Gig Reviews
After years of hearing people say, ‘You’ve got to see them in a proper club‘, we’ve finally been able to enjoy Amyl and the Sniffers outside the festival circuit that has kept them so busy during their recent visits to Spain. After a brief introduction, which included the bizarre decision to play the chorus of
On the night of the Gripau and Gee Tee gig at the Upload venue, there was hardly any time for a break. From the moment Gripau started playing, the crowd began to move. There was a certain energy about the gig: people were pressed up against the stage and bodies were moving in and out
On a sweltering summer night, in the midst of an endless heatwave, Stuart Murdoch and company arrived at Barcelona’s Poble Espanyol to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the exceptional If you’re feeling sinister (1996) “Welcome to the second recording by this new band called Belle & Sebastian” announced their singer, Stuart Murdoch. “The stars of
In just three years, Brown Horse has gone from being one of many bands emerging from the Norwich music scene to becoming one of the most exciting names in British country rock. Their rise has been both rapid and steady. Following the release of the EP Willow (2023), the band released three albums in quick
Wednesday, 1 July The German band Annisokay were responsible for kicking off the festival. By a miracle, they explained, their luggage containing all their instruments had gone missing, so they had to travel to Portugal to retrieve it, arriving in Viveiro at the very last minute, just in time to play. They were full of
Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi, known in the Western world as the musical voice of the Arab Spring movements of the past decade, arrived in Barcelona on a hot summer’s night to perform tracks from her latest album, MRA (2024), on Montjuïc, also known as the “magical mountain”. The concert featured a powerful stage presence based
At the start of Barts Festival 2026, there was no easy nostalgia, but rather a precise and demanding reconstruction of a repertoire that still feels challenging, even forty years on. BEAT took to the stage at Poble Espanyol, turning the first night of the series into a celebration of cerebral progressive rock. Adrian Belew, Tony
Now that the 2026 Azkena Rock Festival has come to an end, we can confirm that the festival is in excellent health, despite initial concerns about the calibre of the headliners. The big winners included Alice Cooper, who put on a theatrical showcase of classics, and Social Distortion, who reaffirmed their status as a cult
Now that Sónar 2026 has come to an end, we can confirm that this was a transformative edition, with club culture once again taking centre stage. However, the lack of a distinctive visual identity for the 33rd edition was surprising, as was the absence of the now-traditional rucksack that has become a staple of every
After the sublime Friday that made everyone forget the weather-related problems of the previous day, Saturday was set to be the highlight of Primavera Sound 2026. The line-up included The XX, Gorillaz, Big Thief, Little Simz, Knocked Loose and Kneecap, among others. Photo of Gorillaz taken by Gisela Jané provided by the Primavera Sound 2026
