Thanks to the Piece Hall, Halifax is becoming a giant of the Northern music scene, yet the town isn’t all about visiting big names.

Aesthetica Film Festival is delighted to announce Dilettante as the winner of its first-ever New Music Stage, a showcase of the UK’s most exciting emerging musical talent.

A few years ago, I stood outside Glasgow Barrowlands with fellow Del Amitri fan Noeleen Kelly following an amazing gig and spoke to keyboard and accordion player Andy Alston. ‘Is Justin okay?’ I wanted to know.

Morten Alsinger, the man behind Tralalas, is new to us, but if you were around in Denmark in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you’ll know his work.

When DataBass first came to my attention, it was as a fresh-faced student at Ball State University in Indiana, USA. Now, she’s 22 years old and still making music that surpasses her years.

Heaven 17 Ignite Leeds with Synths, Swagger and Sharp Suits Words and Photos - John Hayhurst Heaven 17 roll into the Leeds O2 Academy with the sort of swagger only a band who’ve survived every synth-pop apocalypse can muster. Before they even appear, Rusty Egan warms the floor with an impeccably curated flashback to the Blitz era — Soft Cell, Visage, the whole neon-lit underbelly of the eighties.

Saxon: Still Riding The Wheels of Steel at their Sheffield Homecoming Anniversary Words and Photos - John Hayhurst There are hometown gigs, and then there’s this. For Biff Byford, originally from up the road in Barnsley and now residing somewhere not far from me in the North Yorkshire hills, tonight’s show at the Sheffield Octagon isn’t just another stop on the tour—it’s a return to the forge where his NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) Wheels of Steel were first hammered into shape.

Bittersweet and Blistering: Cliffords Hour of Power in Leeds Words & Photos - John Hayhurst By the time Cliffords crash into their final chorus, the floor at Headrow House is a mess of pint foam, sweat and stupid grins. Leeds crowds can sometimes be standoffish on a Friday night, but tonight they’re louder than Manchester — and the Cork five-piece drink it in like it’s holy water.

James have announced Nothing But Love – The Definitive Best Of, due for release on 21 November via UMR and available to pre-order.

Inspired by fierce innovators like Ashnikko, Neeve Rose’s new single, Hatchet, swings the axe.

Eyal Erlich is back with the latest in a string of live performance videos.

Adam Ant was one of the biggest cultural figures of the 1980s: somehow simultaneously a dandy highwayman, a musical maverick, one of the most singular and charismatic characters around, and, of course, an iconic pop star.

A stadium gig condensed into a student union was on the cards in Leeds on Saturday.

“This track took a long road,” Alwyn Morrison reflects on his latest single, Maybe In Another World.

New wave trailblazers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark will play York Museum Gardens on Thursday 9 July 2026.

Essential new music showcase Live at Leeds In The City has announced the final instalment of artists performing at this year’s edition of the festival on Saturday 15 November 2025.

2024 saw Raven Numan emerge as the bright new hope of the dark-pop and industrial scenes with early singles including Going Down, In My Head and My Reflection.

Local singer-songwriter Oliver Pinder has been all over my radar of late.

Hailing from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Gabrielle Swanks is a Nigerian-American singer, songwriter, and producer with a story to tell. I chatted to her about her new single, Moon.

Rianne Downey Turns Leeds Into a Country-Folk Revival Words & Photos - John Hayhurst Before we get into Rianne Downey I have to mention the support tonight, who is worthy of her own review. Teesside’s Amelia Coburn turned The Wardrobe into her own fireside séance. Playing ukulele and with a voice so pure it could slice through silence, she plays…

Leeds-based R&B, pop, and soul artist MAAME has been writing music for a long time, but it took her a while to pluck up the courage to share it.

Download Festival, the greatest rock and metal festival of all time, returns for its molten hot 23rd edition, reborn and recharged in 2026 as DLXXIII.

18 November 2025 sees the Crescent play host to some up-and-coming local bands.

The house was almost full for Mark Steel, who was in York for on Saturday 1 November, for one night only.

Gary Stewart returned to The Crescent with his acclaimed Graceland show.