Nearing the end of term, last night was The Mic’s penultimate night at Acoustic Rooms before the Easter break, and as always it delivered a diverse line up of talented musicians, showcasing local artists skills. Opening the night was Louis Croft who has previously performed at Acoustic Rooms and kicked off with a Jake Bugg feel and continued to play his original songs, ending on a more macabre note. Following Louis were Chris and Stella who also have played Acoustic Rooms be

Last night’s Acoustic Rooms saw a return to the more traditional open mic music, with singer/songwriters accompanied by their acoustic guitars dominating the evening. Opening the night was Tom Pryce who had been to Acoustic Rooms late last year. He opened with his song ‘Falling’ and then went on to play a couple more original songs which set the tone of a calm and laidback evening. Next up was Lee Moore who picked the pace up slightly with his cover of ‘Staying Out For The Su

Touring their 15th album ‘Living in Extraordinary Times’, indie veterans James brought their show to Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall. On the face of it, an all seater venue seemed a strange choice for the concert, and also one that perhaps reflected a crowd in which I felt like one of the youngest in the room, but it played into the first part of the gig perfectly. Instead of a traditional warm up act, James opted to open with an acoustic set instead, a sign of a band confide

Even before Acoustic Rooms kicked off last night there was excitement in the air as not only were we joined by ITV’s The Voice who were going to be filming the performers throughout the night, Deaf Havana made a surprise visit ahead of their Rock City show tonight. The music kicked off with Omari who performed his usual jazz-rap style of spoken word to a chilled out backing track, keeping the atmosphere mellowed out while the audience settled down with their drinks. He starte

Last night was a special Acoustic Rooms celebration evening marking the 10th birthday of the acoustic night which has featured thousands of artists since it began ten years ago. The night promised free cake alongside the usual happy hour bar prices and some extra special acts to truly highlight the talent we have on the current Nottingham music scene. The night kicked off when current Acoustic Rooms host Laurie Illingworth introduced the night and sang a couple of songs along

Last nights acoustic rooms featured special guest Tash Bird at the start of her ‘Reminded’ release tour. It also featured some great artists, a couple of which have never performed at Acoustic Rooms before, so it was great to see some new talent. First up was Ben Smith, who performed some great acoustic numbers including his own song ‘I think this is going to work’ from his EP ‘Streets’. Following Ben was Ross Harding who started with is own song ‘Delete the world’ and went

Opening the night this week at Acoustic Rooms was favourites Stella and Chris, who last played a couple of weeks ago. For those unfamiliar, the pair are characterised by Chris’ bluesy guitar riffs and Stella’s soulful vocals. Switching it up, they closed their set this time with a more upbeat jam they call ‘The Phoenix’ which proved popular with the crowd. The Mic crew were all excited for the second act of the night as it seems Luke Irwin has added some new tunes to his repe

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

After last week’s incredible jazz night, Acoustic Rooms returned with a week truer to its name. An array of talented singer-songwriters (plus a couple of surprises) took to the stage and were welcomed by an ever-lively atmosphere. Opening the night was the innovative Josh Leverton, who wowed the crowd with a folky opener which saw him use his guitar and loop pedal to lay down a beat under his impassioned vocals. Josh then explored a variety of sounds and genres throughout his

Last night saw The Mic return to Acoustic Rooms at Rescue Rooms and oh wow, it was great one to start our year off with! An abundance of performers turned up to play a variety of styles of music and kept the night going until well past midnight. Starting the night off was Scott Makepeace coming all the way from South Shields. It was his first time playing Acoustic Rooms but he’s been picked up by BBC Introducing East Midlands previously. He had a raw, almost IDLES sound to hi

Last night was The Mic’s last acoustic rooms of the year before the Christmas break, and it did not disappoint. Accompanying the usual great standard of live performance was a back drop of Christmas decorations, a tree and on top of the all-night happy hour, Rescue Rooms are also doing a different drinks deal each day in December. Kicking off the acoustic night were returning duo- Stella and Chris. The pair have opened a few of the previous nights and their unique covers of c

Nottingham based indie-rock band Don’t Forget Rupert headlined the Bodega last night for their last show of the year, managing to sell it out just under a day before. They were supported by Ava Saint and For the Girl, also both from Nottingham, and succeeded in performing an explosion of a homecoming show. Ava Saint kicked things off with an alternative-rock/punk performance including a unique take (but not quite cover) of Brittney Spear’s ‘Toxic’. Lead singer Holly Taylor-Ga

Kicking off the night was Elliot Willaims. Undeniably a strong singer – confident and loud, with an indie-rock style – he got the attention of the room straight away. Although strong, he could use some more variety in his singing and guitar playing – some songs were hard to distinguish from others. There were some nice switches between strumming, picking and palm muted strums, for instance in his song ‘A long way home’. A good song, which felt like an acoustic Kings of Leon s

After Alexandr Misko gave an amazing performance last week at Acoustic Rooms as a special guest, it was exciting to see what this week would hold. The beauty of an open mic night being you never know exactly what you’re going to see. The night started with Ryan Dunn from the band Gazelle, who performed a strong triad of songs, turning the volume high for the night with his acoustic guitar and rough vocals. Next up was singer Kaiori, also accompanied by her acoustic guitar. Sh

This week at Acoustic Rooms was a lot busier than last week, back to normal after a quieter bonfire night the week before. There were a lot more artists signed up to play so they kept to three or four songs each this time. First to perform were Stella and Chris- with Chris on guitar and Stella providing the vocals. Stella seemed very comfortable performing and interacting with the crowd and it was obvious this wasn’t her first performance. Next was Louis Croft, a young Jake B

Acoustic Rooms Weekly Rescue Rooms hosts an open mic night every Monday from 8pm until late, and The Mic magazine will be going down every week to keep you updated on who’s performing, including weekly interviews with a performer from the night. To set the scene, Rescue Rooms has been an iconic music venue in Nottingham since it opened 15 years ago, hosting a variety of artists from The Killers to Bloc Party to The Libertines. The open mic night is run by Laurie Illingworth-

Brighton-based indie rockers dazzle a sold-out crowd in Nottingham with a career spanning set and a bill that showcases women in rock music. It has been four years since glamorous indie-rock band Black Honey first entered the music world, with a dazzling display of confidence amongst a huge catalogue of hits which were instantly picked up by representatives for BBC, NME and Q Magazine amongst others. Since 2014 they’ve released a mix of EP’s, toured with fellow Brighton rock

I sat down with musician George Gadd on an unusually sunny October lunch time to chat about his ten-year anniversary of performing, his upcoming UK tour and some the highlights of his time in music. Going back to the start with George’s first ever performance, he told me that he used to have “floppy emo hair” and even put on an American accent which he admits is really cringey to look back on. Apparently, there are videos out there although George assured me that they are ver

After having some trouble with a support act, Silver Wilson played their first headline show at The Bodega Nottingham on Saturday night, with support from Remy and Badminton. They brought their feel-good indie-pop vibes to an excited and energetic crowd. First up was last minute support Remy, winner of this years Notts factor. The recently turned eighteen-year-old played a mixture of his own songs and some covers which included Brittney Spears, Christina Aguilera and The Arct

Cassia have begun their UK tour after returning from playing in Europe, and they started it at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham. They were joined by The Mocking Jays and Manchester band Larkins and filled the venue with their chilled-out tropical indie vibes. First up were indie-pop band The Mocking Jays from Nottingham who have now played the Rescue Rooms stage twice this year. They’ve really been getting their name around the music scene and have played lots of shows and festival