Opening with the crescendo of Cherry, the energy of the room immediately shifts. Pausing for a lingering cheer before she sings, it’s clear that KP brings an air of playful defiance to her performance. The songs that follow are more highlights from the new record, which she jokingly refers to as the night’s “assigned reading”. There’s an edge to this new sound, with raw vocals and whining guitar riffs. The difference is apparent when she plays an older track, The Bend, which is a softer, more delicate fan favourite.

Even as she plays these slower numbers, there are moments between that keep the atmosphere light and lively. At one point, King Princess declares this London show the loudest of the tour, coaxing out a ringing cheer from the audience. Another crowd pleaser follows like a reward: Pussy Is God plays, and everyone sings and moves along.

Continuing with a mix of old and new, including the new title track and Pain, which she chooses to play from a list of four fan favourites, KP is captivating, effortlessly moving about the small stage. Even though the venue is tightly packed, there’s constant moving, like a collective pulse throughout the set. In high-energy songs like Cry Cry Cry it’s clear, but it reaches a peak with Hit the Back. After an impressive piano intro, the singer tells everyone to get low and jump, and they do enthusiastically.

As the gig begins to wind down, the artist shares a heartfelt moment before going back to the very start with Talia, her first single. “I’ve been touring in London since I was 20, I’ll be turning 27 next month, it’s like coming home to a city that supported me…so thank you.”

Playing three songs for the encore, King Princess finishes with Ohio, a great guitar-driven ballad that rounds up the night and the artist’s whole sound. It’s as if she’s come full circle, playing such a powerful number that sums up her raw edge and vocal prowess, and ending the performance on a buzzing high.

Daisy Grace Greetham
Photos: LA Benoit

For further information and future events, visit King Princess’s website here.

Watch the video for Jaime here:

The stage was understated, with an illustrated monochrome London backdrop and the band dressed in all black. Lighting determined the show’s colour palette. Before Murs appeared, the city landscape was blue and gloomy. But when the singer arrived, to the delight of cheering fans, the stage was bathed in golden light.

The title track may have received mixed reviews online, but it ignited the crowd as an intro. Murs spoke the first verse while the musicians provided an energetic instrumental. Much of the sound has been influenced by the ska genre, infectious and vivacious.

Although there were many fresh songs that much of the audience hadn’t yet memorised, Murs’s giddy, groovy energy was matched perfectly by his fans. The charismatic backing singers, John Allen and Darren Ellison, played a key part in winding everyone up. Murs knows the intricacies of interacting with the audience – people clapped along to the bridge in Guilty, swooned when Murs performed his signature dance moves, and swayed their arms. 

When the first notes of his classics sounded, the room exploded in joy. Murs revived the nostalgic memories with Thinking of Me, the audience singing along and waving enthusiastically like a tide. “Feels like I’ve gone back to 2008,” he said after performing Run This Town, a new track he co-wrote with The Ordinary Boys singer Sam Preston.

As the concert went on, it grew more sentimental, despite the upbeat music and positive atmosphere. In the intimate setting, on a stage free of flashiness (apart from a golden mic stand), Murs spoke with attendees like they were long-time friends. The singer appeared to let his vulnerabilities show, tearing up while performing Love = Madness, a romantic ballad dedicated to his wife Amelia.

The concert felt like a thank-you letter: “This year has been a pretty epic year for me…Tonight is a real celebration.” The muted scale and lack of pretence worked in Murs’s favour. He proved to be a born showman: by the end, the whole venue was chanting his name.

Kamilla Abuziarova
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events, visit Olly Murs’s website here.

Watch the video for Run This Town here:

The Last Dinner Party twirled onto the stage, greeted by an eruption of noise from the crowd, styled in cascading ballgowns and lace – think Marie Antoinette if she lived in Dalston. The lights faded into red, and the bass rumbled as the show opened with Agnus Dei, the first song on the new album. Frontwoman Abigail Morris brought an entrancing theatrical element to the performance. The audience were clearly spellbound by the perfect synergy of song, staging and wardrobe. 

There was a buzz of feminine energy throughout the venue as the band played hits such as Feminine Urge and Sinner from their previous album Prelude to Ecstasy. Each member had their moment in the spotlight, creating a refreshingly even rotation. Keyboardist, Aurora Nishevci, performed the melancholy ballad Hold Your Anger. Fans fell silent during the song, preferring to honour the music itself rather than participating. 

