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3 weeks ago | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, March 2025It’s become traditional at Yorkshire gigs for the crowd to chant the name of our fair county in any breaks in the music. Unfortunately, with several hundred voices all slightly out of time with each other, it’s easily misinterpreted.
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1 month ago | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, March 2025Antony Szmierek is chuffed to bits. Even if he hadn’t said it, I’d have known. There’s joy and wonder written all over his face, as he takes in the adulation following his opening song of the night. It’s always great to see an artist early in their career, when all their hopes, dreams, late nights and sheer hard work have paid off. “I can’t believe that’s for us.” He says, referring to the barrage of cheers.
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2 months ago | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, February 2025It’s immediately obvious that Honesty deliver something slightly different to the norm. For a start, there’s a translucent gauze stretched right across the entire front of the stage. This not only provides a screen onto which images are projected throughout the show, but also anonymises the personnel, reducing them to silhouettes and adding an otherworldly feel to their performance.
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2 months ago | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, January 2025Femi Kuti bounds onto the stage waving and already speaking ten to the dozen. Brudenell Social Club is packed, floor, stairs and chairs, in fact anywhere offering a view of the stage, is occupied. The crowd are in a party mood, and need little encouragement to follow Kuti’s lead, as he pogos to the infectious Afro-Beats of ‘Truth Don Die’. As dance moves go, it’s a good choice; there’s no room to do anything else, and the audience leap enthusiastically along.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, November 2024Seckou Keita has a deep love and understanding for music. Not content with being a virtuoso kora player in the traditional Senegalese style, he’s taken the instrument and integrated it into modern, and commercial, genres such as mbalax and hip-hop. His fingers and thumbs (both are used to play the instrument), fly across the many strings, producing exquisite and complex showers of notes.
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Nov 5, 2024 | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David SchusterSeckou Keita’s latest in a long line of album releases is a fresh, beautiful and poignant mélange of joyous tracks. It’s one of those rare records that deserves a place in your (physical or virtual) collection, regardless of what genres of music you normally listen to. For those unfamiliar with him, Keita is a kora player and drummer, originally hailing from Casamance in southern Senegal, but now resident near Nottingham, UK.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, October 2024Libertines’ gigs highlight the rich back catalogue the band has created over a period of more than 25 years. It’s surprising when you consider their continued volatility, but it does mean that you’re guaranteed to get a set list loaded with old favourites and peppered with surprises. Taking the stage casually without introduction, almost like roadies performing a final instrument check, they launch into a blistering opening salvo of tunes.
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Aug 26, 2024 | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David SchusterLara Maiklem is a magician, pulling beauty out of the ooze of the River Thames both literally and poetically. She takes what is clearly far more important to her than a hobby, and uses it as a framework into which she weaves tales of history, nature and human emotion. Maiklem does this with lyrical prose akin to the style of Betjeman, that brims with love for her surroundings and most especially the river.
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Jun 27, 2024 | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, June 2024You’d have to look a long way to find a band as cool as electronic space-pop veterans, Air. Their trademark white stage instruments, the musicians also dressed in white and their understated stage entrance, all ooze the very definition of chic. And, they’re French, of course. So, for tonight at least, the beautiful corner of Yorkshire which is Halifax Piece Hall, has a very continental vibe.
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May 29, 2024 | 
on-magazine.co.uk | David Schuster
By David Schuster, May 2024Elephant Sessions have attained that holy grail to which so many groups aspire, finding a sound both unique and flexible. This makes their tracks instantly recognisable, but provides the musical freedom to explore new creative possibilities. It’s a simple premise; layer traditional Gaelic folk elements, fiddle and mandolin, over electro, dance, funk and rave samples.
