When: 7pm on Friday 11 October 2024
Where: Low Four Studio, Deansgate Mews, Great Northern, Manchester M3 4EN

We’re delighted to welcome Rachael Lavelle back – this time, to Low Four!

Dublin-born singer and composer Rachael Lavelle’s debut album Big Dreams, released via her Rest Energy label, has quickly seen her become recognised as one of Ireland’s most exciting emerging talents.

It’s seen the album receive a nomination for Ireland’s prestigious Choice Music Prize Album of the Year. Lavelle has also been tapped up to tour with breakthrough Irish trailblazers Lankum and CMAT, as well as taking part in the Sorcha Richardson-curated Imagining Ireland at the Barbican in London and National Concert Hall in Dublin alongside SOAK, Ye Vagabonds, Aby Coulibaly and more.

Big Dreams is an existential coming-of-age album that chronicles the journey of a young woman searching for direction and meaning in a very strange world. Inspired by sounds of everyday life and an intriguing obsession with YouTube self-help videos, the album explores romance, directionless-ness, ambition and the expectations of the unsatisfied digital native. Big Dreams is an introspective journey that invites the listener to ask what it means to be alive in the 21st century.

Floating in a world that is at once full of irony and honesty, Rachael examines the essential things: sleeping, eating, work and the search for love, reimagining them in a dream-like musical landscape of luscious synths, manipulated vocals, cinematic sound design, strings, woodwind and electronic beats.

A wry sense of humour peppered throughout is glued together by the iconic voice of Doireann Ní Bhriain, the voice of the Luas transport system in Dublin.

Recorded in various locations between Ireland and Portugal, the album is the result of years of experimentation and destruction. Written and produced by Lavelle, it was created alongside long-time collaborator, multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Ryan Hargadon (moondiver, Anna Mieke, Kojaque) and engineer and co-producer Alex Borwick (Niamh Regan, Inni-K).

In the years prior to the release of her debut, Lavelle has also toured with the likes of Villagers and Anna B Savage. She’s also collaborated with a wide range of artists including Peter Broderick, Saint Sister and lent vocals to the aforementioned Villagers’ album Fever Dream (via Domino Records).

‘Big Dreams is disarming and layered… Slow-burning art-pop that is at once inventive and soothing… Gently compelling’ – One To Watch, The Guardian

‘A deliciously off-beat characterful debut’ 8/10, UNCUT

Special guest is Rosie Miles. Alt-folk singer-songwriter Rosie Miles is a storyteller whose soaring melodies and poetic lyrics serve as her ink and pen. ‘A gifted and charismatic songwriter’ (Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6), inspired by Joni Mitchell, Madison Cunningham and Laura Marling, her music dances effortlessly between the worlds of indie, folk and jazz, evoking a welcome nostalgia of the 70s songwriter movement. Rosie’s deeply personal and peculiar style guarantees a night of tears, laughter and classic songwriting.

This show takes place at Low Four – a recording studio situated on Deansgate Mews in the Great Northern warehouse. This intimate venue features a Cloudwater bar.

Age restriction: 14+. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

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When: 7pm on Friday 11 October 2024
Where: YES Pink Room, 38 Charles Street, Manchester, M1 7DB

PLEASE NOTE: Due to demand, this show has been upgraded into YES’ Pink Room. All other details remain the same, with doors still at 7pm and the show starting at 7.30pm.

We’re excited to welcome Euros Childs back to Manchester, for the first time since 2017!

Euros Childs has been making music for over thirty years, as a solo artist and as the frontman of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. He’s released 19 solo albums to date, most of which have appeared on his own National Elf label. Since 2019 Euros has also been playing keyboards and lending his voice to Teenage Fanclub, appearing on their last two albums.

This tour will mark Euros’s return to the stage with a band for the first time in seven years. He’ll be joined by long-term collaborators Stephen Black (aka Sweet Baboo), Stuart Kidd (Kidd, The Wellgreen) and Selma French (Morgonrode, Frøkedal).

Expect a show full of life, zest and humour that draws on Euros’s extensive back catalogue as well as songs from his forthcoming album Beehive Beach, due in October.

Tour support comes from Selma French. Selma French is a songwriter and musician renowned and revered within the Norwegian folk scene. She grew up with traditional music and has played and created music all her life. Her musical inspirations include Linda Perhacs, Nick Drake, Judee Sill, Frøkedal, Sundfør and Sandy Denny. Her debut album Changes Like the Weather in the Mountain was released in 2022 to critical acclaim and was ranked among the top Norwegian albums of 2022 by notable Norwegian newspapers such as Dagsavisen and Aftenposten.