The group waltzed and spun across the stage, creating a dynamic and hypnotising sight. A riot of frills and thigh-high boots, it was impossible to look away from the girls in gowns wielding electric guitars. 

Every corner of the hall sprung into action at the opening beats of the band’s debut single Nothing Matters. The girls laughed and embraced each other as the room echoed the lyrics back to them; the pure joy was tangible.

A myriad of talent and female power, The Last Dinner Party are reviving the lost art of performance, intertwining theatre and expert lyricism while keeping the fun alive. A girl band like no other, they are truly bewitching. 

Flora Allison
Photos: LA Benoit

For further information and future events, visit The Last Dinner Party’s website here.

Watch the video for Count The Ways here:

Emerging from a veil of smoke to a booming chorus of cheers and ear-splitting applause, Don Broco detonated the crowd with an explosive delivery of their 2025 single Cellophane. During the early portions of the set, lead vocalist Rob Damiani demonstrated his striking vocal versatility, transitioning seamlessly between piercing screamo segments and deep, powerful baritone belts. Every member of the band was at peak performance: both Simon Delaney and Tom Doyle displayed remarkable smoothness while commanding the guitar and bass, respectively; their stage presence and charisma were a major part of an indelible ritual that enchanted the gathering. Matt Donnelly’s drumming was sensational and served as a major impetus for the crowd’s relentlessness, resulting in continuous crowd-surfing, mosh pits, and jumping throughout the entire event.

The show took an intimate turn when Damiani surprised the gathering by moving into the stands to deliver an acoustic rendition of the track You Wanna Know. This change in dynamic further highlighted his flexibility as a vocalist, showcasing his tender baritone vocals. During the gig, Damiani also paused to thank the audience for their attendance, speaking openly about the importance of live music and the positive effects performing can have on people going through turbulent periods in their lives. He also took a moment to denounce racism, bigotry, and misogyny, showing a human and engaged side rarely seen from artists of this stature.

Don Broco also played their unreleased track, True Believers, a high-energy, nu-metal-inspired song that fit seamlessly within the setlist. Despite the track being unknown, its fury kept fans jumping and chanting in unison. Another pinnacle of the show was the collaborative delivery of Further with Yonaka’s Theresa Jarvis, which saw Damiani and Jarvis trading vocal lines with undeniable force. The night ultimately concluded with a phenomenal, house-shaking rendition of the song Hype Man.

The entire production was exceptional, defined by meticulous attention to detail. The staging was immaculate, utilising a stunning array of lights and effects that complemented the musical peaks. There was not a single vocal misstep across the entire band; the guitar and bass work were pristine, the drumming was sensational, and the subtle keyboard layers gave even more depth to what was already a fabulous performance. The faithful certainly departed the arena having experienced a monumental show that will reside in their minds in perpetuity.

Glory Matondo
Photos: Nick Bennett

For further information and future events, visit Don Broco’s website here.

Watch the video for You Wanna Know here:

Though Blizzard contains only ten songs, each feels dense with metaphor and self-contained storytelling. There is no obvious throughline between them, even as themes of love and pain surface more often than not. Yet, despite the thick, introspective poetry, Ellis reveals remarkably little about his personal life. Of the four singles released ahead of the album – To the Sandals, Pale Song, Love Is, and Heaven Has No Wings – each offers only fragments rather than blatant retellings of his life.

To the Sandals, Ellis’s debut single appears later in the album and frames him as a self-described sadist wrestling with guilt, striving to transform his hurt into something meaningful. In contrast, Heaven Has No Wings, the last single released but positioned mid-album, explores the aftermath of trauma and compares it to transcendence, suggesting that it requires more than passive surrender to the heavens. Both songs are deeply intimate, yet they only provide hints of the darker moments of his life, and this makes for a refreshing approach to vulnerable songwriting that resists oversharing.

