Sabbath and they are like the real thing, you don't have to close your eyes, because they have got it off to a tee! I go to their shows because it reminds me of all the fun I had with the real thing" Les Martin, ex stage & production manager, Black Sabbath 1970-78

Dan Willson is Scotland's acclaimed singer songwriter Withered Hand. He has released three albums and a number of EPs over the last 15 years and has toured internationally, amassing a devoted following while staying close to his DIY roots in the underground music scene.

Kathryn Williams is a Mercury Music prize who is making a welcome return to The Musician. She is a nominated English singer songwriter who has released 16 albums. She had collaborated with poet Dame Carol Ann Duffy, author Laura Barnett and written songs with Paul Weller, Neill Maccoll and Michele and Romeo Stodart, to name just a few. She has written a novel The Ormering Tide, hosts her own podcast Before the Light Goes Out and tutors at the Arvon and Moniack Mhor Foundations.

The sound of The Beach Boys and Tom Waits heading off on holiday together....truly delightful and mesmerising.
The Ulster Herald

“Excellent debut single - a catchy, countrified rock and roll delight” The Irish News

The Breeze are a 3-piece band from the north of Ireland made up of long-time collaborators Chris Coll (Lost In The Fog), Decky McManus (The Basement) and Stevie Scullion (Malojian).

The 3 multi-instrumentalists entered the studio in March 2023 and quickly found a flow which spawned their debut record Thin Ground. They have already been winning over audiences throughout Ireland and the UK and will be hitting the road again in April and May 2024

Free spirited singer-songwriters River Roots are a good-vibe, acoustic folk-roots duo from the UK. A powerful symbiosis of soulful male/female harmonies that will take you out of your head and straight into your heart. River Roots have a playful uplifting vibe that will nourish your soul as they seamlessly weave between soothing melodies to funky upbeat feel-good songs. Their music is majorly influenced by a nomadic lifestyle and the profound experiences and connections made on their travels.

“Our mission is to spark inspiration and ignite passion in people to transform their reality. Music is powerful and true magic, we want to help spread it to the world.”

Rock veteran Otway dubbed himself "rock'n'roll's greatest failure" after many unsuccessful attempts to produce a second hit single to follow his 1977 classic (Cor Baby, That's) Really Free with Wild Willy Barrett.

However, a mere quarter century later, he was back on Top of The Pops with the wonderful disco pastiche, ‘Bunsen Burner’ and back in the charts as a birthday present from his adoring and patient fans.

And, more recently, his "Beware Of The Flowers Cause I'm Sure They're Going To Get You Yeah" voted the seventh greatest lyric of all time in a BBC poll.

As ever, Otway attacks his favourite set list with gusto, leaving plenty of room for anarchy, fun and acrobatics that are his trademark.

"He's a cabaret act masquerading as a rock act. He is gleeful, anecdotal, funny and life-enhancing." -
Canterbury Fayre Review.

Conflict Choir take you on a journey between ethereal sonic soundscapes, crushing heavy drops and poetic social commentary intertwined with emotive and powerful riffs.

Hailing from the UK, and formed from the ashes of 2020’s lockdowns, Conflict Choir emerged with a self recorded commentary on the state of the modern world - their album “Strange Game”; which the band has self released in April of 2024 after amassing a loyal fanbase by releasing fragments of their completed work throughout 2023, earning them extensive radio play throughout the BBC network as well as Planet Rock Radio among others.

Recorded in Worcestershire, and captured by Thomas Atlas and mixed/mastered by Greg Chandler (Of extreme doom metal band Esoteric), Conflict Choir's sonic masterpiece tackles issues including societies ongoing wrestle with technology, the struggles of mental health and our current state of societal distrust - all while submerging you in waterfalls of dark sonic texture.

The band, now a duo (Ali Clinton - Guitar/Vocals and Jack Bowles - Drums and percussion) deliver a monstrous sound with a multiplicity of influence including but not limited to : Jeff Buckley, Uli Jon Roth, Pink Floyd, Soundgarden, Moses Sumney, Steven Wilson and Devin Townsend and many more.

"Sometimes you come across an outfit that just has everything sussed. Conflict Choir are exactly that band.” - BBC Introducing

With over a Century of recording and touring between them, JV & Del
have decided to come together to bring something a little different to the
table.

The Verity Bromham Band features these two road warriors performing a broad selection of their favourite rock classics, carefully chosen to utilise their individual vocal and guitar-playing skills to the full.
There is no attempt to slavishly copy the originals – these are respectful interpretations of each song done in way that comes naturally to the
band – delivered with a smile!

Ma Polaine’s Great Decline are delighted to embark on a Spring tour supporting their fourth album release.

The band offer a beautiful blend of folk tinged americana with their new album Molecules, duefor release on the 22nd March 2024,

The final song “Molecules”is like an umbrella for so many emotions explored throughout the album. Human connections, our necessity for it, companionship and its fragility, the injustices in the world, acknowledgment of our flaws, passion, love, and hope...

