11/06/25-16/06/25 - Download Festival @ Castle Donnington

My second Download with my first being 2 years ago in 2023.  I won't go into what happened on the Wednesday and Thursday other than to say it was really just one big catch up and good times.

Friday

Friday is was the first day of music in the arena and first up...

Starset - I have seen Starset twice before. The first time supporting Shinedown where I got into them and then the second time at their own headline show.  Initially today on the Opus stage (second biggest stage) the sound didn't seem quite right and there was a lot of feedback but they soon sorted that out.  Being a festival they also didn't have the same setup as usual with the visuals. But they more than made up for it with their set with personal favourites Trials, Manifest and set closer My Demons.  The two string members also weren't as prominent as they usually are but still a great set.

Dead Pony - Next up was Dead Pony in the Avanlanche Tent (3rd stage), this is a band a parkrun buddy put me onto last year and I watched their set on TV from Trnsmt last year and thought they were really good.  But to be honest I didn't think I would get to see them today as it was tight fitting in Starset, Dead Pony and the next band. But we did and they delivered.  It was their first time playing Download and they really delivered. They made us feel at home as well as they come from Glasgow. Lead singer Anna Sheilds really connected well with the crowd with great stage presence and good in between song quips.

Boston Manor - It was then a quick turnaround to watch Boston Manor on the Apex stage (main stage).  I've seen them 4 times in the last 3 years and they have been one of my favourite bands over the last 5 years. So I was very much looking forward to this.  It's always great seeing a band and you know every word, to every song.  Their set spanned a range of albums and EPs, playing their biggest song to what in their opinion was the biggest crowd they have ever played to.

Myles Kennedy - It was then onto another of my favourite artists of recent years. Myles Kennedy on the Opus stage. He is also lead singer of Alter Bridge and lead singer in Slash's band too. He has been on the go for a fair number of years now so knows exactly what he is doing. And now he has 3 solo albums has a good selection of tracks to choose from to deliver a fine set. 

Opeth - Next up was Opeth on the Opus stage.  I had heard Opeth a bit before I went to the festival this year and was intrigued by them. I wasn't sure if I would like them as I thought some of it would be a bit growly for me.  Unforentuatley I didn't get a fuller experience as their set was cut short as they had technical difficulties in getting set up before they came on. But once it got going it was good and they played so much of their more melodic stuff I didn't actually mind when they did the more growly stuff.

Weezer - Next up was Weezer on the Apex stage. I have never seen Weezer live but knew all the hits from when I was younger.  Their was a slight overlap between Opeth and Weezer but we caught most of their set.  They played all their hits like "Islands in the Sun", "Say it ain't so", "Beverly Hills" and most importantly (because it's a classic) - "Buddy Holly".  I didn't recoginise everything they played as they do have an extensive back catalogue now but a great set all the same.

Green Day - I saw Green Day last year at Bellahouston Park on their own headline tour and if you go back a few blogs you will see a full review for that gig.  My history with Green Day is a weird one. I was into them when I was younger in the sense I watched their videos on MTV2 and Kerrang. But I never bought an album as my family were all into music and we never bought the same albums.  So my brother bought the Green Day albums. But the thing was although our music tastes did overlap my brother and I never really swapped albums that much from what I can remember. Certainly was the case for Green Day. So it wasn't till recent years I started to listen more to Green Day albums.  Anyway onto Download, this was an epic set and very much a best of. A shorter set than Bellahouston I think because it was a festival but still just as good.  "Basket case", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday", "American Idiot", "When I come around" I could go on.  One great moment was when they played "Wake me up when September ends" when Billie was singing "Here comes the rain again, falling from the stars", not only was it dark at this point but it also started raining! You couldn't make it up, goosebump moment. Ponchos were out but it wasn't enough to turn it into a mud fest.

Saturday

Trivium - We saw a post on Facebook implying there was a secret set at 11am which was posted by the lead singer of Trvium to play at 11am on the Opus stage.  We got there at 10.30 and waited only to find out that wasn't the case at all. Not sure what happened but a false rumour was spread.

