The second weekend of All Points East kicked off on Friday 31st May with a day that can only be described as an absolute triumph for British heavy music. Everything from Lotus Eater opening the North stage, all the way up to Bring Me the Horizon’s two-hour headline set was an exhibition of the best that British metal has to offer. Indeed it was clear that despite moving away from heavier music with their latest releases, BMTH still have a keen interest in promoting smaller ba

Of all the city festivals: Live At Leeds, Hit The North, Dot to Dot – none are as well renowned as Sheffield’s Tramlines, which is now entering its 10th year. While 2009 brought the chart-topping sounds of Example and Pixie Lott, Tramlines 2019 will boast a line-up brimming with indie and alternative royalty. Headlining the festival this year we have indie-pop stalwarts Two Door Cinema Club, who’ll be taking to the festival just weeks after releasing their fourth studio album

Another year, another Slam Dunk festival, but this year was the first fully outdoor one ever! Yes the weather was patchy at some points but the music shined through no matter what, and even a bit of rain couldn’t dampen the summery feeling that Seaway always bring to a show. The bands were all incredible, with a personal highlight of the afternoon being Gallows who utterly stormed their set on the Impericon stage, almost levelling the entire tent. Unfortunately, I was unable

The all-smiling, all-snarling, all-dancing punk trio caught up with The Mic backstage in Leeds to talk about their headline tour, a debut album and social evolution. Over the course of the past eighteen months, Tunbridge Wells trio Lady Bird have attempted to cause a perpetual shift within our social consciousness through the medium of brash, witty punk rock. Having worn the label of one of the UK’s brightest new sparks, the band are now putting plans into motion for what loo

The UK’s official best medium sized festival returns this year with a line-up that’s as packed as ever. Headline sets come from Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, You Me At Six and Deaf Havana in a who’s who of British rock music, whilst on the heavier side of things While She Sleeps headline the Cave stage on Thursday night having sold out the Roundhouse with one of the most unique sets of all time with a live choir, and will be performing hits from their new album ‘So What?

The UK’s biggest rock and metal festival kicks off on Friday 14th June this year and will see over 90,000 people converge on Castle Donington for three days of non-stop riffs. This year’s festival is headlined by three legends of the genre: Def Leppard on the Friday playing their legendary Hysteria album in full, Slipknot on the Saturday, and prog legends Tool closing the festival on the Sunday night of what is sure to be a fiery weekend. Much speculation has accompanied the

The Dutch giant looks ready to compete with the very best with a stellar line up for 2019’s edition. With British festival prices soaring to new heights, it’s becoming increasingly popular amongst Brits to take the plunge and enjoy one of the many European festivals dotted across our great continent. With often perfect weather, cheaper tickets and expansive line-ups, it’s no surprise that European festivals have become the go-to place for both a holiday and a tailored festiva

London’s vastly ambitious ten-day event returns for a second year with an eagerly-anticipated programme of entertainment. It seems to be a staple in the British festival calendar that before we reach the very heart of summer, we’re treated to an array of one day events in and around the capital. British Summer Time in Hyde Park has led the way over the past decade, but recently new names are coming to the fold. One such festival that burst onto the scene last year was All Poi

Gloucester’s rising star festival offers a stellar all-round experience for its tenth anniversary celebrations. There seems to be a rising demand in recent years for the increased presence of boutique festivals across the nation. In an industry constantly evolving and adapting to changing demands, the grand monoliths of T in the Park, Reading & Leeds, Isle of Wight Festival, Wireless, Bestival and V Festival have either disintegrated completely or faced annual scrutiny. On th

Despite February providing a short, sharp dose of summer bliss in bizarre fashion earlier this year, we are finally reaching the time in the year in which days are getting longer, temperatures are increasing and the delights of festival season are drawing ever closer. Leading the way on the Saturday of May Day Bank Holiday weekend is ‘Live at Leeds’, one of the stalwart promoters of new music across the country. Now in its 13th year, the festival has seen the likes of Ed Shee

Beat the Streets is a fantastic one-day music festival spread out around some of Nottingham’s historic music venues, with great acts on the line up and extra bits and pieces going on throughout the day all to help raise money to fight homelessness. This year was set to be another fun-filled day with some talented musicians playing from one in the afternoon all the way until eleven at night, and The Mic were there to cover it. The day started with Matthew Moore who opened the

Splendour 2016 returned to the grounds of Wollaton Park on the 23rd July for the eighth year running, promising a great line-up. The festival was a sell- out with 23,000 spectators turning out for the self- billed family festival. There was glorious weather with not a drop of rain and many festival goers arrived anticipating an excellent day ahead. As well as three music stages, there was a comedy stage and kids area, providing plenty for all the punters attending to enjoy. D

The annual Dot to Dot festival was a fantastic day giving the opportunity to explore a plethora of quirky venues in Nottingham which were showcasing a wealth of talent. Walking around the town centre on the bank holiday you could feel a buzz in the air, and with the European Archery championships staged in the old town square as well, the streets were saturated with people, many of whom were carrying parts of drum kits and lugging around an assortment of instruments. Early in

Its less than a week  until Dot to Dot returns to Nottingham to  kick off the festival season! Held across almost 60  venues in Nottingham, Bristol and Manchester, the one-day-event showcases a varied line up of established and up-and-coming artists. A joy of D2D is its promotion of local artists by having headliners play all 3 cities while local bands populate the setlist of their respective cities. As previous winner of UK Festival Award for Best Metropolitan Festival, this

Everywhere Festival When? 3rd May Where? Various Venues, Nottingham Who to look out for? Hannah Wants, Route 94, Cyril Hahn, Redlight For fans of? Dollop, 51°27′, Yeah Yeah & What, Detonate As if Stealth and Dollop hadn’t already cemented their places into music history, Everywhere returns for its third instalment after two phenomenal years, priding itself as the Mecca for the ever-widening umbrella that is dance music.  Born and raised in Nottingham before moving to London f

Welcome to Nottingham! I’m Luke from The Mic magazine.  How are you both? Liam: Yeah, we’re good, we’re happy, it’s nice to be here actually, I’ve just gone for a quick wander round Nottingham and it’s a lovely town! So I understand some of you were originally in a rock band, what made you decide to pursue the Drum & Bass path? L: It came from the fact that we started to go to clubs.  It’s what teenagers do, they sneak into clubs, it was part of our right of passage.  The mu

So you may have all noticed that the Reading & Leeds lineup has been announced; if for some reason you’re part of the small minority who have just emerged from the rock you spent so very long under, I’ll keep it short and sweet: ‘Get a ticket!’  The announcements, read out earlier today on BBC Radio 1, show us just how far both festivals have come over the years and just how respected their dominance in the UK festival calendar is. Taking a bold step and returning to their ro

So one of the UK’s festival heavyweights has teased us all with a handful of acts that we can expect to feast our eyes on over the August Bank Holiday weekend.  Reading & Leeds will return in the Summer for yet another year of star-studded performances, trollied teens and memorable moments; but what can we expect from the cherry on top of the worldwide festival cake? Metallica, a band that for over 30 years has commanded every crowd they have given the honour of gracing, irre