Ma Polaine’s Great Decline are an award-winning band praised by MOJO Magazine for their unique blend of pop, folk, blues, and Americana. Ma Polaine’s music resonates as both comfortably familiar and refreshingly innovative, creating a truly engaging experience. With airplay on BBC 6 and BBC Radio 2, and the support of Cerys Matthews, the band's genre-defying charm unfolds through songs that explore the intricacies of human connections, weaving tales of light and dark with upliftingmelodies and heartfelt storytelling.

Throughout their journey, they have released three albums and five EPs. "City of Love," their album from June 2020, was a pivotal moment for them, when they received "Best band/duo" award from Fatea Magazine. The band had fantastic reviews in publications like MOJO with a 4 stars review.


Live, Beth has a black humour that gives the audience the chance to laugh at themselves, our human connection, love, and the complex facets of pain, with an understanding life can go a bit wonky sometimes.The band seeks to offer a raw, authentic portrayal of real-life experiences that will resonate with audiences from all walks of life. There’s a cathartic nature to Beth’s lyrics, song writing and sound that hugs the listener and draws them in.

"Ma Polaine’s Great Decline have evolved a pop-folk-blues-americana style that is warmly familiar, yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you guessing..." MOJO

“Packer’s voice has a superb range, but it is her interpretative skill that entrances, with the effortless shifts that imbue her evocative lyrics with rare emotional charge”.Morning Star

From his early days guitar slinging in Jason & the Scorchers to more than a decade with Dan Baird & Homemade Sin and a parallel solo career that has produced five ace albums so far as well as a best of collection, Warner E. Hodges is a man who knows how to rock and his live shows are famous for their excitement, intensity and power. He was a wild child who fused rock ’n’ roll aggression with country roots and getting on for forty years later he still is and he’s doing it as well as ever. As he says himself, Americana on a stool it ain’t, but some of the best rock ’n’ roll you’ll see it surely is. With Ben Marsden (guitar), Jason Knight (bass) and Shane Dixon (drums), Warner has a band capable of running Black Sabbath into Merle Haggard and back out into AC/DC.

Conny Bloom is probably best known for fronting funky Swedish rock’n’rollers the Electric Boys and his time in Hanoi Rocks. A mean guitar slinger with charisma to burn, he’s also released four solo albums, with the most recent, ‘Game! Set! Bloom!’ sounding as if “the Doors had camped out in the Swedish countryside” (Roppongirocks). Fusing psychedelia, funk, 60s pop and full on rock to amazing effect and adding a healthy dose of humour, Bloom’s music defies easy categorisation, but all you need to know is that a Conny Bloom show rocks, and rocks hard. Get there early!

KARKARA means “Punks / Slackers” in Tunisian.

Slackers because we all feel out of place in this society that gives us the feeling of going 240 km/h into a wall and we don’t want to go there. So if we’re going to crash into that wall it better off be a wall of amps, and if we can get high in the process it’s even better.

Getting high because KARKARA is an upbeat and high tempo psychedelic rock band with riffs like King Gizzard, melodies like Erkin Koray and a tempo like Squid. A deluge of uninterrupted psychedelism both trippy and hypnotic that transports you to a post-apocalyptic setting on the verge of implosion. Screaming amps, supercharged drums and deep voices mixing both sweet melancholy and desperate rage.

On stage, KARKARA manages to transcribe a hypnotic fury and reveals to the public a sound, an identity and an energy that grabs you in the guts instantly.

“wah wah” lovers, repetitive “boom boom kraut” enveloped in exotic sounds from the other side of the sea, trance is at the center of the project.

Magic Teapot welcomes back hugely talented, idiosyncratic US singer songwriter John Murry

John Murry’s debut, 2012’s ‘The Graceless Age’, made many of that year’s Best Of lists. While it was his debut, Murry was already 34 and had recorded two albums with legendary Memphis singer-songwriter Bob Frank and an album of Waylon Jennings covers with Chuck Prophet.

MICHAEL MORROW & THE CULPRITS sound could be described as Hard Rock Countryfied Blues. An American Rock Band, hailing from Colorado, deliver the goods when it comes to that bluesy hard rock with a touch of twang undoubtedly coming from that Big Red Gretsch guitar Michael is known for playing over the years. That tone matched with his voice is distinctive. Influenced from bands like The Beatles, Aerosmith, KISS you can hear that melody and strut matter.

Who brings a big show anymore? When possible, they do. Putting on a visual show is part of the experience. A little bit of that 80s influence rubbing off I suppose.

Chickenhead Lounge presents a night of dirty blues

Opening the show blues man Michael J Panter gives us his take on 'Old Blues'

Next up is SlimJim, a guitar & Drum outfit playing blues from the north hills of Mississippi, RL Burnside style.a

Closing the show we have Hubcap, a fab Guitar and drums duo serving up a brew of voodoo psychedelic funky dirty blues.

BMX Bandits have been making ultra-romantic pop for 37 years. Let's celebrate.

