• Hornets w/ Apartments & Unyielding Love @ Catalyst Art Centre, Belfast

    Saturday March 12 2016. A hidden location in Belfast’s city centre. No, not a meeting of some clandestine secret society, but a fundraising gig for Belfast hardcore rockers Hornets. As they’ve previously done (to raise money for a tour) the band chose a tiny studio location, holding a maximum of eighty people, to have ‘a bit of a do’, including an art gallery, a raffle, and a couple of up and coming young bands as support. First of these bands was Unyielding Love, who describe themselves as grind/noise. They gather ‘onstage’ (the end of the room) and begin their set…

  • The First Time: An Exhibition by Joe Laverty @ Oh Yeah Centre, Belfast

    Joe Laverty is a well established and highly respected photographer, working closely with local acts creating an astonishing body of work which he proudly presents in his first solo exhibition. ‘The First Time’ offers an intimate look into the lives of some of Northern Ireland’s most intriguing musicians and artists, cast by his highly individual and primary use of monochrome. Here we are treated to portraits of Alana Henderson, ASIWYFA, Girls Names (above) and Malojian all shot in recognisable locations in Belfast or in Joe’s workplace at Blick Studios. The exhibition features hand-selected images originally created for The Thin Air,…

  • Years & Years @ Mandela Hall, Belfast

    Having released their debut record, Communion, at the end of June this year, it was only a matter of time before Years & Years graced our shores for a headline show. With tickets flying out upon release, the band added a second show at Dublin’s Academy due to demand. The popularity of the electronic pop trio has soared throughout the year, having won BBC’s Sound of 2015 award, alongside frequent radio airtime with singles ‘King’ and ‘Shine’. The sold-out show has been highly anticipated by the Irish fans, many determined to see their first Irish show since Longitude Festival, that…

  • Irish Tour: Johnny Marr

    Johnny Marr is a man in a rush right now. This past March’s sophomoric effort Playland arrived a little more than a year after his solo debut The Messenger and he’s already trying out new material live. “This is a new song, but don’t be afraid,” he says with a smile before launching into ‘Spiral Cites’ to the approval of the crowd. It seems architect of some of the indie pop’s best loved songs seems to be working at a pace we haven’t seen since the mid 80’s when classic songs were falling out of Rickenbacker back in his bedroom…