Don't Make Them Wait: 911 Are Back For Their 30th Anniversary
There’s something uniquely powerful about the pull of ‘90s pop — the bedroom singalongs, the posters on the wall, the thrill of chart shows and Saturday morning television. For many, 911 was at the heart of that era, and now, three decades later, Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable, and Spike Dawbarn are inviting fans to step back in time with their newly announced 30th anniversary tour.
Salon North Is Back With A Bang And An Exciting New Season
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Ever wanted to know more about the hidden world of dreams, the science behind small talk, or the magic of indoor jungles? Well, Raworths Salon North has the answers to all this and a whole lot more.
To Be Or Not To Be … Times Three
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Fans of Shakespeare’s gloomy Danish prince have three Hamlet events to choose from at the York International Shakespeare Festival this month, in the Creative Centre of York St John University. On April 23 – traditionally Shakespeare’s birthday – The University of Arts Targu Mures, from Romania, present their take on the play.
In Conversation: Bróna Mcvittie
Ulster singer‑songwriter, harpist and biologist Bróna McVittie returns with The Stolen Child, the luminous lead single from her forthcoming album Supernatural, due for release later this year, is a companion to McVittie’s recently published book A Way with the Fairies, a richly woven folklore anthology exploring Irish fairy lore alongside mythic tales from across Eur…
Albums: Charlie Puth Whatever’s Clever!
Taken as a whole, Whatever’s Clever presents Charlie Puth at his most focused and self-defined. The influences are clear, but they’re filtered through a perspective that feels personal rather than imitative. More importantly, the album demonstrates a consistency and clarity of vision that has sometimes been missing from his earlier work.
Albums: RAYE This Music May Contain Hope
Not long ago, RAYE was boxed into a version of herself that never quite fit — a powerhouse vocalist navigating an industry that preferred her as a background presence or a hook machine. The breaking point came in full public view, when she unravelled on social media and called time on the system holding her back. What followed was a rebirth.
Classical Music: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos 2 & 5
Storgårds gives a marvellous account of it. From the iconic opening to the well-judged restraint of the slow movement and the blazing energy of the finale, the BBC Philharmonic are on magnificent form throughout, bearing comparison with the finest recordings in the catalogue. The Chandos engineers have captured the tension and drama with their customary skill.
This is an outstanding disc in what is proving an increasingly distinguished cycle.
Stuart Hartley & Onyx Halo
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In 2026, after nearly three decades away from songwriting, Merseyside‑born creator Stuart Hartley is stepping back into the music world with a project unlike anything he could have imagined in his early twenties. His new venture, Onyx Halo, is a fully AI‑generated band, but the heart, the stories, and the songs are entirely his. Between 1990 and 1995, Hartley lived for music.
Scouting For Girls - These Are The Good Days
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That familiarity might become tiresome for anyone outside their fanbase; most of the ten tracks here sound very familiar – with one exception: Don’t Go Solo. The track was released earlier this year but gained little success or little in the way of radio play.
Classical Music: From Fire & Earthquake - Francisco Garro
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It is the Agnus Dei of the glorious Missa Maria Magdalena that closes this transcendent disc with its luminous singing.
Performed with flair and meticulous attention to detail, this is a recording of genuine importance — a disc of spiritual nourishment that rewards repeated listening.
Sit back and surrender to this rich and profoundly enhancing music.
Classical Music: Tiento
What distinguishes Tiento most is its repertoire. Aficionados of the guitar will find much to admire in Evans's textural sensitivity and the intelligence of his programme-building; but the album is emphatically not a disc aimed only at the converted. These are largely unfamiliar pieces, and Evans makes a persuasive case for each of them. Do not come expecting overrecorded standards— come expecting an absorbing journey through miniatures that reward attentive listening.
Classical Music: Day Of These Days The British Isles Reflected In Song
This is not an album that reaches for display. Voice and piano search instead for connection – a meditation on being and on what it means, in Robert Louis Stevenson's words, "to know not how it is with you". Musically, the songs reflect the uncertainty of the poetry, tilting towards the melancholic: slow metres, minor keys and the naturally dark, sometimes foreboding weight of the bass-baritone register. Around half the songs have been transposed to accommodate the lower voice, the remainder sung in their original keys.
Murder for Two: Countless Suspects: Endless Chaos: Enormous Fun!
Murder for Two, currently bringing mayhem to the stage of the SJT in Scarborough, is a magnificently hyperactive theatrical pastiche: a mad jangle of genres, styles, and tropes that borrows from, celebrates and burlesques, a whole century of popular entertainment - from the silent movie era to the thoroughly modern musical.
Gig: Split Dogs
I have surely discovered the best band that you could ever want to see on a Friday night. If you finish work for the week, want to let your hair down and get a wiggle on, then Split Dogs are the band to rock your world. After upbeat, empowering and powerful support from Helle and Wench, the Split Dogs came roaring out onto the stage like rottweilers chasing raw meat.