Sophie Lloyd - So first act of the day was Sophie Lloyd on the Opus stage. Sophie is a very talented rock gutarist who I'd seen a few videos on You tube beforehand.  She had 2 singers with her who were were pretty good.  But Sophie made sure she was the one at centre stage with her fine guitar work.  Which is difficult as it's the lead singers job really to connect with the crowd. And in this case it looks like Sophie brings in vocalists from other bands to help her live.  A good start to the day though.

Hatebreed - Next up was Hatebread on the main stage. Not a band I was familiar with before I went but expected it to be heavy and it was. Not for me but others enjoyed it.

Poppy - Next was Poppy on the main stage.  I have listened to quite a few of her songs before going and her stuff seemed quite varied so I was intrigued. She had good energy and I would put this in the ok category

Polaris - Then it was time to set up camp at the Opus stage.  First up was Australian band Polaris.  Again not a band I was familiar with but again an ok set.

Eagles of Death Metal - Another band I wasn't familiar with but I knew they had a connection with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Turns out Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme co founded the band and the band got the name from a joke that the band would sound something like a cross between The Eagles and Death metal.  Although this is a fully fleged band now and Josh Homme is a key contributor, he doesn't really tour with the band much due to other commitments.  To be honest I absolutley loved their set and it was my find of the weekend.  It was more classic rock and roll than death metal.  

The Darkness - I've seen The Darkness once before when they did a co-headline tour with Black stone cherry a few years back.  Today they played the opus stage which is always a fun time, even though I don't really like Justin Hawkins vocals that much.

Sex Pistols with Frank Carter - 4th band in a row to see on the Opus stage.  I know some of their hits but in reality a before my time band.  Obviously not the orignal line up with Frank Carter taking over vocals from John Lydon.  He certainly did him justice not only in the vocal department but his whole punk attitude.  Furthermore for the way he gave the rest of the band the spotlight as if to say these guys are the real legends while him, himself delivering a hell of a performance.

Sleep Token - Then on to tonights headliners on the Apex stage Sleep Token.  A band I was never really into until their most recent album "Even in Arcadia" came out. This really grabbed me and still love listening to it.  Although they had a sold out UK tour last year, Download have to book artists well in advance. To put it mildly booking Sleep Token for a headline slot at Download was a gamble especially as they wouldn't have completley exploded onto the scene at the time of booking. Not only this but although they are put in the metal genre many people feel they are wrongly put in there and have ended up quite a devisive band because of this.  But Holy moly did they deliver tonight, they had an amazing stage set up and I even enjoyed the older stuff which I wasn't as familar with.  They played my favourite song "Damocles" which I was delighted with. Only critism which a few others mentioned too was the screens didn't really show what was happening on stage and as their is so many folk at Download you need that.  But on the other hand the place was very busy for them so a well justified headline slot and also a great light show.  The other thing was that they just played the songs and didn't talk to the crowd at all, not even to say goodbye, they just left the stage. But it's like fair enough they let their music do the talking tonight and I reckon other festivals will be making a note now to have them headline elsewhere in the future.

Sunday

Did not happen for me and I just had a lazy day in camp.  I had pretty much decided this after Sleep Token but I was slightly dehydrated which I didn't appreciate at the time.

But overall a great weekend, great memories and good times. 

Thanks to Colin, Fraser and Campbell for being great company over the weekend.

16/05/25 - Steven Wilson @ Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow

Tonight saw Steven Wilson hit the stage at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.  The last time I went to see him was back in 2018 at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow on his tour promoting the album "To the Bone".  Fast forward to 2025 and this concert is to promote his latest album "The Overview".  This is a 40 minute album which consists of just 2 tracks; "Objects Outlive us" and "The Overview".

