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Michael HannThe Guardian |
It was Irish week in London, with one group from the north and one from the south. Guinness was sold in unusual amounts; green football shirts were...
‘Can I have a photo with you, please?’ It’s the most embarrassing question you can ask of someone you’re interviewing. But I had to. Not only...
Chris Stapleton is a barrel-chested man of 46, who hides his face beneath a beard that must have taken years to grow, hair that tumbles down past his...
It doesn’t matter which dictionary you consult, they all agree on what a song is: words, set to music, that are sung. Yet it’s also an entirely...
There is no better cultural weather vane than pop. It’s not that pop singers possess incredible analytical skills – they don’t. It’s more that...
The fate of the pop musician – at least the pop musician below the top tier of stardom – has historically been to fall from fashion. At some point...
American Football are a band whose legend was formed by the internet: some Illinois college kids who made an album for a little label in 1999, went...
One of the first things I learned after seeing Big Thief triumph at Green Man is that some long-time fans are worried about them. There’s an extra...
Remember when we all knew what indie meant? Indie was what John Peel played. It was music that was recorded, manufactured and distributed independent...
There are certain long-established rules for describing Patti Smith. Google her name and the words ‘shaman’ and ‘priestess’ and you’ll see...
Taylor Swift is the last of the monocultural pop icons. Put it this way: I bet you’ve heard of her. Your parents have heard of her. Your children...
A decade ago, a group of people who owned small music venues came to the conclusion that the kinds of places they ran were teetering on the brink of a...
In May 2013, Rolling Stone polled its readers in an attempt to discover which band might be crowned the worst of the 1990s. The winners – or losers,...
When a major artist releases a new album, the first thing to follow is the onslaught of think pieces. And when Beyoncé released Cowboy Carter earlier...
You could very well sum up their differing approaches to American roots music from how they were dressed. Both wore cowboy hats and both wore...
How is it that a group that sounds like the Hives are selling out the Apollo? In a world configured according to expectation, the highlight of their...
Sensible prog-rock bands try to ensure no one ever realises they play prog. What happens when you are deemed a prog band is that you are condemned to...
There were headlines last month about the plight of live music in Britain. More than a third of grassroots venues are making a loss; more than 100 of...
‘Meat-and-potatoes rock’ is the pejorative term critics use when describing groups of white men with guitars who play loud, uncomplicated music....
What does a chubby, bearded American feller wearing a plaid shirt and singing about his dog and truck have in common with a chic, sonically...
John Francis Flynn is monumentally good. He’s kick-yourself-for-missing-him good. He’s so good that when he spoke between songs in the upstairs...
The whole world might have been different had Alasdair MacLean, singer and guitarist of the delicate, pastoral, slightly psychedelic band the...
Shall we get the pop predictions for this year out of the way first? Taylor Swift will continue to conquer the world; the charts will continue their...
Live music is thriving right now. According to the US trade magazine Billboard, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has so far grossed an estimated $838m, and...