To See Or Not To See - Hamlet By The RSC
Hamlet has never been for the faint hearted. This production’s descent into carnage is made more chilling by blood red numbers on a clock which counts down to a stage strewn with dead bodies as vengeance and betrayal wreak havoc.
Power, Passion and Pointe Work: Northern Ballet Does Anne Lister Justice
Familiar to many thanks to the television series of the same name starring Suranne Jones, the story of Ann Lister has once again been brought to life by Northern Ballet. Set in the 1830s, the plot follows the unconventional life and loves of Anne Lister, who, being a prolific writer, maintained diaries which run to approximately five million words, a proportion of which were written in code.
On Top Of The Wold
As a born and bred Yorkshire lass, and having married into a farming family at Barmby Moor, in the East Riding nearly fifty years ago, I, along with a packed local audience, could totally relate to the world premiere of Top of the Wold at Pocklington Arts Centre, which explored fascinating stories from the East Riding.
2:22 - A Ghost Story
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Jenny believes her new home is haunted, but her husband Sam isn’t having any of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren and new partner Ben. Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something strange and frightening feels close, so they’re going to stay up... until 2:22... and then they’ll know.
Carol Decker: 'I'm 40 Years Older And A Lot Less Naive — But I Still Want To Be Wonderful'
With a voice that defined an era and a catalogue packed with timeless hits, Carol Decker remains one of British rock’s most distinctive and enduring performers. As the frontwoman of T'Pau, she helped shape the sound of the late ’80s with chart-topping classics like China In Your Hand and Heart and Soul — and now, she’s back with something new to say.
Woody Cook At Lakefest
As Lakefest prepares to return to the stunning grounds of Eastnor Castle from 5–9 August, the line-up promises a vibrant mix of nostalgia, dancefloor energy and eclectic talent. Alongside acts including The Charlatans, Bananarama, Soul II Soul, Madness and The Lightning Seeds, DJ and producer Woody Cook is set to bring his infectious, free-flowing energy to the festival crowd.
Eurovision26: Senhit
Few countries in the Eurovision Song Contest have carved out as distinctive a narrative as San Marino. The tiny nation has long punched above its weight, delivering cult favourites, surprise qualifiers and unforgettable personalities despite the odds.
In Conversation: Sarah Jane Morris
Few artists embody resilience and creative independence quite like Sarah Jane Morris. First emerging through theatre before forging a distinctive musical career, Morris has long been celebrated for her powerful, soulful voice and her refusal to follow convention.
The Skids - Still Winning The Game
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Back in the late seventies and early eighties, Scottish punk band The Skids brought a sense of melody and mischief to the charts with their blend of powerful and energetic music punctuated with the distinctive vocals of Richard Jonson and the unmistakable guitar sound of guitarist Stuart Adamson.
New Appointments Announced As Leeds Venue Shares Ambitious Plans For The Future
The Howard Assembly Room, part of Leeds cultural life, has announced four key appointments to its core team. They join Tony Green, who took on the role of general manager and lead programmer last year. With a background in national broadsheet journalism and the charitable sector, Michael Wilkinson becomes Director of Strategy and Commercial for both Opera North and the Howard Assembly Room.
Small City, Big Landscape: Ripon Theatre Festival At Five
Five years in, Ripon Theatre Festival has grown from promising newcomer to cultural cornerstone — and this year it's bigger, bolder, and more inclusive than ever. There are festivals that happen to a city, and there are festivals that happen with one.
Full Service History: Matt Miller's Joyful Solo Show Gets Right Under The Bonnet
There is a phrase that recurs in Fixing like a mechanic's mantra: 'holistic car care, going on a journey — together'. By the time Matt Miller's 75 minutes are up, you realise that sentence has done rather a lot of quiet, patient work. The Ripon Theatre Festival could hardly have wished for a more propitious launch event.
Albums:(Feels Like) Heaven 1978- 1985
When punk rock and disco music had a hold of the singles charts in 1978, something more adventurous and new was waiting in the wings that would change the face of popular music – the arrival of the synthesiser.
Albums: Robyn Sexistential
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Sexistential feels like the latest, and perhaps boldest, chapter in that evolution. Now deep into a career spanning decades, she turns inward without losing her instinct for rhythm. The result is a body of work that doesn’t chase immediacy but rewards patience—something she’s long prioritised, even as others like Beverley Knight and Calum Scott have carried her compositions into broader chart success. Where they amplify her songwriting, she refines it, ensuring each release stands as a precise reflection of her current state.
AI In Music – A Personal View From Sarah Bardwell, Managing Director At The RPO
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The industry debate on AI in music is gathering momentum but we felt it was vital to plug the audience view into the industry discussion. For any performing ensemble, we are nothing without our audience and supporters, so hearing their views on AI was very important to us.
Classical Music: Arise Shine
After nine years at the helm of the Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Anna Lapwood has produced in Arise, Shine an album that is at once a valediction and a celebration — meticulous in conception, deeply personal in spirit, and glowing with the kind of affectionate musicianship that only comes when a director and choir have truly grown together.