Many artists with a big back catalogue release a new album and maybe play half of the songs off a new album. But with "The Overview" just being 2 tracks, Steven was really left with no choice but to have an all or nothing approach.  It's a risk and he went for it as the first part of the set tonight was the Steven and his band playing the album in it's entirety.  He admitted himself its a complex album to play, as he was constantly changing between playing electronics with playing various guitars.  In fact the roadie's job was made even more challenging than usual because usually he would just hand the artist various guitars at the end of songs. But with Steven you need to do the changes during the songs so the roadies have to know the songs inside out themselves.

Personally, I am really like the new album. While Steven has always pushed the boundaries of what he does, this does feel like his most ambitious project to date.  Played live, it really came alive. And I did wonder if when making just how much he had to think about how they could pull it off live with the constant changing of instruments during the song.  But I can safely say he and the band did.  It's a modern prog masterpiece.  And the crowd at the end of the second track gave a stand ovation too just to show their appreciation.

The band then took a 20 minute break. Meanwhile My Dad, brother and I were speculating what would be in store for the next part of the show. We were all unsure as we knew we were going to get "The Overview" in full but after that who knows. My brother amusingly joked we were going to get a question and answer session. While me and my Dad thought we'd get a best of set with some Porcupine Tree songs which for a lot of Steven's career was his main project. But in recent times his solo career has very much been his focus apart from a rare Porcupine Tree album released a few years back.

So what was the second set? Well it was long. In total they played well over 2 hours so we got our money's worth.  But the set itself? well it was interesting to say the least. Instead of focusing on a particular album, he played a one or two songs from each album with the exception being the album "Grace for Drowning" which no songs were played off. And 2023's "Harmony Codex" which he played 3 songs off. Playing 3 songs off "Harmony Codex" looks to make sense because I don't think he toured that heavily due to touring with Porcupine Tree at the time so a lot of the songs from that release people hadn't heard live. 

I think what maybe is surprising is that from 3 amazing albums in the shape of "To the bone", "The Future Bites" and "Hand. Cannot. Erase.", he just played one track from each.  And the "To the bone" track was "Pariah" which on the recorded version has Nenit Tayeb on vocals. She not surprisingly wasn't there tonight but they used her recorded vocals.  Another surprise is not that he played a Porcupine Tree song but which one it was.  It was "Dislocated Day" on 1995's "Sky moves Sideways".  In terms of Porcupine Tree's back catalogue that is one deep, deep cut.

I think what I'm trying to say is I didn't recognise as much of the material in the second part of the set as I thought I would. While I did listen to many of the albums at the time of release and I am familiar with a fair chunk of his material.  It's clear there is a lot of his material which has passed me by.  But that is not to say I didn't enjoy listening to what he had to offer tonight. Far from it. It was like an exploratory gig in terms of finding new gems for me to listen to in his back catalogue. Which in turn was refreshing and very enjoyable.

The night finished on a song I really did recognise and that is "The Raven that refused to sing".  While Steven Wilson has so many signature tracks I feel this one takes the biscuit from his solo material.  There was a moment from this track that really will stay with me tonight.  And that was when the track was building towards a climax and we were sitting right at the back. And the crowd gradually started to stand up in appreciation.  It added to the atmosphere and created a special moment.  Steven did actually make a comment saying he has debates with his agent whether he should do sitting or standing shows, and in the past he has done both.  But tonight I feel that moment would have been lost in a standing show.

Overall a great gig. On paper looking at the setlist it maybe doesn't look it considering all the tracks he has to choose from. I don't think it would be many peoples dream setlist..........but you had to be there.

