Nick Holmes

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Mahler’s ‘Titan’ – Symphony No. 1 – Live Review Saturday 8 November 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester **** Elena Schwarz conducts nature-themed Debussy and Mahler, with the Manchester premiere of Dani Howard’s trombone concerto The BBC Phi…

Read my thoughts about an excellent concert by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Elena Schwarz on Saturday in Manchester, featuring nature-themed Mahler and Debussy, and the Trombone Concerto by Dani Howard, with soloist Peter Moore
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Steven Wilson – The Overview – Album Review Part Three: ‘The Overview’ This is an analysis of the second half, and title track, of Steven Wilson’s eighth solo album, The Overview. For an introduction to the album, click here. For an analysis of the first half of…

Here’s the third and final part of my in-depth analysis of The Overview, the latest album by @stevenwilsonhq.bsky.social

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The Hallé – John Adams Conducts the Chairman Dances – Live Review Saturday 1 November 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** Exploring Powerful Women in the Music of John Adams, with Astonishing Playing from Violinist Leila Josefowicz Leila Josefowicz and The Ha…

Read my five-star review of American composer John Adams conducting @thehalle.bsky.social in a concert of his own music at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, featuring a stunning performance by the violinist Leila Josefowicz and a UK premiere

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The Divine Comedy (@divinecomedyhq.bsky.social) The Official Bluesky Account Run By The Nice Folks At DCHQ. Website: https://thedivinecomedy.com/ New Album 'Rainy Sunday Afternoon' Out Now ☂️ Live 2025/26: https://thedivinecomedy.com/live #thedivin...

Read my five-star review of the fantastic concert by divinecomedyhq.bsky.social at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Click on the link below

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Britten – Albert Herring – English National Opera – Live Review Tuesday 21 October 2025 Lowry Theatre, Salford **** Minimalist Design Meets Comedy and Psychological Realism in ENO’s first production in the North The Cast of Albert Herring © Genevieve Girl…

‘Superbly directed and acted, with fine singing and marvellous orchestral playing. A large and enthusiastic audience welcomed English National Opera to the North. We have much to anticipate if future ENO productions here are of this quality.’
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Steven Wilson – The Overview – Album Review Part Two: ‘Objects Outlive us’ The Cover of The Overview by Steven Wilson, designed by Hajo Müller This is an analysis of the first half of Steven Wilson’s eighth solo album, The Overview. For an introduction to the album,…

Here's the second part of my detailed analysis of The Overview by @stevenwilsonhq.bsky.social, the first side of the album - 'Objects outlive Us'

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Steven Wilson – The Overview – Album Review – Part One – Introduction Steven Wilson. Image credit: Kevin Westerberg His Eighth Solo Album The Overview is Steven Wilson’s eighth solo album, released on 14 March 2025. It charted at number three in the UK, the four…

Here’s the first part of my detailed review of The Overview, the latest album by Steven Wilson. More to follow in due course!
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Mahler Symphony No. 8 – Live Review Thursday 9 October 2025 St Paul’s Cathedral, London ***** A stunning opening to the Bach Choir’s 150th anniversary season in the most dramatic of settings How do you open the 150th anniversar…

Read my five-star review of Mahler's Eighth Symphony at St Paul's Cathedral in London, with The Bach Choir and conductor David Hill, celebrating the Choir's 150th anniversary.
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Manchester Collective – Shaker Loops – Live Review Sunday 5 October 2025 RNCM, Manchester **** A tribute to the variety of sounds that strings make, and the human connections that music brings Manchester Collective Some concerts are about the music…

'A tribute to the variety of sounds that strings make, and the human connections that music brings’

Here's my review of Manchester Collective's concert at the RNCM in Manchester on Sunday

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Peter Hammill – Live Review Tuesday 1 October 2025 RNCM, Manchester Nearly 60 years since first playing in Manchester, Hammill is still a supreme communicator and a powerful performer **** ‘The hits just keep on coming&…

