Category: The Editor Speaks
BREAKING NEWS: Northern Ireland live music ban extended to 5 July
The Northern Ireland Executive today (Thursday 17 June) extended the ban on live music for a further two weeks, until 5 July.
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Crowbar – Live from New Orleans – 20 February 2021
Live streams are getting as clash strewn as gigs used to be. Crowbar and Spirit Mother on the same night is quite a choice for our DJ by the name of Astrocreep, though luckily both have view on demand, which makes life a bit easier than choosing between gigs on the same night! So, the big lad poured a single malt, took his seat in his reclining chair and get himself ready for some serious armchair headbanging – while live streams are obviously not as good as being at an actual show, they’re a damn sight better than nothing at all – a junkie needs his fix after all!
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Live music “not banned” in Northern Ireland – but venues remain closed
The music industry in Northern Ireland won something of a hollow victory earlier yesterday (Friday 12 February), when it emerged that legislation banning live performances has, in fact, lapsed. However, in a Catch-22 situation, venues remain closed under continuing restrictions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive as part of the continuing fight against COVID-19.
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MUSIC VENUE TRUST PRESSES ON DELAYS IN FUNDING ALLOCATIONS
The Music Venue Trust, the independent charity that represents the interests of almost 1,000 independent music venues across the Über Kingdom, has this evening (Sunday 4 October) issued a statement in response to the announcement that the Arts Council of England is to delay decisions on the distribution of its Cultural Recovery Fund.
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FESTIVAL SEASON 2020: WILL IT STILL GO AHEAD?
There is no doubt that the current Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the music business into complete and utter chaos, with tours cancelled, album releases delayed. With many countries taking different approaches to the issue of lockdowns, and some prohibiting mass public gatherings right through until the end of August, the summer festival season also finds itself in a state of flux, with some events able to proceed as planned but others, such as Wacken, having had their plugs pulled. The situation here in the Über Kingdom is extremely unclear, with no clear guidance coming from either central government or the devolved administrations as to how long the restrictions here might apply.
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Burnt Out Wreck – ‘This Is Hell’ (Burnt Out Wreckords)
“ROCK AIN’T DEAD” a band called Heavy Pettin’ proclaimed away back in 1985: it is a phrase which perhaps did not have as much meaning as resonance as it does 30-plus years later, especially with certain prominent figures within the music business asserting exactly the opposite…
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OPINION: DON’T DISS THE FANS
Is there, or should there ever be, a point in any artist’s career whereby they lose respect for their fans – and, by doing so, display it in an openly disrespectful manner? The obvious answer is NO. But, it could be, quite defiantly, argued that Danish hard rockers Volbeat have reached just that nexus by their behaviour on their just completed UK tour – and especially by their antics in Belfast last night.
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