Setlist

Set 1

1. Objects Outlive us

2. The Overview

Set 2

3. The Harmony Codex

4. King Ghost

5. Luminol

6. What Life Brings

7. Dislocated Day (Porcupine Tree Song)

8. Pariah. 

9. Impossible Tightrope

10. Abandoner

11. Harmony Korine

12. Vermillioncore

Encore

13. Ancestral

14. The Raven That Refused to Sing

Yungblud - Hello Heaven, Hello (Song Review)

 I've written a few hundred reviews in my time, both live and album but only twice have a reviewed an individual song.  One was a review on Led Zepplin IV where all I talked about was "Stairway to Heaven" and the other was "Amarok" an hour long track by Mike Oldfield which is an album in itself but only 1 track.  In other words usually when I only talk about one track in a review it's because I think it's special and I think this is exactly what I have on my hands here with Yungblud's "Hello Heaven, Hello".

I'm relatively new to Yungblud so here is a brief introduction. He is a 27 year old singer/songwriter from Doncaster, England.  Actual name is Domonic Richard Harrison, he released his debut self-titled EP all the way back in 2018 at 20 years old.  I really first started paying attention to him when he did a collaboration with Bring me the Horizon on the superb "Obey".  He also did another excellent collob with Avril Lavigne "I'm a Mess" released in 2022. But I never investigated him beyond that until now when I came across "Hello Heaven, Hello" which was released this year on March 18th 2025.

First off, you must know when artists do long songs that excites me.  Especially ones who don't normally do it.  To me it shows ambition, bravery and adventure.  The music industry really isn't set up for longer songs, with radio stations very rarely playing longer tracks and streaming services counting streams for number of times played rather than how long each track is.  Then you have the artists live sets where people often go to gigs to hear the popular songs which are often shorter. It's almost a risk to put a longer track in as if some people didn't like it they can lose interest and just go off you. Where as if they don't like one short track, well at least it's short and over and done with quicker.

So how long is Yungblud's epic - to be precise 9 minutes and 6 seconds.  The track has 3 noticeable parts and it does look like the song title depicts the 3 sections. With the first section called "Hello", the second section called "Heaven" and the third section called, for the second time "Hello".  You may wonder what drew me to those conclusions. Well throughout the whole track Yungblud sings the word "Hello" 130 times and that is mainly in the first part of the song and also in the third part of the song. With "Heaven" mentioned in the middle section.

The first part of the song has this really cool drum beat and the track builds nicely as it goes on.  The repetition of "Hello" I imagine might get irritating for some people but I love it.  The linking between the end of part 1 and the start of 2 is really good. And part 2 is where Yungblud steps it up a notch and goes into full on rock mode.  I've seen the shortened version of this part on Jonathon Ross and it lives up to the hype and Yungblud's delivery in terms of vocals and stage presence shows someone who is ready to fill the boots of rock royalty of the past.  There is also a fine guitar solo in this section and just when you thought things couldn't get any better then violins come in and add extra dramatic effect.

Another great transition from part 2 to part 3 and now we have the chill out, outro section of the track. The vocals here remind me of some of The Music's stuff as Yungblud sounds very like Robert Harvey here. Not a bad thing at all.  It's a really nice wind down and ends the track well.

What I do wonder is if this is going to be released on an album or not.  My guess is yes. But where would you put it on an album?  It has a great intro which would start an album well and a great outro which would finish an album well.  Another thing I wonder is if he was tempted to make the 3 parts, 3 individual tracks.  Because they would make 3 great tracks in their own right.  Would the 3 tracks be more successful because they are 3 individual tracks and would be able to have more streams and more radio play.  As we have seen already he did make a shortened version of the track for Jonathon Ross excluding the last part altogether.  It shows being on that primetime show just what the industry thinks of the track.

Overall, I think this is a classic track and I am glad it's 9 minutes long.  I do hope it is on an album and can't wait to listen to more of his stuff, especially what's to come.

Albums I am looking forward to in 2025 (and some wishful thinking)

 There are quite a few albums which I thought artists would release in 2024 but never materialised so maybe 2025 is the year where more come to fruition.

Alice in Chains

Jimmy Cantrell has festivals booked for his solo tour in 2025 but you never know, an Alice in Chains record may materialise after that.

Alter Bridge

They have been demoing tracks and are going to go in the studio. Everyone knows these guys don't hang about so I would expect an album to be released later on in 2025, if not early 2026.