‘Nearly 60 years since first playing in Manchester, Hammill is still a supreme communicator and a powerful performer’

Read my review of the concert by Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator at the RNCM in Manchester this evening

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BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Fountain of Youth – Live Review Saturday 20 September 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester **** A triumphant opening to the BBC Philharmonic’s new season Violinist Augustin Hadelich with members of the BBC Philharmonic. Image …

Here's my review of the opening concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, featuring music by the new Composer in Residence, Julia Wolfe and Augustin Hadelich playing Prokofiev's 2nd violin concerto

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Shez Raja – Live Review Friday 18 July 2025 Future Yard Birkenhead ***** Guthrie Govan Joins Shez Raja for Triumphant Birkenhead Show Shez Raja (and Chris Jerome, back left) This was a triumphant homecoming gig for bass p…

Read my review of the wonderful, life-affirming gig by @shezraja.bsky.social in Birkenhead last Friday

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Off the Beaten Track # 15: Spellbound by Shez Raja – Album Review The Cover of Spellbound by Shez Raja British-Asian bass player Shez Raja has been voted one of the ‘Hottest Bass Players in the World’ by readers of Bass Player magazine. His mother is Asian, and h…

Read my review of the Spellbound by British-Asian bass player
@shezraja.bsky.social, an eclectic and invigorating mix of musical styles from East and West

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Manchester Classical 2025 Day Two – Live Review Sunday 29 June 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester For a review of day one of the festival click here and for the opening night click here Musicians from the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, RN…

Here's my review of day two of Manchester Classical, with Manchester Collective - Rakhi Singh and Zoë Martlew, plus Musicians from the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, RNCM, The Chorus of ENO and Hallé Choir, conducted by Alpesh Chauhan

#mcrclassical25

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Manchester Classical 2025 Opening Night – Live Review Friday 27 June 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Jonny Greenwood performs Reich with the Hallé The first Manchester Classical music festival took place two years ago, in June 2023. The festival won…

Read my review of the opening night of the Manchester Classical Festival, with Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead playing the music of Steve Reich, with @thehalle.bsky.social conducted by Colin Currie.

#mcrclassical25

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Interview – Malcolm Galloway from Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate on the new album The Uncertainty Principle and the Prog the Forest Festival The Cover of the Uncertainty Principle by Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate Malcolm Galloway is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboard-player of London-based prog rock band Hats O…

Read my latest interview with Malcolm Galloway of Hats Off Gentleman It's Adequate. He talks about the band's new album and the Prog the Forest festival

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BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Mahler Symphony No. 3 ‘The Voice of Nature’ – Live Review Saturday 14 June 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** John Storgårds conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a breathtaking performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony John Storgårds, Jess D…

'John Storgårds conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a breathtaking performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony.'

Read my five-star review of Mahler's Third Symphony in Manchester.

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Interview – Miles Skarin: Creating ‘The Overview’ film with Steven Wilson “We look inwards so much, and when you look outwards at space there’s so much out there which is unattainable and unreachable for a lot of humans, so maybe we don’t give much thou…

“Maybe we don’t give much thought to the perspective of what we are and what our reality is.”
Read my interview with Miles Skarin of Crystal Spotlight
about the making of the film for The Overview, the new album by @stevenwilsonhq.bsky.social

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Hamlet Hail to the Thief – Live Review 7 May 2025 Aviva Studios Manchester ***** A Unique Theatrical Experience Melds the Music of Radiohead with Shakespeare’s Hamlet Hamlet Hail to the Thief (Photo by Manuel Harlan) In late 2002/…

Read my five-star review of Hamlet Hail to the Thief with the music of Radiohead and the words of Shakespeare, produced by Factory International and the Royal Shakespeare Company live at Aviva Studios in Manchester

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Manchester Collective, Clark and Melanie Lane – REFRACTIONS – Live Review 25 April 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** Refractions: A Unique Concert Journey Beyond Genres A refracted image of Clark and Rakhi Singh This Blog has sometimes considered the definition of …