Selma has toured extensively throughout Scandinavia and is a member of the bands such as Masåva, Frøkedal & Familien – with whom she toured in the UK as special guests of Teenage Fanclub, Sondre Lerche and Norwegian Grammy award winners Morgonrode. Her music is widely recognised in her native country and has recently featured as the theme song in the hit Viaplay TV series Furia. Her music reflects an admiration for Norwegian and English folk music and is infused with an airy, enigmatic energy. Her rich landscape of guitars, wurlitzer, fiddles and high pitched choir voices manages to convey a roar of frustration, obscure portraits of the present and a gathering force of hope.

‘What a Norwegian gem we are dealing with here. Selma French is Norway’s music scene’s best-kept “secret” – for now’ – GAFFA.no

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When: 7.30pm on Friday 11 October 2024
Where: Hallé at St Michael’s, 36-38 George Leigh Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5DG

We’re excited to hosting an intimate show for Romeo Stodart and Ren Harvieu!

Ren and Romeo are playing some unique duo shows together. They will be playing much loved songs from their respective catalogues, new songs yet to be heard, perhaps a cheeky cover or two and are open to wherever the night takes them. If you’d like to experience the intimacy of songwriting, story telling and what it feels like to have found kindred spirits, you won’t want to miss this special show.

Romeo Stodart is the lead singer/songwriter in the much-loved London-based rock ‘n’ roll harmony group The Magic Numbers. The band, comprising of two pairs of brothers and sisters, have released five critically acclaimed albums to date, including their self-titled Mercury Prize-nominated, million-selling debut.

Outside of The Magic Numbers, Romeo has collaborated with a vast array of artists including writing songs for and with the late Jane Birkin, Edwyn Collins, Natalie Imbruglia, Kathryn Williams, Amadou & Mariam and The Chemical Brothers. He has contributed his unique guitar playing style to various projects, from Damon Albarn’s Africa Express collective since its inception, touring with Jimmy Webb & The Webb Brothers, to contributing banjo, guitar and harmonies on Spiritualized’s Sweet Heart Sweet Light album.

Anyone who believes there are no second chances needs to be re-introduced to Ren Harvieu. Seven years after Through The Night, her Top Five debut album, having overcome a life-threatening injury on the eve of its release, the darkly enigmatic Salford-born singer-songwriter returned with the critically acclaimed Revel In The Drama (Bella Union) – a brilliant, bolder and broader take on her unique pop classicism, a compelling diary of struggle, a release of pent-up tension and a celebration of liberation and survival. It should’ve been a celebration but as luck would again have it, the world went into a global pandemic on the week of release. Timing is everything but Ren Harvieu is timeless as she is inspirational.

Now in the production chair alongside her writing partner Romeo, she is creating her most brave and compelling music yet – a new album is scheduled for release in early 2025.

Opening the show is Felix Holt.

This show show takes place in St Michael’s – a deconsecrated former Roman Catholic church, which was founded in 1859 and became the heart of the Little Italy community in Ancoats.

This is a 14+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

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When: 7pm on Wednesday 16 October 2024
Where: YES Basement, 38 Charles Street, Manchester, M1 7DB

We’re delighted to welcome Roddy Woomble back – this time, to YES!

With his enigmatic and poetic lyrics, warm baritone voice and consummate gift for a tune, Roddy Woomble is widely considered to be among Scotland’s best contemporary songwriters.

Over the sixteen albums that he has released (nine with his band Idlewild, and seven as a solo artist) he has traversed punk rock, chart bothering melodic rock, folk and most recently electronica, with his most recent project Almost Nothing. Each one delivered with the humble grace that he’s become known for.

Roddy’s upcoming record re-unites him with songwriting partner Sorren Maclean and was recorded with contributions from family and friends, in an old church on the Isle of Mull.

Special guest is Adam Ross. Adam Ross is a solo performer and also the seasoned songwriter and the creative force behind Randolph’s Leap known for their decade-long contribution to the indie music scene. His solo career is marked by albums like Staring At Mountains and the new release Littoral Zone (produced by Andrew Wasylyk), which showcases his unique blend of orchestral indie-folk, characterised by intricate storytelling, humour and poignancy. Adam has graced stages at major festivals and venues, earning acclaim for his engaging live performances and airplay on prominent stations like BBC Radio Scotland and BBC 6 Music.

‘One of Scotland’s most talented singers and songwriters’ – Folk Radio

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When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 16 October 2024
Where: Gullivers, 109 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

We’re delighted to be working with Mikey Kenney again!