Amy MacDonald

It's been a while for Amy too, got my fingers crossed for this one.

Beck

He used to be a music making machine but feels like he's been away from the limelight for quite a few years. I can't imagine this will last much longer.

Black rebel motorcycle club

Honestly don't know what's happened to them.  It's been 7 years since their last album. Wondering if they will ever come back.

The Charlatans

These guys are one of these bands they feel like have been really active, and Tim Burgees in particular always seems to be doing something. But amazingly the last Charlatans album "Different Days" was released in 2017. Will it be 2025 for these guys?

Mason Hill

A band who have been away for a while due to the singer quitting. But they have been teasing a new era on socials so looks like they may have a new singer and possibly an album in the works.

Muse

They do have a headline slot at Hellfest in 2025. I wonder if a new album is in the works. Maybe more likely in 2026 but you never know may squeeze it in late 2025.

Nosound

I keep reading on Nosounds Facebook page that a new album is coming but no date yet. Hopefully 2025

Oasis

Now this would be a curveball. Already announced a massive worldwide tour.  Both Liam and Noel have never stopped making music since Oasis split up all those years ago. Could they slip in a new album? Or will they be celebrating 30 years of whats the story?

Olivia Rodrigo

Expected to release an album this year.

Shinedown

Been a few years now since "Planet Zero" came out. They have got a few headline slots in festivals in America planned for 2025. I wonder if its the start of a new era for them with a new album or a closure on Planet Zero.

Sleep token

It feels like they have just released their last album but I read somewhere they are planning to release another album in time for their headline set at Download festival in 2025.

Steven Wilson

This one is in the bag and due in March

Taylor Swift

I am not expecting a new album after a very busy 2024 with touring and tortured poets department. But I would expect the last few re-releases to come out in the form of her self titled and reputation albums

Those Damn Crows

Album due April - Very strong singles particularly "Still". Really looking forward to it

Tremonti

Another one in the bag and due 10th January

Wolf Alice

They have been quiet recently so hoping they have been beavering away on a new album.

The Wombats

They have been releasing singles which have been alright, I hope the album has better stuff on it.

The 1975

They finished touring early on in 2024 for the last album cycle so I would have thought they maybe back in the studio in 2024 going into 2025.  I do wonder if Taylor Swifts digs at Matty Healy in her album will fuel Matty's creative thinking for the new 1975 album. Or will he rise above it?

Bring me the horizon - Post Human: Next Gen

 "Post Human: Next Gen" is the 7th full length album by Sheffield band Bring me the Horizon.  This album is the 2nd in a 4 part series which was meant to be the 2nd part of a 4 part series of releases to take place over a few years period. But due to the success of the first EP, "Post Human: Survival Horror" and clearly some issues in the band which resulted in electronics man Jordan Fish leaving the band half way through the recording of Next Gen meant that this project felt like it was forever delayed.  That was until May 2024 when they surprise released it and when announcing the album they released it the next day.

Just to give you an idea on how long this album was worked on, it was September 2021 when the first single was released for this album in the shape of "Die4u". Which is a great track.  After that they started collaborating with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Sigrid and Machine Gun Kelly, but known of that material featured on this release and instead features under those artists names and is featuring Bring me the Horizon.  Then cam "Strangers" and "Lost".  "Lost" was a bit of a curveball and maybe MGK influenced this one as its the most pop punk thing Bring me the Horizon have ever done.  And because of this I have mixed feelings on it. For starter I didn't like it but listening to it within the album it is actually a really good song.

"Amen!" on the other hand is exactly what you would expect from Bring me the Horizon.  Pure ferocity but at the same time the vocals clear enough that you can make out what Oli is saying.  I thought it was so good in fact that it ranked number 1 of my top 10 songs of last year. The final singles to be released before the album came out were "Darkside" and "kool-aid" which are tremendous.   So that's 6 mega singles released before the album came out.  So Bring me put themselves in the position where do the 6 singles carry the album or do the rest of the songs on the album send this album into the stratosphere to make a classic album?

