Live music across all our favourite venues has truly been restored to us after a turbulent few years and some amazing dynamics.
Here are just some of the pleasures to look forward to.
Millie Manders and The Shutup at Leeds Stylus on 20 January
Following their most successful, mostly sold out UK tour to date throughout October and November, MILLIE MANDERS AND THE SHUTUP have now been invited to join the SLAM DUNK WINTER JAM TOUR in January 2024 alongside Zebrahead, Teenage Bottle Rocket and [Spunge].
“It’s hard to describe in words as to how a Millie Manders and The Shutup show touches each and every soul that attends. I’ve tried here but the truth is you really need to go see for yourself …” THE PUNK SITE
Beans on Toast at The Brudenell on 1 March
Beans on Toast’s new album ‘The Toothpaste and The Tube’ was released on 1 December, with ‘Send Me A Bird’ the centrepiece. His extensive tour continues until 9 March, with support from Tensheds and Basie Gracie.
“Send Me A Bird” is a ruminative folk ballad whose words will strike a resonant chord with anyone who has experienced the emptiness of loss, and all of the complex, soul-searching emotions that come with it. As Beans explains: “Send Me A Bird is a song about friends and family that we’ve lost along the way. It’s a song about death, about grief. It feels to me like quite a powerful song, I only say that because every time I play it live, I get people messaging me about the song, telling me about a friend, or family member who passed away and how the song made them feel. I’ve had more messages about this song than any other song I’ve written. So it feels good to get the song out into the world properly.”
Cast at 02 Academy on 9 March
The resurgent Cast will release their brand new album ‘Love Is The Call’ on February 16th, which they have previewed by sharing the new single ‘Love You Like I Do’. LISTEN HERE
“‘Love You Like I Do’ is a twisting psychedelic love song that stretches itself between the emotions of a love forever felt and a love forever lost. Uplifting choruses, jumping Bass lines and sonic guitars cascading. You know life sometimes has a way of showing that these precious things you have, were never meant to last… to last… to last.” Frontman and Songwriter John Power.
Bill Ryder-Jones at The Brudenell on 13 March
Bill Ryder-Jones shared new song “If Tomorrow Starts Without Me”, the second single from his forthcoming fifth album Iechyd Da, due on January 12th 2024.
“Iechyd Da is an album that confirms Ryder-Jones as one of Britain’s finest songwriters” Uncut 9/10 Album of the Month
“Stunning” Record Collector
“It’s an absolute knock-out” The New Cue
“A work of maturity, it’s also incredibly fresh” Clash
“A profound masterpiece” Far Out
Hannah Laing at 02 Academy on 15 March
Hannah Laing, on her nationwide tour, presents Welcome to the DOOF – Hannah is the champion of the doof. Born in the nineties to two hardcore raver parents and immersed in a household powered by house and trance music, it was almost fate that years later she would firmly cement her position as the people’s pride of Scotland.
Over the years of curating her sound, Hannah is today notable for her high energy, bouncy techno output with teasing stabs of hard house and trance. To only define her by these three genres, though, would be unjust. Both her musical output and DJ sets are products of her surroundings, with meticulous attention paid to even the finest detail of her artistry, influenced by stellar names including Roger Sanchez, old-school Tiësto and Paul Oakenfold[a].
https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Leeds/O2-Academy-Leeds/Hannah-Laing-presents-Doof—-O2-Academy-Leeds-/36730987/
Echo and The Bunnymen at 02 Academy on 22 March
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, one of the most influential British bands in modern history, are set for a major UK tour in March 2024. The tour will celebrate the songs that have brought the band twenty Top 20 hits and nine Top 20 albums so far during their incredible 40+ year career. Tickets are available from https://gigst.rs/EATB2024 and www.ticketmaster.co.uk.
Sam Lee at Old Woollen on 24 March
SAM LEE will release his fourth studio album, ‘songdreaming’, on 15th March 2024.
The news arrives with the announcement of a 17-date headline tour for 2024 – tickets are on sale now here.
‘songdreaming’ represents the latest stage in the development of Sam Lee’s music, from its roots in traditional folk song to a new way of imagining and performing.
Caity Baser at 02 Academy on 26 March
Caity Baser is one of the UK’s fastest-rising, unique and in-demand pop acts of today. She is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and pop provocateur with an endearing, larger-than-life personality which has helped forge her huge legion of die-hard fans in such a short space of time.
Still only 21 years old, Caity has returned home from her hugely successful debut tour of Australia and New Zealand to announce the biggest and most exciting phase of her music career to date: her Still Learning era; with the mixtape out on the 12th March and a headline show at Leeds O2 Academy on the 26th March 2024.
Van Houten’s Headline Tour at The Brudenell on 29 March
Photograph by Sarah Oglesby
Shoegazers Van Houten (also main image) have returned with new single ‘Coming Of Age’ via Clue Records / EMI North. The Leeds-based outfit will embark on a headline tour across the UK in early 2024 as they prepare to launch their debut album.
Reminiscent of artists like Deerhunter, DIIV or Yuck with an unmistakable Yorkshire edge, Coming Of Age’ is Van Houten welcoming us into their new sonic world. It’s a cavernous shoegaze affair, filled with woozy psych, sincere storytelling and an earworm refrain declaring there is plenty of new music still to come… “cos we’re coming of age, and there’s still so much to say“.