Mikey Kenney is an original. A passionate and well-respected advocate for traditional music – a brilliant Liverpool-style fiddler drawing primarily on his native North West English and Irish heritage – but grounded in a present-day, urban reality.

He is a musician with wide-open horizons and insatiable curiosity for new possibilities. As evidenced on his latest album, The Reverie Road (Penny Fiddle Records), Kenney’s songwriting is both adventurous and earth-bound, with his high lonesome voice exploring sun-drenched Italian vistas, dream worlds and sounds of the city.

With a reputation for both making quality music and producing wondrous flourishes of creativity, Kenney is also a multi-talented and in-demand collaborator, including, formerly, with Band Of Burns, and now, with his electric trio World Turned Upside Down, as well as playing with BBC 6 Music favourite Alabaster DePlume and Italian singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela. Mikey is also Musical Director of the Lancashire Youth Folk Ensemble.

‘This is magical, medicinal music that defies labels and borders’ – Liverpool Echo

‘Mikey Kenney is an artist for whom music is a calling, not a career choice… a singular and inspiring talent… unfettered by expectations of geography or genre, and a wanderer of worlds both seen and invisible, Kenney is an authentic free spirit’ – fRoots

‘Superbly charismatic fiddle playing… once heard, never forgotten singing’ – FRUK

Local support comes from Séamus Óg. Séamus Óg is an Irish musician hailing from Carrickfergus, Ireland. Drawing inspiration from an upbringing of traditional Irish music, storytelling, island life. Bursting onto the Manchester folk scene with his debut album, Best Masala Tea, he has since shared the stage with renowned artists like Brìghde Chaimbeul, Chris Brain and Ríoghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet.

His second album, Terry’s Síbín, featured on BBC 6 Music (Tom Robinson), Celtic FM and Radio Fáilte, set the stage for his highly anticipated third release, Haul The Pots, coming out on 25 March. His music, is intertwined in rich harmonies, and stories full of heart, that will have you swept into a dream state and lingering on adventures taken, and mapping those to come.

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When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 23 October 2024
Where: YES Pink Room, 38 Charles Street, Manchester, M1 7DB

We’re excited to working with Blue Bendy for the first time!

Blue Bendy have stretched out into vast new sonic terrain with their debut album So Medieval. Their two lead singles Mr Bubblegum – a joyously intricate piece of experimental guitar pop – and the frenetic, propulsive yet incredibly deft sprawl of Cloudy, saw the band reach new heights creatively. Of the former, the Guardian enthused: ‘Indie is riddled with addled, verbose frontmen right now, but none so rapturous as Blue Bendy’s Arthur Nolan: here he dances all over splayed post-rock and micro-cataclysms.’

In one of many glowing reviews, Pitchfork described the album as ‘defiant, high-stakes art-rock’ whilst The Independent described Nolan as a ‘cherub gone through the wringer’ in their recent profile.

Having toured as main support for Squid and Cola as well as playing packed out tents at festivals like End Of The Road and Green Man, Blue Bendy have struck a balance between being obviously skilled musicians, writing complex, layered, overlapping and ambitious compositions, while also utilising space, breadth, and restraint. Their music is bursting with dynamism, exploring push-pull dynamics that results in something ceaselessly unpredictable.

It results in a sound that is rare for a new band: as experimental as it is confident and assured, as tender as it is visceral, as quiet as it is loud, as bloody as it is teary.

Special guests are Sunglasz Vendor. Formed from Bristol’s avant-garde underbelly (Bingo Fury, Ex-Agent, Grandchild) at the start of 2023, Sunglasz Vendor sees devout experimentalists turn to embrace the eternal comforts of rock radio hooks, pensive emo, and Kerrang! teenage angst.

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When: 7.30pm on Monday 21 October 2024
Where: Trades Club, Holme Street, Hebden Bridge HX7 8EE

We’re delighted to welcome John Francis Flynn to the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge.

The release of his second album Look Over the Wall, See the Sky last The November kicked off a huge start to the year for Dubliner John Francis Flynn.

John masterfully unpicks traditional songs and rearranges them with an emotional force. They float in a surreal space between the past and the present, the analog and the digital, between love and tragedy..The unconventional use of instruments and jagged arrangements gives the work a magnetism by drawing you into its curious orbit of experimental folk.

Look Over The Wall, See The Sky is a re-imagining of traditional Irish music: powerful, hopeful and free. John Francis Flynn is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who creates contemporary music using traditional and folk material. His debut album I Would Not Live Always was released on Rough Trade imprint River Lea Records in 2020, earning rave reviews and winning two awards at the RTE Folk Awards.

