FREDDIE HALKON | Leeds Beckett University | 21.02.26
There’s a particular kind of electricity that only exists at sold-out shows where the room already knows every word. Leeds Beckett University on Saturday night was crackling with it. Freddie Halkon, one of the most compelling young singer-songwriters to emerge from this corner of England in years, brought the Shoulders Of The World Tour to…
Ellur – “At Home in my Mind” ★★★★☆
There’s a particular alchemy that happens when a young artist stops trying to be everything and starts being honest. Halifax’s Ellur has found it on At Home In My Mind, a debut album that feels both achingly personal and generous enough to invite the rest of us in. This isn’t confessional songwriting as performance, it’s…
Day Fever Brings the Party Back to Yorkshire – And You’ll Still Make It Home for Tea
The daytime disco phenomenon returns to Leeds, Sheffield and York this spring with a movement that’s rewriting the rules of going out There’s something gloriously liberating about dancing to Britpop bangers at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon. No queuing in the cold at midnight, no navigating dodgy taxi ranks at 2am, no waking up on…
Preview: A Little Night Music at Theatre@41, York
If you’ve only ever experienced musical theatre in York from the stalls of the Grand Opera House or Theatre Royal, Theatre@41 on Monkgate offers something altogether more intoxicating: intimacy. With just 100 seats, there’s no distance between you and the performers – you’ll catch every raised eyebrow, every loaded pause, every note of Stephen Sondheim’s…
Wot Gorilla? – ‘Clowns’ ★★★★☆
Fifteen years is a long time to be away. Long enough for entire scenes to bloom and die, for math-rock to go from underground obsession to festival circuit staple and back again. But Halifax’s Wot Gorilla? haven’t returned to play catch-up. ‘Clowns’, the second single from their first album since 2011, sounds like a band…
Preview: Leeds Festival 2025
Leeds and Reading Festival is built on its big names, the poster-filling giants, the jaw-drop booking announcements, the generational singalongs that echo across Bramham Park and Richfield Avenue. But the real magic? That happens away from the headline slots. It’s in the sweatbox tents at midday, the stumbling-across-something moments on the Introducing Stage, the early…
This Feeling By The Sea | Saturday Preview
If Friday was the warm-up, Saturday at Bridlington Spa is the knockout punch. This Feeling By The Sea’s third year keeps raising the stakes, and day two is where the grit, sweat, and swagger of the UK’s new wave of indie collide head-on. It’s a bill stacked with bands who’ve outgrown the term “promising” and…
This Feeling By The Sea | Friday Preview
If you thought you had your finger on the pulse of UK indie in 2025, this Friday at Bridlington Spa is here to challenge that. This Feeling By The Sea’s third year brings a lineup that’s equal parts tested and on-the-cusp, a masterclass in balancing breakthrough buzz with hard-earned credibility. It’s a day that maps…
The Front Row Presents: 250 Artists That Will Break Out By 2028 – The Letter H
Welcome back to our ongoing 250 Artists That Will Break Out by 2028 series. This time we’re diving into the letter H, shining a spotlight on ten artists whose sounds and stories demand attention right now. From the gritty post-hardcore intensity of Hidden Mothers to the surf-pop charm of Hunny Buzz, this batch covers a…
Single Review | Stainless Steel | Kid Kapichi
Kid Kapichi have never been ones to hold back, politically-charged, punk-leaning, and proudly loud. But on ‘Stainless Steel’, there’s a very different kind of weight. It’s not a track that lashes out. It lingers. Brooding, stripped-back, and brutally personal, this is the sound of a band reckoning with change, both in themselves and in their…
ALBUM REVIEW: Songs from the Spine | The Royston Club
I’ve sat with this album for weeks. Drafted and scrapped and redrafted again. Not because the record was hard to write about — the opposite. It’s because this one means something. And when something means this much, the words have to do it justice. Songs From The Spine isn’t just a good second album. It’s…
Kendal Calling 20th Birthday Review
When Kendal Calling first set up shop in 2006 with a 900-capacity crowd and a £15 ticket headlined by British Sea Power, few could have predicted just how far it would come. Fast forward 20 years and 40,000 of us descended on the stunning fields of Lowther Deer Park for a sun-soaked celebration of music,…
Tramlines Festival | Day Three Review
Sunday Send-Offs, Sheffield Heroes and a Crowd Still Nursing Saturday’s Hangover Let’s be real, Sunday was always going to have a mountain to climb. After the euphoric chaos of Saturday’s Reytons homecoming, topped with a headline slot that turned Hillsborough Park into a sea of green, white and purple, the bar had been set sky-high.…