Louis Sadler (vocals, guitar) on ‘Coming Of Age’: ‘Coming Of Age’ is about overcoming fear and anxiety, and getting to a place where you realise you aren’t as lost or alone as you once thought. It’s about realising you have your whole life ahead of you, so much left to say and now is the time to say it. It’s about embracing change and casting away doubts. This song encapsulates the main theme of the record which is gaining perspective, growing, and moving forwards.”
It’s our first collaborative release where we’ve written together as a full band. We’re finally in a place where we’ve found our sound – moving out of the bedroom studio to meet our newer, bolder sound”.
“A dreamy slice of guitar pop” – Clash
>> COMING OF AGE – LISTEN NOW <<
>> COMING OF AGE – OFFICIAL VIDEO <<
Keane at First Direct Arena on 3 May
Following the announcement of the 20th Anniversary celebrations of their acclaimed debut album ‘Hopes and Fears’, Keane have unveiled a very special, unreleased single ‘Love Actually’ to coincide with the re-release of the classic British film. Listen to ‘Love Actually’ HERE.
Originally written for 2003 Christmas romantic comedy Love Actually, the band have finally recorded a version 20 years after its inception. Produced by the band and led by Tom Chaplin’s undeniable vocal, the beautifully poignant single comes alongside a stunning lyric video cutting some of the film’s memorable scenes.
The Handsome Family at Irish Centre on 12 May
★★★★
AMERICANA ALBUM OF THE MONTH MOJO
“Eleven albums in and 30 years in, Brett and Rennie Sparks continue to shape The Handsome Family sound in subtle and persuasive ways” 8/10UNCUT
“‘Hollow’ finds The Handsome Family at the top of their game. No one does americana gothic better than they do” 8/10AMERICANA UK
“The Handsome Family’s gorgeous brand of western gothic remains as perfect as ever on their new album” 4.5/5NARC
Following the release of their critically acclaimed new album ‘Hollow’ this year, THE HANDSOME FAMILY will be taking it out on tour in 2024
The Lovely Eggs at The Brudenell on 26 May SOLD OUT!
For The Lovely Eggs being in a band is a way of life. It’s about art. It’s about creativity and expression. It’s about following your own path and doing things your own way. Holly and David operate on their own terms, spewing out music, records, art and television shows before piling in the van and tearing round the country to perform a load of live sold-out shows.
Their wild and wilful independence sets themselves apart from other bands and despite having no management, booking agent, record label or publisher their recent album ‘I am Moron’ shot to Number One in the Official UK Independent Charts and they continue to sell out shows across the country.
TICKETS ON SALE HERE
Charlotte Sands at Key Club on 18 June
Charlotte Sands is pop music’s secret weapon.” – Alternative Press
“Charlotte Sands has quickly established herself as a bold, brilliant voice of the emo revival.” – Dork
“A real talent.” – Nels Hylton, Radio 1 Future Alternative
“There’s a lot to love about Charlotte Sands, the Nashville-based songwriter combining punchy alt-pop and raucous rock ‘n’ roll.” – Notion
“Rising star.” – Wonderland
2023 saw Charlotte winning the Heavy Music Award for Best Breakthrough Album, powering into arenas across the UK and Europe as special guest to 5 Seconds of Summer and writing and recording her debut album. 2024 looks set to be bigger still. That eagerly anticipated album, ‘can we start over?’, will finally be unleashed on January 24th and the following months will see Charlotte taking those songs to the world at large, including her first set at the UK’s renowned Download Festival. In the meantime, this year brings one final highlight for Charlotte as she shares the new single ‘pity’. Listen HERE.
Busted – Millennium Square on 11 July
Reimagined with the help of a host of special guests, Busted’s ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’ crashed into the charts at #1 – remarkably achieving their first #1 album twenty-one (!) years after debuting with ‘What I Go To School For’. Now the Busted boys – James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis – are set to expand upon the collection by releasing ‘Greatest Hits 2.0 Another Present For Everyone’ which adds the brand new single ‘One of These Days’ which is out now. An alternate Live Edition of the album will also be released, which features ten tracks recorded at their three recent sold-out London O2 shows. Listen HERE.
Bananarama – Millennium Square 80s Classical on 20 July
Bananarama revisit two tracks with new remixes by The Reflex and Luke Million, specially commissioned for their upcoming collection, ‘Glorious: The Ultimate Collection’ (out 8 March 2024).
The new music arrives as the band confirms a series of new live dates and HMV Instore events events for 2024 – details here.
STREAM THE REFLEX + LUKE MILLION REWORKS HERE || WATCH VIDEOS HERE
Embrace at Kirkstall Abbey on 27 July
Futuresound Events present Embrace – with very special guests Ocean Colour Scene, Ash, Sleeper and Cud. Embrace’s return to Yorkshire celebrates 20 years of classic No.1 album ‘Out of Nothing’ alongside greatest hits.
The Indie-rockers will be returning to their home soils, performing in the historic surrounds of Cistercian ruins at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds next summer. Read more here.
Texas at First Direct Arena on 6 September
Following a triumphant, stand out performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this year, Texas will return to the stage for a run of UK Arena shows in 2024. Kicking off at Leeds First Direct Arena on Friday September 6th and culminating with a hometown date at Glasgow’s Hydro on Saturday September 14th, the run will see the band play a set of classic hits from their recently released The Very Best Of 1989 – 2023. Artist presale will be available at 10am on Wednesday September 20th, with general sale on Friday 22nd HERE.