Tour support comes from Kevin Fowley. Growing up, Kevin Fowley split his time between living in France and Ireland. He listened to French lullabies sung by his mother in one room, while his father would be playing Donegal tunes on the fiddle in another. His upbringing is apparent in his most recent record, À Feu Doux, released via Basin Rock in the summer of 2024. Seamlessly gliding across folk, jazz, and a rich yet shimmering in between sound. Real night time music.

This show is a co-promotion with Please Please You and the Brudenell.

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When: 8pm on Wednesday 30 October 2024
Where: Night & Day Cafe, 26 Oldham St, Manchester, M1 1JN

We’re delighted to be welcome Old Sea Brigade back to Manchester!

We never know where life will take us. The path forever twists and turns in unexpected directions. Singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Ben Cramer a.k.a. Old Sea Brigade, never imagined he would be living almost 5,000 miles away from his native Georgia in Sweden as a husband and father. However, that’s where he is now!

Moreover, he’s sharing the story of this unpredictable journey on his 2024 EP series If I Only Knew (Parts 1 & 2) (released via Nettwerk Music Group).

A season of change informs the seven tracks on Part 1.

‘Five years ago, my life looked so different,’ he observes. ‘I didn’t even know where Gothenburg was on the map. If you told me I’d be living in Sweden with a family of my own, I wouldn’t have believed you. So, the title, If I Only Knew, is fitting. This record was made after getting married and becoming a dad. It was a lot to process. It’s amazing, though. I always just let whatever’s happening reflect in the songs.’

Such reflections have defined the music of Old Sea Brigade since 2016. Listeners have followed along as Ben effectively journaled his life aloud across projects such as Old Sea Brigade EP (2016), Ode To A Friend (2019), All The Ways You Sing in the Dark EP (2020) with Luke Sital-Singh, Motivational Speaking (2021), and 5AM In Paradise (2022). His catalogue has quietly generated hundreds of millions of streams anchored by Love Brought Weight, Tidal Wave, Hope and Call Me When You Land (with Luke Sital-Singh). Beyond inciting the applause of Boston Globe, Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence, No Depression, Uncut, Under The Radar, and more, he made his national television debut with a stunning appearance on CBS Mornings Saturday Sessions.

For If I Only Knew, he re-teamed with some of his closest creative confidants co-producers Jeremy Griffith and Owen Lewis. Over the course of three weeks, they recorded the project in Sweden for the first time.

‘We made some great memories together, and we really defined the sound in my studio,’ Ben smiles. ‘They challenge me in all of the right ways. We talked a lot about the differences of working in Sweden versus Nashville. Society seems less stressed in Europe. The Swedes have a saying, “Don’t be too happy or too sad. Keep everything down the middle” — which is what we tried to do.’

He initially teased this era with Polygraph. Right out of the gate, it resonated with listeners. On its heels, the single Heaven In The Right Light layers dreamy piano and lightly strummed guitar over an airy backbeat. Ben’s delicate delivery echoes on the hook, ‘Heaven in the right light, so strange, wonder what you might find.’

‘I was listening to a lot of José González, and I wanted to write a soft number,’ he says. ‘We made a loop out of different drumbeats. Jeremy suggested a key change, and we pulled it off.’

On Rest Assured, loose guitar gives way to swooning strings in the wake of a lush and lovestruck refrain, ‘Rest assured that I’m on your side. The rest is yours, and you’re all mine.’

‘It’s a no-frills, very intentional song about love — as if there aren’t enough,’ he laughs.

Synths murmur through a haze on If You Had To Ask, while a lilting piano crescendo carries the song towards a sonic exhale. Then, there’s Real Life. Acoustic guitar brushes up against a glitchy beat, and a moment of acceptance crystallises on the chorus, ‘I guess it’s real life. If it worries you, leave it alone.’

‘The lyrics were really stream-of-conscious,’ he says. ‘The message is just let go and trust the process. Focus on what you can control and do your best. I’m a firm believer everything will work itself out, and the song reflects this narrative.’

The finale, The Tourist, revolves around stark acoustic guitar, grainy beat-craft, bright flute, cinematic strings, and his so-grizzled-it’s-beautiful timbre. It ends on a gentle realisation, ‘The days of being strangers now are gone.’

‘It was inspired by feeling like a tourist when I got to Sweden,’ he says. ‘It’s not a bad thing, but most of the time, I do feel like a tourist.’

