Support acts impress at Mermaid Chunky’s headliner at Bristol music and art venue. The post Mermaid Chunky, Jopy, Paper Crowns and more – Strange Brew, Bristol (September 18, 2024) appeared first on Neon Filler ..read more

Songwriter John Howard has put down his own music manuscripts this month to turn his attention to the late Marc Bolan. The post John Howard  – Songs for Mr Feld appeared first on Neon Filler ..read more

Sahra Halgan, The Lemon Twigs, Wine Lips and Joanna Sternberg among the many highlights at this year's End of the Road Festival. The post End of the Road Festival 2024 Review appeared first on Neon Filler ..read more

"These songs are folk songs now, and I hope they sound like them," says Hitchcock of his homage to this golden year for music. The post Robyn Hitchcock – 1967 appeared first on Neon Filler ..read more

Sprints, English Teacher, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy are among our pick of the acts performing at End of the Road 2024. The post Sprints and Bonnie Prince Billy among End of the Road 2024 highlights appeared first on Neon Filler ..read more

1970s singer songwriter turned 21st century indie artist John Howard has released a lovely double A side single currently and I Am Not Gone. Both are perfect nuggets of three-minute pop, with Currently having more of a McCartney-esque feel to it, especially the keyboard sound with a hint of harpsichord. Meanwhile, I Am Not Gone leans slightly more to an early Seventies pop sound, with echoes of Joel, John (Elton that is) and more. It is wonderfully uplifting. A real feel-good song. These are John Howard’s first new recordings for two years, which is something of a mammoth gap given his prolif ..read more

What a day this was with two joyous events within the space of 24 hours. Firstly the UK election results came through, showing that finally we’ve gotten rid of those evil Tory robots. And secondly there was a fabulous gig with EXTC, formed by original XTC drummer Terry Chambers and his two extremely talented chums , Steve Hampton on super guitar duties and Terry Lines on bass and vocals. It is worth noting that Lines has earned his chops playing the Paul McCartney role in a Beatles tribute act, so is used to playing dynamic English pop of the highest quality. Together this dynamic trio tore th ..read more

It was the year Glastonbury Festival underestimated our love of nostalgia. After their previous appearance at the Avalon Stage proved too packed two years ago, the Sugarbabes were handed a Friday slot at the far larger West Holts stage this time around. But this was still not enough to satisfy the crowd’s insatiable desire to see their heroines of yesteryear. This mega stage had to be cordoned off due to the surge. The Pyramid Stage surely awaits the trio. Fast forward to Sunday and the same again for Avril Lavigne. She was an even bigger pull. Even the vast Other Stage was unable to cope, and ..read more

It’s been nine years since I’ve seen The Mountain Goats in Bristol. Since 2015 there’s been a pandemic, they’ve released seven more albums and multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas has become an even more vital addition to their live sets. Over that time the band, focused around singer songwriter John Darnielle, and also including drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Peter Hughes, has increased markedly in popularity. Bigger songs, larger audiences and their 2005 track This Year even became an anthem during the long Covid year of 2020. Many of us indeed said once or twice that we hoped to “make it thr ..read more

It’s fortunate rapper Jaya Gordon-Moore, aka Jayahadadream, won this year’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition, as just weeks before she quit her job teaching criminology to pursue a career in music. She wins a £5,000 music development prize from the PRS Foundation and a main stage slot at the Glastonbury Festival this year. A tearful Jayahadadream with band and the BBC’s Huw Stephens. And as a winner she is catapulted beyond her current fanbase to a far larger audience and the attention of the wider music industry too. Her change of career couldn’t have got off to a better start and th ..read more