Well for me it is well and truly the latter. What an album.  They have even more tracks which are great rock songs such as "Youtopia" and "Top 10 statues that cried blood".  Then you have the lighter side of the album in the form of "N/a!" and album closer "Dig it".  One thing a was a bit confused about was that when I went to see them in January earlier this year which was a tour which meant to coincide with the release of this album.  Was that during that show they said they were recording the crowd sing part of a song, which they did a few times and it will appear on the album.  They probably did this during other dates of the tour too but for the life of me I can't hear any of this on the album.  

But that certainly doesn't deter from just how good this album is and for me this trumps "That's the spirit which use to be my favourite Bring me the horizon.  Not only that but I imagine it will be well up there in my end of year top 10 album list.  

25/06/2024 - Green day @ Bellahouston park, Glasgow

 It's been 19 years since I was last at a gig in Bellahouston park which was Coldplay on their X and Y tour.  Green day announced this gig last year but I didn't immediately buy tickets.  The latest album "Saviours" came out earlier this year and I thought was the best album they have done in a number of years.  But when they announced that they were celebrating 30 years of "dookie" and 20 years of "American Idiot" by playing both albums in full, I was sold, so sounded out the gig gang and majority were up for it.

Getting to the gig was no problem at all.  Parked about 30 minutes walk away so we avoided getting stuck in some very slow moving traffic. Once we got to the venue, it was very quick getting in with no queues. And only had 20 minutes wait for the first support, Maid of Ace to come on stage.  They are 4 piece, all girl rock band from Hasting in the south of England.  Their set must have been about 30 minutes filled with punchy, angsty, straight to the point rock songs to get the evening off to a great start.  Which is more than I can say for my map reading skills.  As I proposed a meet up point as we were all coming at different times only to find I picked the point the other side of where everyone in the gang was coming in from.  D'oh.  But we did manage all to meet up so all good.

The main support for the night was Nothing but thieves.  An interesting choice and I read quite a few things before hand saying not many people had heard of them so were surprised by Green Day's choice of support.  Especially when you consider support acts Green day have had in the past like Fall out boy, Weezer and on other dates on this tour they have had the Smashing pumpkins.  But those in the know will know Nothing but thieves have been on the rise over the last few years and have supported the likes of Muse as well as being on mainstream radio.  The big big question is would it appeal to Green Day fans as their music is more indie with latest stuff especially have a dance groove through it.

When they took the stage themselves you could tell they themselves were wondering how they would go down. And to me it felt like they went down really well. It was a great set with a mix from all their albums.  Tracks like "Everybody going crazy", "Amsterdam" and "Welcome to the DCC" my personal stand outs.  I was really pleased they got a shot at this slot and they really did deliver.

Then it was time for Green Day who started the set with "American Dream is killing me"  off of "Saviours".  Then it was time to blow up the Dookie balloon and head straight into "dookie" in it's entirety".  So many good songs off this album.  I think "Basket case" was by far and away the stand out and is up there with their most popular songs. I still remember the video coming on MTV2 and Kerrang during my youth.  Other highlights included "When I come around" and "Welcome to Paradise".  But I think this part of the set proved that "dookie" deserves all the accolades it gets as it is a really class and solid album.

After completing "dookie" they had a mini set which was a mixture of "Saviours" and some other albums.  And when I say dipped into other albums I mean 1 song off "21st century breakdown", 1 off "insomniac", 1 off "Warning" and 1 off "Kerplunk".  For "Know your enemy" they invited a girl on stage to sing some of it which she did well and got lots of hugs off Billy as well as a selfie.  But later they invited a guy on stage who was holding a sign up saying "I can play dilemma on guitar".  Which caught Billy Joel's attention and invited him to play it.  And he really did knock it out the park.  Billy Joel paid massive respect to him after.