Tramlines Festival | Day Two Review | The Reytons
If Day One brought the sunshine and the legacy with Pulp, Day Two was the storm, the electric, sweat-soaked, bass-thudding, trench-foot-stamping festival storm that blows everything wide open and leaves you questioning what on earth just hit you. Day Two of Tramlines 2025 was, in no uncertain terms, a day for the people, fuelled by…
LIVE: Pulp at Tramlines Festival 2025
If Friday was your only day at Tramlines this year, you picked the right one. There’s no denying it: Day One of the 2025 edition belonged entirely to Pulp. Hillsborough Park was a furnace by mid-afternoon. Sunburns bloomed, lagers disappeared by the crate, and bucket hats reigned supreme. While a handful of early acts got…
EP Review | Katie Nicholas | Chemistry
Some records arrive quietly but end up feeling like they were inevitable. Katie Nicholas’ Chemistry EP is one of them: a four-track collection that dusts off the songs she wrote as a teenager and reimagines them with the clear-eyed focus of a musician who’s had to fight to reclaim her own story. It’s been a…
Single Review | Mayflower | Are You With Me
There’s something about Manchester bands that always feels a bit like a warm pint in a familiar pub: instantly recognisable, comforting, and shot through with a touch of swagger. Mayflower’s latest single, Are You With Me, fits squarely into that lineage, leaning hard into late-90s Britpop nostalgia while brushing against the mid-00s new wave indie…
Single Review | Keyside | If You Don’t Try
Liverpool has never been short of jangling guitars and brutally honest lyricists, but Keyside are staking a claim to be the next band in that lineage worth taking seriously. If You Don’t Try, their fresh-out-the-box single, doesn’t just hint at ambition, it’s practically waving a flare from the rooftops. Released via Modern Sky alongside the…
Single Review | Niall Logue | From the Heart
Niall Logue’s latest single, From the Heart, feels exactly like its title promises: a candid, unvarnished glimpse into the messy corners of the mind and the quiet moments where doubt and hope collide. It’s a track that doesn’t try to be clever for clever’s sake or dress its vulnerability up in metaphorical finery. Instead, it…
The Front Row Presents: 250 Artists That Will Break Out By 2028 – The Letter G
We’re back with another 10 names you need on your radar, this time diving into the letter G as we continue our journey through 250 breakout artists by 2028. From genre-bending genre-defiers to big-hook indie bands and country-pop underdogs, this is one of our most eclectic lists yet. Whether you’re into shimmering synths, crunching guitars,…
Single Review | Flair | City Lights
If Flair’s last year was the sound of a band coming into focus, City Lights feels like the moment the picture sharpens and everything makes sense. This Glasgow quintet have built their reputation on dynamic contrasts, restless energy, big choruses, and a darkness that never quite lets go. With City Lights, they prove they’re just…
Single Review | Future Theory | Reality Buzz
Future Theory have always been a band unafraid to evolve. Hailing from the wide horizons of Lincolnshire, they first caught our attention back in 2016 when The Front Row reviewed their debut EP Fool’s Dream, a release that blended hazy psychedelia with understated grunge. Nearly a decade later, they return with Reality Buzz, a single…
Single Review | Rogue Awakening | Remain Untamed
Alt-metal often thrives on catharsis, but few new releases feel as personal, or as combustible, as Rogue Awakening’s Remain Untamed. Released back in May and only now surfacing on our radar, this bruising, anthemic single from the Horsham-based five-piece channels defiance into something both scalding and strangely empowering. At its core, Remain Untamed is a…
EP REVIEW: thistle. | it’s nice to see you, stranger
thistle.’s debut EP, it’s nice to see you, stranger, lands like a handwritten letter from a close friend you haven’t seen in years, lo-fi, bruised, and quietly defiant. Over five tracks, the Northampton trio channel the messy reality of being young, uncertain, and determined to build something lasting in a world that often feels built…
LIVE REVIEW: Elbow @ Museum Gardens, York
There can’t be many bands better suited to filling a summer evening in York’s Museum Gardens than Elbow. Under the glow of golden hour and surrounded by centuries of history, Guy Garvey and company delivered a set that was as warm and reflective as it was rousing, a reminder of how Elbow have quietly become…
Single Review | Kety Fusco | Für Therese