While Blizzard immerses itself in metaphor, Ellis never drowns in it. He refuses to caricature himself, a choice that strengthens the storytelling across the record. When You Tie Your Hair Up, for instance, places him in a moment of desperation. Slow and steady, the song has him calling upon “Annie” for comfort. He is never melodramatic, but rather simply honest. Jaundice follows and, in a move that becomes expected by the record’s midpoint, pivots sharply both thematically and sonically. Upbeat and carried by an accordion, it grapples with self-perception. As with much of Blizzard, Ellis inserts himself into the narrative but ultimately expands the message beyond his own experience, making his words all the more compelling.

Although comparisons can be made to Jeff Buckley or Thom Yorke of Radiohead regarding vocal performance or Bright Eyes in the sonic sense, Dove Ellis is a force of his own. Each song on Blizzard demands complete attention, and instead of sending listeners toward familiar reference points, the record encourages listeners to discover who Dove Ellis is and what he stands for. This confident debut deepens the sense of mystery around him, and while it is tempting to speculate about what the future may hold for Ellis, it is just as satisfying to remain absorbed in the ten stories he tells on Blizzard.

Taryn Crowley
Image: Xander Lewis

Blizzard is released on 5^th December 2025. For further information or to order the album, visit Dove Ellis’s website here.

Watch the video for Pale Song here:

Although there was no eponymous sofa on the scene, the entire O2 felt like one – and Rowsell was lying on it, relaxing with each performance and offering us her pure vocals, perhaps the most immersive ones in the entire business. Seeing them live for the first time seems like an almost pristine experience, because the band’s leaning towards musical perfection appears practically impossible. “They can’t sound so flawless,” we think. Yet, they do.

The London-born group was exchanging genres (and thus, their albums) with every song. The entire set list was arranged deliberately (starting with Thorns and ending on Smile with Don’t Delete the Kisses as a final encore song), while transitions between each track felt pretty organic. At one moment, shoegaze and a sense of nostalgia mixed with soft rock when they played new tunes from The Clearing and Blue Weekend; at another, they embraced the tension and punkish energy of their first two records.

Wolf Alice reflected on 15 years together by admitting that it was friendship that had saved these four musicians and let them continue this journey. While watching Wolf Alice’s energy, there was a sense of synergy between all four of them, perhaps based on counterbalancing each other. While the boys – Joff Oddie, Joel Amey and Theo Ellis – were going full “punk rock”, Rowsell stuck to her on-stage persona, one that was both theatrical and flirtatious. The boys wanted to shout loudly and clearly with their masculine energy, while she desired to scream with ecstasy. They are the rock stars, she’s an icon, reminiscent of a singer from one a Lynchian fairy tales. 

This idea of playing with two forces of nature was bolstered by some vintage-like, 1970s aesthetics. A disco ball was brought in, the wind was blowing in Rowsell’s hair, and a set of moody lights set up the tender atmosphere. All of it made them look like a bunch of rock ‘n’ roll icons.

Regardless of the seats, experiencing their nearly two-hour set felt like an actual privilege. It was as if you were the one being thankful, even though it’s a band that should always be grateful to their fans. As a collective force, Wolf Alice seemed indestructible – they could just go on and on and on. Writing that their music is like a fine old wine would be a huge cliché. Instead, they’re like Coca-Cola inventing a new flavour with every new album. And each of them tastes better than the last.

Jan Tracz
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events, visit Wolf Alice’s website here.

Watch the video for Just Two Girls here:

The temporary shops will run from 4^th to 21^st December in London and 5^th to 21^st  December in Dublin, offering exclusive merchandise, a visual content room, and personalised gifts in time for the festive season.

The London store, located under the iconic Piccadilly Lights at 44-46 Regent Street, will include a dedicated space showcasing footage from the summer tour, along with fan-submitted stories and highlights. Dublin’s store will be based in the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre.

On select days, both shops will offer product personalisation, allowing visitors to customise items such as clothing and accessories. Personalisation dates include 6^th, 7^th, 13^th, 14^th, 20^th and 21^st December in London, and 5^th-7^th December in Dublin.

Shoppers can expect restocks of popular Oasis Live ‘25 tour merch, including menswear, womenswear, kidswear and accessories, alongside the adidas Originals collaboration. A selection of new items – such as hats, flags, scarves, posters and commemorative tickets – will also be available, as well as coloured vinyl editions of the band’s catalogue.