Read my review of REFRACTIONS the new collaboration between Manchester Collective, the musician Clark and choreographer Melanie Lane at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester last Friday

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Steven Wilson’s Space Songs Part II: The Solo Years Steven Wilson. Image copyright Kevin Westenberg Steven Wilson’s latest album, The Overview, is inspired by the emotional and sometimes spiritual experience that astronauts have described …

Here's Part II of my post on the space songs of @stevenwilsonhq.bsky.social - the solo years

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Steven Wilson’s Space Songs: The Porcupine Tree Years Steven Wilson. Image credit: Kevin Westenberg Lyrically I arrived at a point where I was no longer interested in writing about abstract concepts, like war, religion, space… etc. These are ver…

With the release of The Overview, the new space-themed album by @stevenwilsonhq.bsky.social I thought it would be a good time to revisit the space-themed tracks he wrote for @porcupinetree.bsky.social

Read my thoughts here...

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BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Mahler Symphony No. 9 – Live Review Saturday 12 April 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** Mahler’s Ninth Symphony: A Life-Affirming Farewell? Conductor Yoel Gamzou and Members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Image © Chri…

Read my five-star review of the BBC Philharmonic at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Saturday evening. A superb performance of Mahler's Ninth Symphony conducted by Yoel Gamzou

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THRAK(1995) by King Crimson – Album Review My own response to King Crimson is one of quiet terror Robert Fripp (Die Zeit May 1995) In 2019, I heard that King Crimson had released an album called THRAK in 1995. The title reminded me of anoth…

It's thirty years this month since the release of THRAK by #KingCrimson. Read my thoughts here:

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Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate and Ghost of the Machine Album Launch – Live Review Sunday 6 April 2025 Camden Club, London ***** A double-header of new prog rock albums in a Sunday afternoon launch Despite the London sunshine, rather than lazing on a Sunday afternoon, progressive…

Read my five-star review of the double-headed album launch by Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate and Ghost of the Machine at the Camden Club on Sunday.

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BBC Philharmonic – Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto – Live Review Saturday 22 March 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester **** A stunning performance of Beethoven’s final piano concerto by Paul Lewis, bookended by two Nordic symphonies John Storgårds, Paul Lewis and …

Read my review of Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto performed by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by John
John Storgårds, with Paul Lewis at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester last week, with Nordic symphonies by Per Nørgård and Jean Sibelius

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Gleb Kolyadin – Album Launch with iamthemorning – Live Review Friday 28 February 2025 Piano Smithfield, London ***** Pianist Gleb Kolyadin’s triumpant launch of his new solo album Mobula with the help of a few old friends Gleb Kolyadin. Photo by Leon Ba…

Read my review of the launch gig of Mobula, the new album by Gleb Kolyadin of iamthemorning

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Steven Wilson – The Overview – Album and Film Launch with Q & A Session – Review Tuesday 25 February 2005 BFI IMAX, London “It’s about death… in the nicest possible sense of the word.” ***** To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, the album …

Read my review of the world premiere of the new album The Overview by Steven Wilson last night at BFI Imax with stunning visuals by Miles Skarin of Crystal Spotlight
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BBC Philharmonic – Pictures at an Exhibition – Live Review Saturday 22 February 2025 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ***** A celebration of Ravel at 150 and Boulez at 100; orchestration at its most colourful and imaginative The BBC Philharmonic with Ludovic M…

Read my review of a stunning concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ludovic Morlot and pianist Bertrand Chamayou, a celebration of Pierre Boulez at 100 and Maurice Ravel at 150
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The Cover of Porcupine Tree On Track by Nick Holmes

Very pleased to see that the revised and fully updated and expanded edition of my in-depth analysis of the music of @porcupinetree.bsky.social is now available to order from @burningshed.com and other good bookshops!

burningshed.com/store/sonicb...