York Calling

ALLEY (The Band) Choose The Road Less Travelled In Second Single ALLEY (The Band) announced themselves to us late last year through their debut single, The Release (Now It’s Over). Now it’s time to hear their second.

ALLEY (The Band) Choose The Road Less Travelled In Second Single

ALLEY (The Band) announced themselves to us late last year through their debut single, The Release (Now It’s Over). Now it’s time to hear their second.

Discovery: Knife Emoji Craft a Cinematic, Long‑Form Debut That Defies the TikTok Era In the modern world, there’s a focus on trends, and it’s easy to forget that they’re not the be all and end all.

Discovery: Knife Emoji Craft a Cinematic, Long‑Form Debut That Defies the TikTok Era

In the modern world, there’s a focus on trends, and it’s easy to forget that they’re not the be all and end all.

Live Review: Di‑Cysgodion Bend Time and Genre in a Dazzling Basement Set It’s always a pleasure to see audience members traversing the cold and rain of a bleak Thursday night in February to support emerging avant‑garde talent at The Basement. In this case, their effort was well rewarded by the contemporary jazz‑rock quartet Di‑Cysgodion.

Live Review: Di‑Cysgodion Bend Time and Genre in a Dazzling Basement Set

It’s always a pleasure to see audience members traversing the cold and rain of a bleak Thursday night in February to support emerging avant‑garde talent at The Basement. In this case, their effort was well rewarded by the…

Photoset: York Residents Celebrate Winter Folk Day at The Black Swan Inn Chris Euesden, Eddie Affleck, Judith & Trish, Leather'O, Phil Cerny, and White Sail were among the performers in the venue's intimate upstairs room.

Photoset: York Residents Celebrate Winter Folk Day at The Black Swan Inn

Chris Euesden, Eddie Affleck, Judith & Trish, Leather'O, Phil Cerny, and White Sail were among the performers in the venue's intimate upstairs room.

Néomí Starts 2026 Strong with Intimate New Single Didn’t I We’ve been covering the work of néomí for a few years now, and the Dutch-Surinamese artist even paid a visit to our fair city in 2025 in support of Seafret.

Néomí Starts 2026 Strong with Intimate New Single Didn’t I

We’ve been covering the work of néomí for a few years now, and the Dutch-Surinamese artist even paid a visit to our fair city in 2025 in support of Seafret.

Discovery: Psych Rockers Crescent Rise from The Underrated Hartlepool Scene There’s something in the water up the coast in Hartlepool, as Shy Bairn Records unearth another northern gem, Crescent.

Discovery: Psych Rockers Crescent Rise from The Underrated Hartlepool Scene

There’s something in the water up the coast in Hartlepool, as Shy Bairn Records unearth another northern gem, Crescent.

Discovery: We Connect with OGGY at the Start of a Soul-Searching New Era OGGY is an artist we’re discovering at the start of a new era, heralded by her single Help Me Find A Reason.

Discovery: We Connect with OGGY at the Start of a Soul-Searching New Era

OGGY is an artist we’re discovering at the start of a new era, heralded by her single Help Me Find A Reason.

Discovery: Matt Smith Blends Vulnerability and Protest on …this is not ok…  As the number of those seeking to divide feels ever more present in the world, it’s important to remember that there are those fighting in the opposite direction.

Discovery: Matt Smith Blends Vulnerability and Protest on …this is not ok… 

As the number of those seeking to divide feels ever more present in the world, it’s important to remember that there are those fighting in the opposite direction.

Discovery: Rameez Khalid, Kainat Masood & Amaizy Team Up for East-Meets-West Pop Wonder, Shehnai What’s better than one creative powerhouse? Three! Shehnai combines the talents of Rameez Khalid, Kainat Masood, and Amaizy (Aizad Hashmi).

Discovery: Rameez Khalid, Kainat Masood & Amaizy Team Up for East-Meets-West Pop Wonder, Shehnai

What’s better than one creative powerhouse? Three! Shehnai combines the talents of Rameez Khalid, Kainat Masood, and Amaizy (Aizad Hashmi).

Live Review: “Britainicana” Hits Critical Mass – Westside Cowboy at the Brudenell Words and Photos - John Hayhurst The Brudenell is the kind of venue that thrives on nights like this: sticky floors, low ceilings, a crowd packed in so tight that the air itself seems to hum. On a wet Leeds winter night, it’s the perfect pressure cooker for a Manchester band whose reputation has been growing faster than their catalogue.

Live Review: “Britainicana” Hits Critical Mass – Westside Cowboy at the Brudenell

Words and Photos - John Hayhurst The Brudenell is the kind of venue that thrives on nights like this: sticky floors, low ceilings, a crowd packed in so tight that the air itself seems to hum. On a wet Leeds winter…

Live Review: Maxïmo Park “Splits Kick” their way up the A19 to York’s Crescent Community Venue Words and Photos - John Hayhurst By the time the doors open at Crescent Community Venue, there’s a sense of something deliciously wrong. This is a room built for earnest locals and cult bands, not a group with a Mercury-nominated debut and two decades of bangers. That mismatch becomes the night’s secret weapon. Maxïmo Park arrive not to politely rehearse, but to stress-test their legacy against a ceiling you could headbutt and a stage barely wider than Paul Smith’s splits kick wingspan.

