Live music from across the region...

Marina Allen

The Tin Music & Arts, Coventry, Tues 14 February

“I was fed up with hiding myself,” says Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Marina Allen in talking about latest album Centrifics, which she’s promoting with this Coventry gig. “A fierceness started to enter the songs, which I leaned into. I threw the stone into the ocean as far as I could and then figured out how to swim to it. Instead of trying to get it perfect, the album works as a ladder to confront and hoist myself over all the hurdles, walls, setbacks and suffering. In that way, imagination became a tool I desperately clung to, rather than a place to recede.”

Seth Lakeman

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Sun 5 February

Starting out in the 1990s alongside brothers Sam and Sean, Seth Lakeman boldly stepped into the solo spotlight in 2002. He immediately found an audience with debut

Nick Hart

Temperance, Leamington Spa, Tues 28 February

Robert Jon & The Wreck

The Assembly, Leamington Spa, Fri 10 February

A winning combination of soaring guitar leads, rich vocal harmonies, memorable tunes and a raw, fierce performance style has seen Robert Jon & The Wreck develop a worldwide fanbase. First taking to the stage back in 2011 and comprising four Californians - led by Robert Jon Burrison on lead vocals and guitar - the band specialises in taking the southern rock sound from the east coast and making it their own. They appear in Leamington in support of latest album Wreckage Vol 2, released last autumn.

A deep respect for the nuances of traditional song informs the music of award-winning singer & multi-instrumentalist Nick Hart, whose captivating live performances are a testament to the importance he places on storytelling. Nick’s Leamington appearance comes in support of his latest album, Nick Hart Sings Ten English Folk Songs. Released last year, it follows on from his first record, Nick Hart Sings Eight English Folk Songs, and his second... yep, you guessed it, Nick Hart Sings Nine English Folk Songs.

Afflecks Palace

hmv Empire Coventry, Sun 19 February

Four-piece Manchester psyche guitar band Afflecks Palace have come a long way in a short time. Formed in 2019 and playing their first proper gig just before lockdown, the boys have since been busy taking the music scene by storm. Their songs are streamed thousands of times every month, vinyl copies of their EPs have sold out, major radio stations have started spinning their tracks and championing their sound, and they’ve released their debut album. Support at this Coventry gig comes from five-piece guitar band Pastel, whose CV includes a support slot for Liam Gallagher at Knebworth.

Gigs

album The Punch Bowl, before going on to bag a Mercury Prize nomination for followup offering Kitty Jay. The rest, as they say, is history... The multi-award-winning multiinstrumentalist performs in Worcestershire just over a year after the release of his 11th studio album, Make Your Mark.

Fergus McCreadie

Warwick Arts Centre, Sat 11 February

Scottish jazz pianist & composer Fergus McCreadie’s star is most definitely in the ascendant. The 25-year-old has been garnering critical acclaim and picking up coveted awards in seemingly equal measure since bursting onto the scene five years ago with self-released album Turas. Creating an innovative sound that blends jazz with traditional music and draws inspiration from Scottish landscape and folklore, he was last year nominated for the Mercury Prize on the back of his third and charttopping studio album, Forest Floor. He visits Warwick Arts Centre as part of the Fergus McCreadie Trio.