At The Front Row, we talk a lot about guitar lines and festival fields, but sometimes an artist from a completely different world barges in and blows all that out of the water. Kety Fusco’s “Für Therese” is that moment, a seismic reimagining of Beethoven that’s as much Muse-inspired dystopian drama as it is classical…
The Front Row Presents: 250 Artists That Will Break Out By 2028 – The Letter F
We’re back with the sixth edition of our ambitious series spotlighting the most exciting emerging acts shaping the future of music. This time, we’re digging into the letter F, unearthing ten artists you’ll want on your radar before everyone else catches on. From the introspective folk of Fiona Lee to the high-octane indie rock of…
Single Review | Project Overload | Wildfire
After last year’s shimmering indie-pop breakthrough, Silhouettes, Coventry’s Project Overload return with something far more combustible. If Silhouettes captured the euphoria of new romance, Wildfire is the exact opposite: a scalding, no-mercy anthem for when love curdles into raw fury. Since meeting at the Tin Music and Arts’ Live on Stage project, the band—Emily (vocals),…
EP Review: Elliot James Reay | All This to Say I Love You
From the moment Elliot James Reay’s croon hits your ears, you’re transported somewhere golden-lit and sepia-toned, a place where jukeboxes flicker in corner booths and teenage hearts beat to the pulse of doo-wop harmonies. But this isn’t mere pastiche. On All This to Say I Love You, the 23-year-old Mancunian proves he’s more than a…
Sunbeam Summer Bash | Whitby Pavilion | 28.06.2025
A night to prove that grassroots music, when done right, isn’t just alive, it’s unstoppable. Whitby isn’t the first place you’d pick on a map when you think of a youth-driven, sold-out live show. Maybe you’d point west or south to Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, even York. But here on the North Yorkshire coast, in an…
Single Review | You Don’t Need a Sun Tan | Krooked Tongue
Some songs grab you straight away. You Don’t Need A Sun Tan doesn’t just grab, it picks you up, spins you round, and tells you exactly why Krooked Tongue are becoming one of the UK’s most exciting rock outfits. On first listen, it’s all slick guitar fuzz, swaggering basslines, and drums with real bite. By…
Kendal Calling 2025: Full Stage Splits, 50 New Acts & One Massive 20th Birthday Bash
The Lake District’s loudest weekend is nearly upon us – and for its 20th year, Kendal Calling is going all out. It’s official: the full stage splits for Kendal Calling 2025 have landed, along with a massive stack of 50 new names added to the bill. Whether you’re already dusting off the tent pegs or…
The Front Row Presents: 250 Artists That Will Break Out By 2028 – The Letter E
E is for explosive debuts, electrifying live shows, and emerging voices rewriting the rule-book. From brat-metal firestarters and seaside poets to Belfast’s jazz-soaked party starters and cinematic synth duos, this latest chapter in The Front Row’s 250 Artists That Will Break Out by 2028 is bursting with versatility. Whether it’s the crunch of nu-metal, the…
LIVE REVIEW: The K’s @ The Leadmill, Sheffield
One of the final nights at The Leadmill goes out with fire, frenzy, and a full house of fans singing their hearts out As The Leadmill enters its final week before the doors close for good, there was always going to be something heavy in the air. But on Sunday night, that weight turned electric…
LIVE REVIEW: Pendulum @ Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre is a picturesque oddity — part coastal amphitheatre, part rave arena when the right act rolls into town. And on Friday night, it was very much the latter, as Pendulum made their long-awaited return to the Yorkshire coast with a full-throttle headline set, supported by rising Swedish alt-rock outfit Normandie. By…
Single Review | Calling Up | The Slates
The Slates’ latest single “Calling Up” arrives like a fresh pint at golden hour, effervescent, uplifting, and tinged with the kind of emotional truth that turns a simple indie track into something more resonant. Out now via This Feeling Records, it marks a big step forward for the Yorkshire outfit as they graduate from promising…
LIVE: Twin Atlantic @ The Leadmill, Sheffield
There was a tangible weight to the atmosphere on Tuesday night, not just the thick heat of a sold-out crowd but the emotional heft of finality. With The Leadmill set to close its doors for good at the end of June, every gig in its final week has carried the burden of goodbye. And few…
Single Review | Westside Cowboy | Alright Alright Alright
Westside Cowboy have emerged from Manchester’s ever-churning guitar scene with the kind of track that immediately grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go. ‘Alright Alright Alright’, the latest slice of slacker-rock from the quartet, is a high-octane, fuzz-drenched ride through the wild terrain of modern indie, equal parts chaos and craft. From…
