Connie Constance | Wed 1 May | Hare & Hounds
Post-punk, murky trip-hop, neo-soul swagger; across her blistering debut ‘English Rose’, London’s Connie Constance is a hard one to pin down, but she’s undoubtedly a must-watch talent.
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble | Wed 8 May | Hare & Hounds
The extraordinary brain child of jazz trumpeter Phil Cochran and his eight sons, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble have a huge resumé including Prince, Mos Def and many others. Their legendary live show will get the most reluctant of dance muscles grooving.
Bryony Williams, Hoopla Blue, Dorcha | Fri 10 May | Artefact
Northampton’s Sam Frank Wood has been photographing the Birmingham music scene for six years. Don’t miss the opening of his solo exhibition at Artefact, where current Brum greats Bryony Williams, Hoopla Blue and Dorcha will be performing stripped-back sets.
SOAK | Tue 14 May | Hare & Hounds
A combination of sun-kissed 1980s vibes, art-pop stylings and understated introspection make recent single ‘Knock Me Off My Feet’ a perfect introduction to SOAK’s horizon-broadening new album – repositioning her as something like Rilo Kiley’s grittier cousin.
KRS-One | Wed 15 May | O2 Institute
KRS-One’s legacy now spans three decades: a man powered by rugged boom-bap, a political sense of purpose and a room-shaking voice that has resonated from his Boogie Down Productions days up to the mind-meld of latest offering ‘The World is MIND’.
Kamasi Washington | Sat 18 May | O2 Institute
It’s hard to imagine that LA saxophonist, bandleader and composer Kamasi Washington has any boundaries left to push after the sprawling jazz suites of his last two records; but then you’ll just have to come bask in the transcendent, psychedelic vibes and find out for yourself.
Beak> | Sun 19 May | Hare & Hounds
The gothic, spectral krautrock of Bristol’s Beak> exists outside of time and place, even more so than Geoff Barrow’s work in Portishead. Their third album ‘>>>’ cranks up the tape-cassette creepiness to new levels – propulsive, hypnotic, and terrifying. It’s actually the first chance we’ve had to catch them in Brum!
Manic Street Preachers + Gwenno | Thu 23 May | O2 Academy
James Dean Bradfield and co. thrive on friction – in simplest terms, their relentless inner punks just can’t quite defeat their knack for brilliant pop songs. By celebrating the 20th anniversary of ‘This Is My Truth…’, they’re visiting one of the best examples of the latter. Don’t miss the dreamy, retrofuturist pop of Gwenno, either.
Kagoule | Sun 26 May | The Flapper
Like a transmission from Washington DC in the 90s, Nottingham’s Kagoule explode with messy joy: last year’s sophomore effort ‘Strange Entertainment’ showed them to be garage-rock distance runners whose raw sound and ecstatic energy make their twists, turns and wild outbursts look easy. Catch them closing out the Flapper’s ‘Little Cavalier Festival’.
Tower of Power | Tue 28 May | Town Hall
There have been any number of legacy reunion acts coming our way in recent days – naming no names – but our pick for the nostalgia ticket this month has to be Oakland’s funk powerhouse Tower of Power. Just don’t expect to stay sitting down.
- Words:
- Chris Donald - Gigs Editor
- Published on:
- Thu 25 Apr 2019