Live Review: Maxïmo Park “Splits Kick” their way up the A19 to York’s Crescent Community Venue

Words and Photos - John Hayhurst By the time the doors open at Crescent Community Venue, there’s a sense of something deliciously wrong. This is a room built for earnest locals and cult bands, not a…

Live Review: Sophie Lloyd shreds Holmfirth into submission Review and Photos by John Hayhurst Saturday night in Holmfirth is cold, damp but quietly buzzing. Inside Holmfirth Picturedrome, though, it’s already crackling before a single note is played. Support comes from BEX, a key figure in the UK’s current nu-punk surge, and she wastes no time announcing herself. Her songs snap with sharp hooks and confrontational lyrics, delivered with a blunt-force confidence that refuses to ask permission.

Live Review: Sophie Lloyd shreds Holmfirth into submission

Review and Photos by John Hayhurst Saturday night in Holmfirth is cold, damp but quietly buzzing. Inside Holmfirth Picturedrome, though, it’s already crackling before a single note is played. Support comes from BEX, a key figure in the…

Live Review: JINJER bring 2026’s most stacked line up to Manchester’s Ritz Words: Kian Simon-Law Photos: John Hayhurst January sees my return to the world of live performance, this time for a wholly unique set of musicians. JINJER. Headlining this tour, the band returned to the road for the debut of their newest album Duél. Joined by Unprocessed and Textures, two bands with some amazing material that certainly deserve to be on the road for their own reasons, truly make for great supporting acts for JINJER.

Live Review: JINJER bring 2026’s most stacked line up to Manchester’s Ritz

Words: Kian Simon-Law Photos: John Hayhurst January sees my return to the world of live performance, this time for a wholly unique set of musicians. JINJER. Headlining this tour, the band returned to the road for the debut…

Discovery: Oliver Rees and Leeds’s Tamara S Create Diary in Song on Debut Album Tamara S’s debut album Where Are The Butterflies?, a collaboration with Oliver Rees, is a diary sung. Sharing the fears, joys, and inner‑dialogues we experience moving through life. Using the rhythmic, soulful, move‑y power of R&B and hip‑hop, the music pushes more meaning than the lyrics already so beautifully do.

Discovery: Oliver Rees and Leeds’s Tamara S Create Diary in Song on Debut Album

Tamara S’s debut album Where Are The Butterflies?, a collaboration with Oliver Rees, is a diary sung. Sharing the fears, joys, and inner‑dialogues we experience moving through life. Using the rhythmic, soulful, move‑y…

Live Review: Ash’s light still shines as they bring their cosmic new era to The Crescent I can't think of the band Ash without remembering a story a school friend told me about their drummer.

Live Review: Ash’s light still shines as they bring their cosmic new era to The Crescent

I can't think of the band Ash without remembering a story a school friend told me about their drummer.

Maxïmo Park to mark A Certain Trigger milestone with special Leeds date Maxïmo Park are set to return to Leeds next month as part of their A Certain Trigger 20th anniversary celebrations, performing at O2 Academy Leeds on 20 February 2026.

Maxïmo Park to mark A Certain Trigger milestone with special Leeds date

Maxïmo Park are set to return to Leeds next month as part of their A Certain Trigger 20th anniversary celebrations, performing at O2 Academy Leeds on 20 February 2026.

DownTown Mystic Revives E Street Magic on Retro‑Charged Hard Enough Remix There are many things out there purporting to be ‘old school’ or ‘retro’ nowadays, but few are the real deal. In the case of DownTown Mystic, aka Robert Allen, his authenticity speaks for itself.

DownTown Mystic Revives E Street Magic on Retro‑Charged Hard Enough Remix

There are many things out there purporting to be ‘old school’ or ‘retro’ nowadays, but few are the real deal. In the case of DownTown Mystic, aka Robert Allen, his authenticity speaks for itself.

Brock Davis’s Nothing Lasts Forever is A Powerful Reflection on Life’s Impermanence Brock Davis certainly isn’t new to the music world, or to us, and now he’s about to return with a new album.

Brock Davis’s Nothing Lasts Forever is A Powerful Reflection on Life’s Impermanence

Brock Davis certainly isn’t new to the music world, or to us, and now he’s about to return with a new album.

Discovery: Sheffield’s EchoBravo Delves into Dark Dreamscapes on New Ambient EP Awakening Of Dreams EchoBravo’s (Jack Booth) new collection Awakening Of Dreams are not just ambient soundscapes; they capture the essence of dreaming.

Discovery: Sheffield’s EchoBravo Delves into Dark Dreamscapes on New Ambient EP Awakening Of Dreams

EchoBravo’s (Jack Booth) new collection Awakening Of Dreams are not just ambient soundscapes; they capture the essence of dreaming.