A leading light of the short-lived C-86/anorak movement of the mid-'80s, the BMX Bandits stood at the epicenter of the Scottish pop music scene for over a decade; however, despite helping launch the careers of talents ranging from Teenage Fanclub and Eugenius to the Soup Dragons and Superstar , they never grew beyond the confines of a fervent cult following, though they never gave up making sweet, idiosyncratic pop music.
~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

“If I could be in any other band, it would be BMX Bandits”,
Kurt Cobain.

“Britain’s ultimate cult group”, The Guardian.

“Gentle genius”,
Q magazine.

BMX Bandits were formed in the ex-industrial town of Bellshill by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T Stewart out of the ashes of The Pretty Flowers, a group that featured Stewart alongside Frances McKee (The Vaselines), Sean Dickson (The Soup Dragons) and Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub).

BMX Bandits' songs mix melodic qualities and humour with, at times, raw and heartbreaking pathos. Duglas describes their songs as being his world put to music.

Starting with the exuberant 'E102' in 1986 BMX Bandits released a series of singles on Stephen Pastel's 53rd & 3rd label, where they were label mates with The Vaselines and Beat Happening.

Later they joined Creation Records, home of Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and many others.

Stewart split with his long term musical partner Francis Macdonald in 2005 but 2006 saw a new wave of concert activity and the release of My Chain. Stewart's writing on the album was compared to Brian Wilson, Michel Legend, Ennio Morricone and even Alan Bennett.

In 2011 the critically acclaimed documentary
Serious Drugs was released, the story of Duglas’ adventures in music and struggles with mental health.

The film was selected by Sight and Sound magazine as one of their films of the year.

In 2023 BMX Bandits released their soundtrack album for the independent feature film Dreaded Light. Partially recorded during lockdown the soundtrack was the first collaboration between Stewart and his current main collaborator, multi instrumentalist Andrew Pattie (C. Duncan, Isobel Campbell, The Amazing Snakeheads).

The album was one of WFMU’s soundtracks of 2023.

In April 2024 BMX Bandits are releasing their 12th studio album Dreamers on the Run on Tapete Records.

The album was originally

Now a decade on Dreamers on the Run will be released, featuring unfinished songs from 2014, now completed, and new material by Stewart and Pattie. The album is BMX Bandits most musically ambitious so far, expansive and intimate.

Although the line-up of the group continues to be ever changing the heart and soul of the Bandits remain the same, an extended musical family led by the inimitable Duglas T Stewart.

R.E.M. are one of the world’s most enigmatic bands. With a string of peerless albums; one eye on the underground and one eye on the soaring chorus; we will never see their like again. From “The One I Love” through to “The End of the World” and more besides.
Stipe bring you all the top songs from these icons including “Losing My Religion”, and “Man on the Moon” and with all the atmosphere, attitude, emotion, and energy you’d expect. Stipe will provide the same cagey mix of attitude, poetry and idiosyncratic sound built around jangling guitars and hazy vocals of frontman Michael Stipe.
Whether it’s playing major festivals or appearing on the One Show, performing for Michael Stipe himself, Stipe are the definitive R.E.M. tribute – a complete band, and encyclopaedic knowledge of the back catalogue. They bring R.E.M. to life on stage – the contrasts and the magic; that direct connection to the music.
The boys from Athens’ legacy is in good hands.

Named as one of RnR Magazines Ones to watch for 2022, emerging artist Jenny Colquitt encompasses a unique combination of Americana, indie and folk rock and pop. Winner of the 2021/2022 FATEA Female artist of the Year award and the 2020/2021 GSMC Award for best female solo singer/songwriter, Jenny's music is described as fit for film and storytelling at its finest. A voice that uniquely combines the melodic undertones of artists such as Eva Cassidy and the rawness of Alanis Morissette. She writes with soul, lyrical vulnerability and style to accompany her musicality both through keys and guitar.

Jenny's debut album Something Beautiful was released in November 2021. Described as “very much recommended, for her strong and expressive voice, impactful lyrics and winning melodies” by BBC Radio 2's Paul Sexton.

Nashville Nights presents:

Dust & Debris
The Table Troubadours
Paul McClure
https://www.facebook.com/paul.mcclure.754

The Bluetones frontman Mark Morriss and his partner in crime Adam Devlin are taking their ‘Bluetones Acoustic’ show back out on the road in spring 24 and will be making a ‘Slight Return’ to The Musician, Leicester on Friday 31st May.

The band, formed in 1993, had an impressive run of hit singles throughout the late 90’s/early 00’s, including ’Bluetonic’, ‘Slight Return’, ‘Marblehead Johnson’, ‘Solomon Bites The Worm’, ‘If’ and ‘Keep the Fires Burning’. They scored thirteen Top 40 singles and three Top 10 albums in the UK charts before a hiatus in 2010. Returning in 2015 with a run sell out shows the band continue to tour to packed houses up and down the UK. This is a unique chance to hear the classics stripped back with shows at more intimate venues the band don’t usually play.

Special guest support comes from Enjoyable Listens.