Benjamin Francis Leftwich, supported by Nadia Kadek (Nov 24)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich, supported by Nadia Kadek (Nov 24)

My sixth week of watching live music at venues across the South and abroad took me back to Papillon, the renovated church in Southampton. It was Emma’s first time here. We bought tickets to see Benjamin Francis Leftwich at the very last minute, jumping on ….read more

Miles Hunt – Papillon (Oct 24)

Miles Hunt – Papillon (Oct 24)

I wasn’t a huge fan of ‘The Wonder Stuff’ back in the day, they just weren’t on my radar. So when I got the opportunity to head back to Southampton for a night to see their front man Miles Hunt perform an acoustic set at ….read more

Marc Broussard at KoKo Camden Town (Oct 24)

Marc Broussard at KoKo Camden Town (Oct 24)

Last night saw us heading off to Camden to see Marc Broussard an American singer songwriter perform at KOKO. It was a packed house. He has a style is described as “Bayou Soul”, which is a mixture of all things “southern”. ‘Twas a last minute ….read more

London O2 Crowded House (Oct 24)

London O2 Crowded House (Oct 24)

I met Emma at Bedales after she finished work, Bedales is a nice little wine bar we’ve been to before. Borough Market was buzzing with tourists and people who had knocked off from work early. It’s a great place to sit and people watch. We ….read more

Music in the City (oct 24)

Music in the City (oct 24)

This weekend event in Southampton has been growing in both size and quality for a few years, and Saturday was just perfect – with the weather also playing ball too. I decided to spend the afternoon wandering around the pubs and clubs at just some ….read more

Bredy Farm – Weekender (Aug 24)

Bredy Farm – Weekender (Aug 24)

Festival camping in Dorset After dropping off my son and his friends at Reading Festival, we headed south west to Bredy Farm, near Burton Bradstock in Dorset. We’d booked tickets for their 19th micro-festival called “Be-Cider-Seaside” and encountered some of the friendliest people you could ….read more

BST Hyde Park, London (June 24)

BST Hyde Park, London (June 24)

The sun is shining 😂 so we headed for Hyde Park to see Kings of Leon, Paolo Nutini and the Vaccines. After a chilly start it turned out to be great weather where the sun shone for the most part. We got an early entrance ….read more

Festival – Bearded Theory (May 24)

Festival – Bearded Theory (May 24)

Well it’s that time of year again, so we headed off to one of our favourite places. Bearded Theory Festival in South Derbyshire.   We first came here two years ago and bumped into a bunch of beautiful people who are all connected in one ….read more

The Underdogs NYE  (Dec 23)

The Underdogs NYE (Dec 23)

A Great New Years Eve celebration at the Brook, Southampton, with Emma, and where we met up with Kaz and Gez, a lovely couple, and old friends who I haven’t seen for an age. The Brook is within “staggering” distance from home, so ideal for ….read more

Noel Gallagher (Dec 23)

Noel Gallagher (Dec 23)

Another night out with Emma and Hannah, this time with a quick visit to Wembley Arena to see Noel Gallagher high flying birds. This is not my favourite location for music, especially if seated, but if you get standing room and there isn’t a huge ….read more

Matt Maeson (Nov 23)

Matt Maeson (Nov 23)

Watched Matt Maeson at the Electric Brixton, an American singer songwriter doing an acoustic tour across Europe.  Great evening with Emma and Hannah. The layout to the Electric in Brixton is similar to the Brook in Southampton – but much much larger. TOP TIP for ….read more

Notting Hill Carnival (Aug 23)

Notting Hill Carnival (Aug 23)

I’ve always loved the colours, dance and music of Notting Hill Carnival – and this year, the warm weather and blue skies made everything even more vibrant. We’ve not been able to make it here for a few years, so when the opportunity arose last ….read more

The Producers (Aug 23)

The Producers (Aug 23)

The final night for this old Blues band at the Platform Tavern Southampton. A great intimate venue by the waterfront just along the road from the Red Funnel terminal.

Cambridgeshire (Aug 23)

Cambridgeshire (Aug 23)

We headed for the small market town of Saffron Waldron and the English Heritage site of Audley End House, Cambridgeshire where OMD, Heaven 17 and Soft Cell were playing on a stage right next to a stunning 17th century country house.   Peroxide blondes and slap ….read more

YNot Festival – Peak District (July 23)

YNot Festival – Peak District (July 23)

A weekend away at Ynot music festival in the middle of the Peak District with Emma, Hannah and Rachael. It was the first time we’ve tried this one, and with about 30,000 people it is a little larger than many of the festivals we generally ….read more

Blur (Jul 23)

Blur (Jul 23)

Wow. Blur knocked it out of the park last night in a packed house at Wembley stadium. It’s the first time they’ve played here, and you could see how much it meant to them – and the audience! It was pretty emotional with Damien Albarn ….read more

Bearded Theory (May 23)

Bearded Theory (May 23)

So here we are again at Bearded Theory festival in Derbyshire, along with the group from Sheffield we met here last year. The pirate ship corner has been taken over by a green man with a mushroom head – but with infectious sounds, it still ….read more

Dub Pistols (Dec 22)

Dub Pistols (Dec 22)

A return to the Brook for an awesome band called Dub Pistols, who we’ve seen several times over the years. These guys are legends !

Boomtown Festival, UK. (Aug 22)

Boomtown Festival, UK. (Aug 22)

An early dash from Cornwall meant we avoided the traffic rush and managed to get to “Boomtown” festival with plenty of time in hand. Boomtown is an amazing festival, it’s a little like a movie set with multiple themes. The Dub Pistols were performing late ….read more

Bristol Harbour Festival, UK. (Jul 22)

Bristol Harbour Festival, UK. (Jul 22)

A great weekend with family at Bristol Harbour Festival! Live music and DJ sets everywhere, entertainment on every corner and pubs full to the brim. A huge West Country event. So glad we went! The perfect weather for camping out in the Mendip Hills, so ….read more

Bearded Theory Festival. UK. (Jun 22)

Bearded Theory Festival. UK. (Jun 22)

Four fabulous nights away at ‘Bearded Theory Spring Gathering’ with Em and a whole bunch of other crazy folk! Somehow we managed to dodge the rain – with blue sky and sunshine for most of the event. It’s a relatively small independent festival in Derbyshire ….read more

Isle of Wight festival, UK. (Sep 21)

Isle of Wight festival, UK. (Sep 21)

We’ve just about recovered from sensory overload at last week’s Isle of Wight Festival. We were surrounded by deliriously happy people and entertained by bands, many of which seemed to be playing for pure fun; thankful for the end of the live music drought and ….read more

Watchet Festival (Aug 19)

Watchet Festival (Aug 19)

Perched on the fields overlooking the Severn Estuary on the North Somerset coast, this year’s Music Festival at Watchet was simply sublime.Talented musicians everywhere and a real happy vibe. It was made even more spectacular by the weather. We didn’t see a cloud all weekend. ….read more

Larmer Tree Festival (Jul 19)

Larmer Tree Festival (Jul 19)

It’s not every day in the UK that you spot a pair of brightly coloured macaws flying in the forest over your head. But then this is Larmer Tree Festival – set in a magical corner of Wiltshire. What a great line up this year ….read more