2024

A journey across borders to explore a developing rock/metal festival in Nottingham.

Esfahani was our notional headliner, but one that seemed at his most content when playing with like-minded musicians, all of whom were playing at the top of their game.

Baque Luar is all about the beat, and that is what their first visit to Norwich will be remembered for, long after this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival has ended.

The musicians’ performance was very respectful of the original album and largely managed to recreate its dark, chilling, chaotic quality while being able to add subtle touches of their personality

Viewed as pure spectacle, this was the kind of grandstanding show not seen at the festival for years, thankfully forestalling what had been a shrinking theatrical component. The bigger question, however, is whether that spectacle served the show's strong autobiographical content.

Another wonderfully atmospheric music evening within the Adnams Spiegeltent.

Given some of the impossible choices thrown up by the festival this year, it would be easy to miss out on the events centred around The National Centre for Writing at Dragon's Hall, and in previous years that's exactly what I have done - miss out. Determined not to make the same mistake this year, I dipped my toe into the series of conversations between authors taking place.

The final words from Lewis Buxton lingered with me: “Poetry is a middle finger, it’s an orange with a knife in it, being drunk at a house party, almost kissing, a piano dropping from a 9th floor apartment"

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I assumed the show would operate on a primal, energetic, physical level as moshing. For me, it was quite the opposite.

My favourite late night gig of the Festival so far.

A valuable addition to the Festival program, it is to be hoped the Speakeasy tent becomes a regular feature. On the evidence so far presented, it certainly deserves it.

An innovative and illuminating evening of choral music from this world-class Irish ensemble.

What I witnessed was far and away the best thing I've seen (so far) at the festival - and I've seen a lot - utterly demolishing my previous idea of what is meant by circus, and what I thought could be achieved with the skills involved

A rare, and very special, visit to Norwich from one of Scotland's greatest contemporary folk singers.

Circolombia, Corazón- Que chimba de verdad!

BBC Introducing Norfolk and Suffolk have championed and supported undiscovered, unsigned and under-the-radar acts for decades across the counties, bringing the magic and music to our eyes and most importantly ears.

I am glad that I spent eight hours of my Saturday sitting in the Octagon Chapel while two musicians (James McVinnie and Eliza McCarthy) took turns to maintain a bizarrely engaging continuous drone on the pipe organ. This was the world premiere of Jonny Greenwood’s (Radiohead, The Smile) composition and, as far as I was concerned, by far the most intriguing event of this year’s Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

It was when the band really got the audience dancing with sinuous guitar solos, a bumpy drum machine and an addition of various percussion instruments – tambourines, maracas, guiros – that the sound reverberated and created a buzzy feeling of wonky nostalgia

No one seemed more surprised than Kenny Anderson that he was performing in a building he had previously visited for spiritual comfort, and with the recently restored organ serving as an illuminated backdrop, there's no denying the dramatic impact of gigging in such a glorious setting

The audience for this intimate concert simply wouldn’t let her go, compelling her to take a bow three times with their emphatic applause.

Pongo came, Pongo sang, Pongo danced, and Pongo conquered.

An inspired booking by the Festival, and always a pleasure to listen to any kind of live music within the Church of St Peter Mancroft

Lucy McCormick is a brilliant clown, capable of putting herself through endless humiliating scenarios in service to her art, only to then deconstruct the presumption it is art, and then take to task anyone foolish enough to do what I am doing now - trying to make sense of it all.

A fascinating insight into strange goings-on that left an abiding impression of unease at what human beings are capable of doing to each other,