Giuseppe Verdi may have been dead for the past 124 years, but his legacy as Italy’s greatest 19th century opera composer is as alive as ever on stages around the world. Viva Verdi!, however, the documentary by director Yvonne Russo, shows another side of his legacy in music education and …
It’s rare that a festival can get me so excited when I’ve seen every act on the lineup before; but such is the case with Future Days festival in Birmingham at The Crossing, a one-day alternative event curated by This is Tmrw – the promoters having spotlighted some of the …
When we talk about Coldplay’s journey from a small Manchester stage to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, one name quietly but significantly stands out – Debs Wild. A music consultant with an instinct for recognising raw talent, Wild was among the very first people to see something …
In its third year, Rally festival finally became what it was meant to be. Two years of running on the only wet day in August because of freak storms would have caused any small festival to close and you wouldn’t blame them; despite capturing star zeitgeist acts like early career …
There are few festivals like Arctangent, and that becomes clear when you set foot on the 5,000-capacity field in Somerset that this prog-rock festival calls home. It’s independent, not run by the big Ticketmaster/Live Nation backed festivals, and its small friendly appeal makes it one of the most charming, welcoming …
KPop Demon Hunters, the latest musical adventure from Sony Pictures Animation, is, in many respects, a global hit. Released in mid-June, the title is officially the most-watched animated movie of all time on Netflix, its distributor. Currently, the film sits comfortably at No. 2 on the streaming service’s Global Top …
Set in the luxurious Larmer Tree Gardens, End of the Road is a lovely, magical festival where the best of the UK’s summer music scene comes together for one final festival tour of the year. Appropriately named then – as the End of the Road, it’s a mix between punk, …
Lurker is the debut feature by Alex Russell. He is an Emmy winner for his work as a supervising producer in Netflix’s miniseries, Beef. Besides the show with Ali Wong and Steve Yeun, the young screenwriter penned episodes of FX’s Dave and The Bear. In 2017, Russell wrote a feature …
Bloodstock Open Air returns to Derbyshire with one of the best line-ups in the metal scene – spread across three days in August, it’s a festival that’s run by the fans, for the fans, with elite metal talent everywhere you look. Across multiple stages with a wide variety of treats …
Spread across multiple days from the Wednesday through to the Saturday and situated in the picturesque countryside surrounding Bristol, ArcTangent is one of the nicest, most welcoming festivals in the UK. With one of the bad lucks of being cast opposite Green Man; Wales’ premiere indie festival, it has established …
Lydia Tár is a b*tch. That’s what a student calls Cate Blanchett’s Lydia, the sociopathic lead of Todd Field’s visceral psychological thriller Tár. They’re not wrong. She is the sort of damaged soul that has hit the heights of her conducting profession, who flies so close to the sun and …
And we’re off. For another year. The sun – is appropriately baking; 40 degrees on the Tuesday. Perfect camping weather for the premiere Belgian pop/rock festival celebrating its fiftieth year. It’s a bit of a mixed bag – but the good largely outweighs the bad. As a legacy show; Werchter …
Since his debut album, Empty Sky, in 1969, Sir Elton John has sold over three hundred million albums worldwide. His immense discography with thirty-two studio albums and plenty of live, compilation, and soundtrack records have put him upon the title of one of the biggest rockstars of his generation. In …
Whenever we listen to a hit song on a streaming service, vinyl, or radio, we do not often think about its backstory. Behind a catchy tune are hours of recording, writing, and performing in the booth to deliver a final song that follows us long after its production. Besides the …
In 2021, while the world was still heavily facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sundance Film Festival introduced its hybrid version with drive-ins in different states of the country, an online option, and the traditional Park City venue in Utah. Coming off a year of complicated production for the film industry. …
Veteran documentary filmmakers Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI and Citizen Ashe) and Daniel Junge (Challenger: The Final Flight and A Lego Documentary) come together to direct I Was Born This Way. Borrowing the title name from the 1975 song by Valentino, globally famous through the voice of Carl Bean in 1977. The …
Rock Werchter is the premier rock festival in Belgium and undergoing a radical shift this year in the lineup thanks to sponsors LiveNation (boo) – running between July 3 and 6 2025. No longer four days of hard rock (was it ever really when Dua Lipa headlined last year?) instead …
2000 Trees is an indie festival that takes place between 9-12 July in Cheltenham over a four-day split that switches gears from indie rock to metal and everything in between. It’s a fascinating mix of genres and talent and one of the most lovely, friendly festivals in the UK that …
At times it’s best to encounter a movie as a blank slate, even for film critics like me who have never been put off by any ounce of spoilers. If anything, there’s a different kind of pleasure that arises from experiencing something for the first time, and it’s often ambrosial …
Japanese director Masayuki Suô’s 1996 romantic comedy, Shall We Dance? Follows Shohei Sugiyama (Kôji Yakusho), an accountant who is surprisingly discontented. Despite his successful career and a wife and daughter who love him dearly, there’s something missing in Sugiyama’s life. On his daily commute, he spies from the train a …