Gigs

Live music from across the region...

The Dangerous Summer

The Flapper, Birmingham, Tues 27 September

Passionate delivery, confessional authenticity and deeply resonant musical storytelling define alt-rock band The Dangerous Summer’s sound. The band, who signed their first record deal as high school seniors, last month released new offering Coming Home. “We named the album Coming Home because it’s about coming back to ourselves,” vocalist and co-founder AJ Perdomo explains. “A full rock-band vibe centred around driving guitars and emotionally heart-wrenching lyrics. It felt like a full-circle moment.”

Agnes Obel

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Mon 12 September

Danish composer, singer & pianist Agnes Obel plays, sings, records and produces all her own material. A classical and folk crossover artist, she visits Birmingham with a show that brings together brand-new compositions with a selection of songs from critically acclaimed albums Philharmonics, Aventine and Citizen Of Glass.

Gigs

Arcade Fire

Utilita Arena Birmingham, Fri 2 September

Arcade Fire visit Birmingham this month as part of an extensive world tour in support of sixth album, We. The tour will see the return of the full-production live-act experience for which the Canadian indie rock band is famous. Arcade Fire’s back-catalogue features 2004’s Funeral, 2007’s Neon Bible and 2017’s Everything Now.

Incubus

O2 Academy, Birmingham, Wed 28 September

Since their inception in 1991, influential Los Angeles rock quintet Incubus - featuring Brandon Boyd on lead vocals - have consistently elevated themselves and alternative music to new and creative heights. The band earned mainstream recognition with the release of their 1999 album, Make Yourself, which spawned several hits, including highest-charting song Drive. Fans can hope to hear that, as well as other popular hits like Pardon Me, Stellar and Wish You Were Here, when the boys visit Birmingham late this month.

The Lemonheads

O2 Institute, Birmingham, Tues 27 September

American rockers The Lemonheads are marking the 30th anniversary of fifth studio offering It’s A Shame About Ray by playing the album in full for Midlands fans. Produced by the Robb Brothers, the record was an international hit, reaching number 31 in the UK Top 100. With its title taken from a quote which frontman Evan Dando had seen in a Sydney newspaper, about a boy named Ray being repeatedly kicked out of school, the record gained rave reviews at the time of its release and was a defining force on the early-1990s music scene.

Scott Matthews

St Paul’s Church, Birmingham, Sat 17 September

Described by Total Entertainment as ‘the man who specialises in conveying the emotional complexities of love and loss in sparse, warm-hearted acoustic songs’, singer-songwriter Scott Matthews’ groundbreaking debut album, Passing Stranger, earned serious critical acclaim, with his first single, Elusive, winning the Ivor Novello for ‘best song musically & lyrically’. He’s since gone on to produce a further six albums, including 2020’s New Skin. Fans attending his St Paul’s Church gig can expect to hear songs from that album, favourites from his extensive backcatalogue, and unheard tracks from his forthcoming offering, New Skin: The Acoustic Sessions, which is set for release early next year.