Opening hours for the London shop are 10am-8pm (Mon-Sat) and 11am-5pm (Sun). The Dublin shop will be open 10am-6pm (Mon-Fri) and 11am-4pm (Sun). No bookings are needed to enter, though advance reservations can be made online for the London content room.

The editorial unit
Images: Courtesy of Oasis

For further information, visit Oasis’s website here.

Watch the video for Don’t Look Back In Anger here:

But CMAT doesn’t walk onstage. Instead, a spotlight finds her perched on a ledge near the merch stand as she utters Janis Joplining’s opening line: “I’m a writer.” A pause as Brixton Academy screams for a solid couple of minutes before she sings the rest, looking every inch a diva wearing sunglasses indoors.

Then, chaos looms as CMAT bolts through the crowd, yelling “Brixton! Brixton!” along the way. Finally onstage, she joins the (ridiculously attractive) Very Sexy CMAT Band and launches into The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station, with the whole venue chanting its mantra: “OK, don’t be a bitch, the man’s got kids, and they wouldn’t like this.”

“Would you like to hear some Irish country rock ‘n’ roll?” she asks soon after, but there’s far, far more to her music than that.

CMAT gives a masterclass in how fun pop music can be, as she kicks, yodels and delightedly squeals in ecstasy all night long; it’s like we’re all in on the joke. The honky-tonk joy of Have Fun! has an opening line about parakeets above a Clapham Tesco, and recent single When a Good Man Cries has the room yelling “DUNBOYNE DIANA” and the “Kyrie Eleison” coda.

Indeed, a CMAT show is playful, chaotic, and cathartic all at once, but the quieter moments are just as captivating – take Iceberg’s soulful softness, or the piano-led intro to Where Are Your Kids Tonight?, with keyboardist Colm Conlan crooning John Grant’s vocals.

However, the stunning Euro-Country is something else entirely; the statement title track from CMAT’s 2025 album opens with a hymn-like Irish language first verse, then it builds up to her horrific memories of experiencing Ireland’s post-Celtic Tiger years: “I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me…” As she notes afterwards, it’s about a specific time and place, but has resonated far beyond its intended audience – that’s the power of music, folks.

CMAT and the Very Sexy CMAT Band have been dancing all night long, but Brixton Academy gets invited to join in, whether it’s the TikTok routine which ruled the summer to Take a Sexy Picture of Me, or the Dunboyne, County Meath Two-Step to I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby! By the time we reach the euphoric climax of Stay For Something, it’s a wonder the roof hasn’t caved in, such is the prolonged high volume everyone’s been singing all night long.

With her incredible songwriting, undeniable charm and heavenly vocals, how could you not fall for CMAT? Tonight, among everything else, she described a song as a tit-slapper, wiggled her bum at the crowd, and sprawled her body down the stairs while singing.

Next year, she plays Alexandra Palace. For the love of God, don’t miss it.

Gem Hurley
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events, visit CMAT’s website here. CMAT headlines LIDO Festival in Victoria Park on 12^th June 2026, visit here for more details.

Watch the video for Take a Sexy Picture of Me here:

The sold-out show begins with a crackling thunderstorm sound as the arena is swallowed in darkness. A wall of analogue consoles glows faintly, like the bridge of a submarine. Zimmer emerges at a synth for the Dark Knight opener, then bounces between bass guitar, a mini-keyboard and a sprawling studio console.

As he jokes about finally being able to sleep in his own bed, he also explains that this tour is “a slightly different show, back to my roots, with a bit more electronica”. He goes on to play Dune, with its chilling atmospheric chant, and an arrangement that, in his words, is “a country-western punk track.” Then Man of Steel appears in its original demo form – more bass-heavy, more muscular.

Throughout, Zimmer can’t help but praise his musicians, starting with his longtime guitarist Guthrie Govan, who “plays something completely different every night after 250 shows”, or the violinist Molly Rogers who joins the stage despite having a fever.

Cellist Mariko Muranaka descends from above in a vast red gown, surrounded by a candlelit choir for a piece from Hannibal before playing Chevaliers de Sangreal from The Da Vinci Code – one of the night’s most theatrical moments.

