All About Rock & Metal

"it’s no secret that Nottingham has been the Glam Sleaze capital of the United Kingdom for years now. And so the faithful came! From early doors the indoor festival was packed out with Rock fans dressed to the nines."

"For those seeking the antithesis of AI, look no further than Beth Hart: honest, authentic, original, inspirational and spontaneous. You will not find a more human performer."

"As mentioned in my review of ‘Trouble Coming’ in Fireworks Issue #113 the talented Ms. Cox is single handedly maintaining the Entente Cordiale. Un concert formidable."

"They are rapidly becoming simply one of the biggest bands in the world and on this evidence, it is no more than they deserve."

The audience clearly agree, as the roar at the song’s finale is deafening, and Vaughn is clearly emotional at such a crowd reaction.

"It’s not often you get this kind of sustained intensity throughout the night. It’s a heady brew! These bands command attention and as I headed into the Kentish Town night it felt like a post coital experience."

"In Joel O’Keeffe they have an unstoppable force of nature. A man who has set a new standard in dynamic stage performance. I predict they will only get bigger, brighter, and better over the coming years."

"Any Blues purists in the crowd barely had time to brace themselves before Fish tore straight into a feral, full‑throttle take on the MC5’s ‘Kick Out The Jams’, a choice that felt less like an opener and more like a declaration of war. "

"They close the evening with ‘Solar Fire’, and I doubt that anyone left that venue feeling disappointed or short-changed. We’d witnessed a world-class band, and it was a privilege to watch them perform."

"Orianthi was out of this world. She is an incredible guitar player and vocalist and she deserves to have a lot more recognition than she has currently got."

An SOS show is always larger than life, but tonight was supersized. They wanted to end a difficult year on a high, and this was truly stratospheric. A show that set a new precedent in performance levels. I have absolutely no doubt that 2026 will see them reach even greater heights.

It was a sold-out show and there was an amazing atmosphere buzzing around the auditorium. The band took to the stage with the minimum amount of fuss. The crowd erupted.

This marked the fifth annual migration of the Dare Fan Club to the picturesque West Yorkshire setting of Holmfirth, home to its century-old picture theatre, perfectly positioned in the heart of the town. Tonight’s virtual sell-out crowd was largely made up of friends, family and fan club members, with a few seeing the band for the very first time – though, judging by tonight’s performance, certainly not the last.

“Once more unto the breach dear friends”, or more precisely, the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. This is one of my favourite music venues. It has a good photo pit, and the Showsec security are generally accommodating. Their policy allows photographers to shoot from the crowd after they have finished the standard three songs from the pit. This means you don’t get thrown out onto the street like a piece of trash in between the sets of each band, something that happens at venues like

Ginger traditionally has a show in London this time of year, close to his birthday, this time it’s in Islington and the Christmas spirit is well on its way!

One of the many things I like about being a music photographer is that I get to see bands I wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to. On this particular occasion, I knew of the headline act, and had heard one of their songs, but knew absolutely nothing about the first two bands on the bill, Block Of Flats, and special guests, The Funeral Portrait. So once again I make my way into central London for the privilege of watching musicians perform.

The Globe is not too far from Cardiff City Centre and can hold around 350 people. Tonight the venue is fairly well packed out. This is the last night of the UK tour for both bands. The intro music struck up and then the support act who was Parker Barrow started at 19.30.

I’ll hold my hands up, despite absolutely loving albums like ‘Reckless’ and ‘Waking Up The Neighbours’, I’d kind of lost my way with the Canadian star’s output. I remember really disliking ‘Cloud #9’ and when he duetted with Mel C, I freely admit the musical snob in me reared its head, with me muttering about him working with a bloody Spice Girl and how the guy had gone right off the boil.

Even though I had been to the O2 as a fan on countless occasions, this would be my first time there as a photographer. I had been pre-warned by some of my peers that this venue was a slightly hostile environment, but I always try to keep a sense of optimism. So, on a cold Wednesday night, I made my way to the East End of London wearing multiple layers of clothing, something that turned out to be an extremely wise decision, as I soon found out.

I will confess that I knew absolutely nothing about two of the bands on the bill, including the headliner. My review will be written from the perspective of someone who has walked in off the street, which is pretty close to the truth.