Live Review: WREX Bring Arena‑Level Energy to The Fulford Arms for Independent Venue Week January: horrendous weather, short days, and the post-Christmas comedown. Well, it's nearly over, and WREX saw it off in style at The Fulford Arms.

Live Review: WREX Bring Arena‑Level Energy to The Fulford Arms for Independent Venue Week

January: horrendous weather, short days, and the post-Christmas comedown. Well, it's nearly over, and WREX saw it off in style at The Fulford Arms.

Discovery: Synth and cello cosmically collide in Duolant’s mesmerising new track Jeff Mettlewsky (Duolant) and Chris Rorrer’s new single Unwavering is a futuristic, cinematic piece of music capable of teasing out ideas from the complex, unexplored folds of the brain.

Discovery: Synth and cello cosmically collide in Duolant’s mesmerising new track

Jeff Mettlewsky (Duolant) and Chris Rorrer’s new single Unwavering is a futuristic, cinematic piece of music capable of teasing out ideas from the complex, unexplored folds of the brain.

Pop-Rock Risktaker LØLØ Returns to the UK with Leeds Show This May Toronto-born pop-rock firestarter LØLØ brings her fearless new era to Leeds this spring as part of her god forbid a girl goes on tour! headline run.

Pop-Rock Risktaker LØLØ Returns to the UK with Leeds Show This May

Toronto-born pop-rock firestarter LØLØ brings her fearless new era to Leeds this spring as part of her god forbid a girl goes on tour! headline run.

Thank you @yorkcalling.bsky.social for the wonderful review of ”Listen!“

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Discovery: Concerta Brings Trance Back to Life on Immersive Debut EP CONSUMPTION Arriving to us from the Seoul, Korea club scene, Concerta is a DJ and producer with the shrewdness needed to resurrect trance music.

Discovery: Concerta Brings Trance Back to Life on Immersive Debut EP CONSUMPTION

Arriving to us from the Seoul, Korea club scene, Concerta is a DJ and producer with the shrewdness needed to resurrect trance music.

Discovery: Tom Woodward’s Thoughtful, Genre‑Blending Folk Album, Come Come Karma New to our blog, Tom Woodward is a genre-blending folk artist that is worthy of attention.

Discovery: Tom Woodward’s Thoughtful, Genre‑Blending Folk Album, Come Come Karma

New to our blog, Tom Woodward is a genre-blending folk artist that is worthy of attention.

Lucy Dreams Push Dream Pop Into the Fifth Dimension on New Album VVVVV Lucy Dreams are the pulsating successors to electronic pioneers like Pet Shop Boys and Empire of the Sun.

Lucy Dreams Push Dream Pop Into the Fifth Dimension on New Album VVVVV

Lucy Dreams are the pulsating successors to electronic pioneers like Pet Shop Boys and Empire of the Sun.

Live Review: Kara Tointon Shines in Laura Wade’s Bold Reworking of The Constant Wife Somerset Maugham was a playwright in the mould of Noel Coward, a writer who concealed some bitter truths beneath sparkling dialogue.

Live Review: Kara Tointon Shines in Laura Wade’s Bold Reworking of The Constant Wife

Somerset Maugham was a playwright in the mould of Noel Coward, a writer who concealed some bitter truths beneath sparkling dialogue.

Discovery: The Brook and The Bluff Nashville-based band The Brook and The Bluff have been touring almost non-stop for the past decade or so, and yet this is the first time we've ever featured them in these pages! They've decided to put the touring on hold for a moment so as to focus on creating new music, with Can't Figure It Out being their latest single release.

Discovery: The Brook and The Bluff

Nashville-based band The Brook and The Bluff have been touring almost non-stop for the past decade or so, and yet this is the first time we've ever featured them in these pages! They've decided to put the touring on hold for a moment so as to focus on creating…

New Music: Jen Mize & The Rough N’ Tumble – Double Talk Eagle-eyed viewers will likely recognise the name Jen Mize & The Rough N' Tumble, as we've featured the bluesy rock and rollers a few times over the years. Now they return to these pages with a brand new hit single titled Double Talk. By Jane Howkins Double Talk immediately displays the band's killer sound from the very first note, featuring several layers of organ, bass, drums and the electric guitar riffs that the band have become so famed for.

New Music: Jen Mize & The Rough N’ Tumble – Double Talk

Eagle-eyed viewers will likely recognise the name Jen Mize & The Rough N' Tumble, as we've featured the bluesy rock and rollers a few times over the years. Now they return to these pages with a brand new hit single titled Double Talk. By Jane…

Discovery: Rising Star DJ Soul Child AC Drops Eclectic Debut, Douby A star on the rise, DJ Soul Child AC has just dropped his genre-blending new album.

Discovery: Rising Star DJ Soul Child AC Drops Eclectic Debut, Douby

A star on the rise, DJ Soul Child AC has just dropped his genre-blending new album.