The composer then gives a crash lecture on film scoring: “You need a main theme, a bang, then the A and B themes, then you fly around filling the gaps. But with this one, I kept writing theme after theme and I came up with 19.” It’s the introduction for Gladiator, where he plays five different pieces – “we haven’t tried before to try to play so many live” – brought to life by the iconic original vocal of Lisa Gerrard. On Now We Are Free, it’s the first true goosebump moment of the evening.

The second half shifts gears almost immediately, with the live debut of his F1 theme in a true retro synth uplifting vibe. The composer also confesses that when he wrote the Pearl Harbor theme he didn’t really like it but fortunately the love of his life convinced him otherwise.

Zimmer introduces the Interstellar suite by recounting a letter from Chris Nolan, typed on the director’s father’s old typewriter, asking him to ponder what happens when your child is gone. When Nolan later visited the studio, sitting down “with his cup of tea, as usual”, he played him the piece he had written – a “love letter to my sons” – before asking what the film was actually about. Nolan’s answer, “physics, space, the universe, love, an epic… now I know where the heart of the story is,” revealed everything. The performance mirrors both that intimacy, when Zimmer plays the iconic theme at the piano, as well as the grandeur and power of Coward and Stay.

The Hollywood maestro recollects how he started with indie productions and the time he spent researching African-influenced music when he was commissioned for a film about apartheid – a period he still speaks about with particular affection. That’s when he laid the foundation for what would become his breakthrough and first Oscar-winning score. As Lebo M blasts the arena with the Zulu “nants’ingonyama”, we enter the world of The Lion King. Zimmer admits that when they played it at Coachella he was told it was “the music of [their] youth”, and the audience reaction proves that point again. The suite feels both celebratory and emotional, a reminder of how deeply these themes have soaked into pop culture.

For the finale, he follows it with the anarchic songs of Pirates of the Caribbean – “if there’s an accordion on stage, you know it’s about to get dangerous” – letting the band stretch into the chaotic, swashbuckling energy of The Kraken and He’s a Pirate. Predictably, it’s Time that brings the night full circle: Zimmer alone at the piano, spotlighted, before the strings join in for a soaring crescendo. It’s a concert that summons the emotional force of cinema without having to show a single frame.

Filippo L’Astorina
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit Hans Zimmer Live’s website here.

Masquerade opens with Getcha!, an explosive track blending late-90s grunge-adjacent grit with the gloss of 80s glam. Beck’s writing influence is unmistakable, especially in the vocal phrasing. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) delivers thunderous drums, The Wrights’ Nic Cester adds guitar and vocals, and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) joins with his own iconic guitar. With such a lineup, Getcha! makes it clear that Raggi is putting his best foot forward with this rock celebration.

The star-studded contributions continue across the album. Keep the Pack, and For Nothing feature percussive work from Guns N’ Roses’ Matt Sorum, Cat Got Your Tongue brings a guitar duet with Kasabian’s Sergio Pizzorno, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos appears on Raggi’s cover of You Spin Me Round (Like a Record), and The Struts’ Luke Spiller offers charismatic vocal support on The Ritz. Måneskin have long been critiqued for leaning too heavily into their influences, but here Raggi holds a candle among legends who could easily overshadow him. The Ritz exemplifies this as Raggi’s stylistic signatures rise to the surface while Spiller’s powerful vocals meet him halfway. Despite these brilliant heavyweight credits, Masquerade remains unmistakably a Thomas Raggi project.

Lucy further proves that Raggi thrives as a crucial piece of a larger music puzzle. As in The Ritz, his guitar is the song’s first defining feature before rising star Upsahl, bassist Hama Okamoto, and drums by Chad Smith step in. Raggi never attempts to outshine his collaborators and refuses to hide behind them. Instead, he shapes the production in a way that lets the collective speak louder than any single contributor.

The album closes with Fallaway, featuring vocalist Maxim. While listeners may not walk away believing Raggi is rock’s next Shakespeare, or its resurrector, it is clear that was never his intention. The joy of Masquerade lies precisely in its lack of pretension. The artist is not trying to reinvent rock, but is rather honouring the genre’s past and present without the pressure of predicting its future. Overall, Raggi delivers a solid, heartfelt collaboration that reaffirms his dedication to this art form.

Taryn Crowley
Image: Francis Delacroix

Masquerade is released on 5^th December 2025. For further information or to order the album, visit Thomas Raggi’s website here.