‘Old Sea Brigade has been my creative outlet for so many of my formative years as an adult,’ he concludes. ‘The catalogue is there to document how I felt in all of these changes and normal events that followed me around for the last eight years. I’m incredibly grateful for this life. I wouldn’t have met my wife if it wasn’t for Old Sea Brigade. It’s the reason I came to Sweden. It’s the reason I’m a dad. It’s the reason I’ve met so many of my friends.’

Tour support comes from Hayden Calnin. Making sounds for eyes closed. See where you go. Previously, Hayden was producing music for other artists and composing songs that have appeared in various films and TV series, atop the achievements of his own work, earning praise from tastemakers like Magnetic, Clash and Earmilk.

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When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 6 November 2024
Where: Gullivers, 109 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

We’re delighted to be working with Coruja Jones again!

Join Coruja Jones and his full band this November to celebrate the launch of his second record, Undo. Following on from his debut The Crossing, the EP delves into the healing process in different forms, examining the calm and the chaos that can come from attempted self-betterment, and witnessing and wanting to heal other’s hardship, all through a lens of love.

Produced by Sam Vicary (The Cinematic Orchestra, Hunrosa), the EP features Adam Dawson (BC Camplight), Sam Vicary and Jake Stentiford (Alina Ly, Sobi, Charlie Cooper).

Its dreamy, melancholic indie-folk songs feature soaring high notes and intricate, delicate guitar work, plus killer grooves, which take aim at your heart.

Coruja Jones is a songwriting project from Manchester-based musician and songwriter Dan Jones, originally hailing from Dudley in the West Midlands. He has been championed by the likes of BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson and toured with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Joe Jackson, as well as supporting Daudi Matsiko, Callum Beattie, Amelia Coburn and Caoilfhionn Rose to name a few.

‘Deft and assured’ – Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music)

‘Like Tom Waits singing nursery rhymes’ -Wayne McDonald (Picnic Area)

Special guests are Alina Ly and Benjamin Finney.

Beginning her career in Seattle, Washington’s music scene in 2011, Alina Ly’s music led her to Los Angeles, California in 2013 then soon after to the UK. While playing a countless number of shows around the world, writing and recording between her home cities, Alina released multiple successful singles over the years and sold out her debut headline shows across the UK. Since then, Alina has been immersed in various projects and co-writes, but most notably working on several EP’s and a debut album with her full band.

A rare blend of fingerstyle guitar, elements of folk and americana – think boundary-pushing blues heavyweight John Martyn with the ethereal ambiance of Sigur Ros. This is the unique sound of Benjamin Finney. Achieving technical virtuosity while retaining melodic integrity, Finney creates honest folk driven acoustic instrumentals. Each piece is composed with the intention of drawing the listener into the song, and encouraging them to stay and hang on every note.

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When: 7.30pm on Friday 8 November 2024
Where: Gullivers, 109 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

We’re delighted to be working with Good News for the first time!

Sheffield’s resident wonky-popskis Good News are set to release their debut album Small Forms via Bingo Records on 13 September, and have announced a headline tour.

First singles out the gates are double a-sides Orange Juice In The Shower b/w Tits – a pair of tracks which set the tone for an album as bristling with lean pop hooks as it is with caustic socio-political barbs. Orange Juice… looks at domestic relationships while Tits looks outwards, dishing out withering criticism much further reaching than its 1:39 run time would seemingly allow. Treated bass and eczema-dry percussion carry the music, rhythm first, delivering taut missives accented by discordant clarinet and guitar. Good News epitomise the concept of making a point and not sticking around too long.

Recorded in a studio built in the band’s attic with in-house Bingo Records producer Zac Barfoot, Small Forms follows their 2023 debut EP Same As That, which earned the band a live session with Marc Riley & Gideon Coe (BBC 6 Music). Since then, their feisty clarinet, bass, and cowbell-propelled rhythms have bounced around the North and London supporting The Bug Club, Kid Congo & The Pink Monkeybirds, Wesley Gonzalez & Wild Garlic and Acid Klaus.

Small Forms will be released on vinyl and digitally, with singles, radio and press campaigns to support the album and accompanying tour dates.

Local support comes from Adam Hopper & The Wimps. Adam Hopper is a singer-songwriter based in Manchester. Concentrating on poignant, wry lyricism and catchy melodies, he creates his own unique brand of wide-eyed, mellow alternative pop music. Adam’s sound is informed by the brighter moments of 1970s New York’s art rock and pop movements and the carefree, DIY attitude of 1990s Lo-Fi and anti-folk scenes. Adam spent the first half of 2023 gigging solo across the country, honing his material, and emerged later in the year, fully fleshed out with his band The Wimps.

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