Single Review | Champ | Taste To Run
There’s something unmistakably “North-East” about Taste To Run, the debut single from Hartlepool’s newest indie export, Champ. It’s in the atmosphere: the swirling guitar textures, the emotional heft, and the quietly defiant lyricism that calls to mind the likes of Sam Fender, Wunderhorse, and The War On Drugs. That reference point to Sam Fender isn’t…
FRONT ROW EXCLUSIVE: Steelers – Good Things Will Happen Tonight
Start With: Help (I’m Just A) or This Night – and then just play the rest.Out June 18 on streaming, CD and vinyl. Don’t miss it. If you’re a sucker for unapologetic pop-rock that’s part theatrical, part nostalgic, and entirely thrilling, then buckle up. Leeds-based band Steelers have burst onto the scene with their debut…
LIVE: Stereophonics @ John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield
Saturday night in Huddersfield and the clouds were mercifully holding off. 25,000 fans packed out John Smith’s Stadium for a massive, career-spanning homecoming of sorts for Stereophonics, who brought swagger, sentiment, and stadium-sized hooks to the pitch. But before Kelly Jones and co rattled through decades of hits, two northern acts lit the fuse, and…
Single Review | As You Are | Atlas Rivers
Atlas Rivers aren’t just reviving the 90s indie rock sound – they’re stretching it into new shapes, fitting it with bigger hearts and louder intentions. Their latest single As You Are is the fifth step in a steady, defiant rise for the Manchester-Carlisle-Barcelona trio, and it’s their boldest yet: a track that balances emotional turbulence…
Single Review | Always on the Run | Eighty Eight Miles
Midlands quintet Eighty Eight Miles have been building momentum the old-school way: tight songwriting, better gigs, and word-of-mouth buzz from both music fans and music legends. On their latest single ‘Always On The Run’, the band double down on everything that’s made them a rising name, soaring harmonies, slick arrangements, and a vocal performance from…
Single Review | Blood Will Tell | Love nor Money
There’s something electric brewing in the West Midlands. Birmingham’s own Love nor Money return with ‘Blood Will Tell’, a stomping, snarling new single that puts them firmly on the radar as one of the UK’s finest emerging rock outfits. Out today via Golden Robot Records, the track is the band’s first release under the label…
Single Review | Scroll My Life Away | The Radio Addicts
It’s not every day you hear a debut single written and performed by a band with a combined age barely scraping 50, but The Radio Addicts aren’t here to wait their turn. “Scroll My Life Away” is raw, loud, messy in all the right places, and packed with that beautiful, youthful urgency that reminds you…
The Front Row Presents: 250 Artists That Will Break Out By 2028 – The Letter D
If A, B, and C were big shoes to fill, Letter D comes with no pressure, just ten bold artists making their own noise and carving out unique spaces in the music world. From dreamy alt-pop to punk grit, country-pop to cinematic alt-rock, these are the acts whose songs you’ll hear echoes of long before they…
Single Review | sweet song – Long Island
Huddersfield’s LONG ISLAND are back with sweet song, a bright indie-pop anthem primed for festival fields and packed gigs this summer. The band have built a steady buzz through sharp songwriting and live shows that land hard without trying too hard, and this new single continues that streak with its crisp guitars and singalong hooks.…
EXCLUSIVE: Single Review – The Rhythm and the Record Hum – Astoria
Here at The Front Row, we’re buzzing to bring you the exclusive first look of The Rhythm and the Record Hum – the brand-new single from Leeds’ rising alt-indie outfit Astoria, dropping Friday 13th June. This one hasn’t landed anywhere else yet – and trust us, it’s going to blow a few minds when it…
Annual Leave Roundup | The Front Row Fix | June 6, 2025
Right then, I’m off on holiday. Prague’s calling, and I’ve got a date with Imagine Dragons (don’t judge) and the brilliant Declan McKenna. But just because I’m chasing beers and bad WiFi, doesn’t mean the new music slows down. Here are four new tracks and an EP that deserve a spin while I’m away —…
Single Review | Matt-Felix – Cold With Desire
London’s underground music scene isn’t short of compelling voices right now, but Matt-Felix is rapidly carving out a lane all his own. With new single Cold With Desire, the capital’s rising live-circuit favourite takes a bold sonic turn, delivering a bass-led juggernaut that smashes through genre lines and expectations with the confidence of someone who’s…
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The Setlist & The Script 