Swing That Music: Down for the Count All-stars – at City Varieties Music Hall on 30 January
Leeds City Varieties was a great setting for the Down for the Count All-stars. Band leader Mike Paul-Smith has a style of jovial wit that seems well suited to a music hall and was clearly happy to be back in Leeds. The 10-piece band filled the venue with energy, elegance, and expertise. All wonderful musicians […]
Jason Derulo at Leeds First Direct Bank Arena on 6 February
From the moment the lights dropped at Leeds’ First Direct Arena on Friday, it was clear that Jason Derulo wasn’t just delivering a concert – he was staging a spectacle. Opening for Derulo was 18-year-old THERA, who warmed the crowd with her dark-pop sounds. She played to the audience as if this were her headlining […]
Honey Trap at The Domino Club on 16 January
The Leeds band has just released their debut album ‘You Never Hear The Javelin That Kills You’, so we were keen to see them perform live at The Domino Club. “A three piece band with the power of about ten.” The band’s 2025 single ‘Pretty Substance’ and their light reggae sound made a great song […]
Molly Rymer at Hyde Park Book Club on 19 December
Molly Rymer warms the wintry basement for a festive Hyde Park Book Club gig. On a wintry Friday night, I took myself down to Leeds’ hottest DIY grassroots venue for a festive treat; that being Molly Rymer’s last show of 2025. After a well-received headline at Oporto, this show commemorated a year of huge successes […]
An Evening of New Music at Wharf Chambers
Introducing the evening, promoter Sam Legg of Elusive Jazz quipped that this was to be a night of creatures. Cats, snakes, and wolves were conjured by the names of three acts: Catbandcat, Vipertime and Marco Woolf. He had even brought along bags of catnip for the merch stall. I didn’t take him up on his […]