Then it was time for "American Idiot" in full.  There are songs on this album I was really looking forward to seeing live and they did not disappoint. "American idiot" itself, "Boulevard of Broken dreams", "Holiday", "Jesus of Suburbia" and the last track on the album "Wake me up when September ends".  I feel these songs are on a par with "Basket Case" and do hold the album up quite a lot.  It's like "dookie" is a solid album with 1 real stand out.  But "American idiot" has more songs at "Basket case" level, which does make some of the other songs feel not as good.

To finish the night they played the 5th track of the night from "Saviours" in the form of "Bobby sox" and then could they finish the night with anything but "Time of your life"? Absolutely not.  It was a great night and so glad I have finally got round to seeing them.  Venue was also superb, really good sound and no issues getting in and out.  There was some light rain during the supports but never threatened to turn the place into a mud pit.

Albums I am looking forward to in 2024

 These are the artists I am hoping to hear from in 2024, either they have confirmed plans for an album or its about time for an album

Alice in Chains - No idea what these guys are doing these days but it was pre-covid since their last album. Would be nice if they had one up their sleave this year.

Amy MacDonald - 4 years since "Human Demands" so will be interesting to see if we hear from her this year.

Anthrax - This is an album which seems to be talked about a lot but never materialising. Maybe 2024

Beck - Must be due an album - last one he released was in 2019 Hyperspace.  I think he has been doing collabs quite a bit but a guy like Beck must be sitting on some amount of albums after 5 years.

Black rebel motorcycle club - These guys released a live album this year but feels like ages since they released an album. In fact it was 2018 with Wrong creatures

Boston Manor - Datura part 2 is on the cards for this year and I am hoping a tour too.  From 2020 when I first heard them they have become one of my favourite bands as well as most listened to.

Bring me the Horizon - Post human -- Next gen - This one is due to come out on 12th Jan, 2 days before I'm due to see them.  Cannot wait.

Coldplay - Moon Music - No release date but hopefully will hear it this year.  As they begin to wrap up their reign.

Dead Poet Society - A band I was introduced to by one of my gig budies Craig, and have a new album out in January and a gig to follow in March. Looking foward to it.

Green Day - Saviour - I loved Green Day's earlier stuff but feel they haven't released much good stuff over recent years. But will still give this a listen to see if they can conjour up some magic again.

Jade Bird - She has been quite active on social media in the last year so would expect an album is on the horizon

Judas Preist - Album due out in March and going to see them in March too. Need to do a deep dive into their older albums pre-gig.

Kacey Musgraves - Last album in 2021. So think she might have something in the works for this year.

Mason Hill - This will be an interesting one.  They have been announcing live dates for next year but not announced the new lead singer yet. They have been working on a second album so will be interesting to see how it turns out. Hopefully this year.

Myles Kennedy/Tremonti/Creed - Last year was an album free year for all these acts. What will we be getting this year. Usually these guys are on creativity overload so I would expect something.  Just remembered Mark released a Christmas album in 2023 but that still counts as a quiet year on the creativity front.

Nosound - It's been a while since Nosound have released an album and they have been quite active in social media about recording so hopefully 2024 will finally see an album.

Pearl Jam - Another band I haven't heard from in a while. In fact it was Gigaton in 2020 so maybe hear something from them in 2024.  Will they ever play Glasgow?

Scott Stapp - Higher Power - The Creed lead singers last solo album was awesome and looking forward to this one coming out March

Sum 41 - Due to release their last album. Hope they go out with a bang.

Taylor Swift - 2 more releases to go to complete her re-recordings.  Self titled and Reputation.  It's been less than 2 years since her last album "Midnights" and with her heavy touring schedule I wouldnt expect an album this year but if she does it will be at the tail end of the year.

Trash boat - They released some singles in 2023 so fully expect an album in 2024.

Wolf Alice - I do really expect a Wolf Alice album this year. 2021 was their last and they have been through the gig cycle. So would hope they have an album in the pipeline.