Articles | The Mic

Apr 2, 2019
4 min

Acoustic Rooms Weekly: 01/04/19

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

Abby Clarke

Mar 26, 2019
4 min

Acoustic Rooms Weekly: 25/03/19

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

Becky Hill Live and Interviewed @ Rescue Rooms

Ben Standring

Mar 21, 2019
6 min

Becky Hill Live and Interviewed @ Rescue Rooms

One of pop’s most recognised voices speaks about collaborations, her solo aims and the music industry ahead of her sold-out show at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms The pop industry can be a tough and, at times, horrible business to be involved in. An increasingly competitive industry flooded with young and talented artists who act as mirror images to thousands of singers with budding futures, the pop world is a fickle and infuriating beast, and Worcestershire artist Becky Hill know

Abby Clarke

Mar 19, 2019
5 min

Acoustic Rooms Weekly 18/03/19

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

The Mic Magazine

Mar 15, 2019
3 min

George Ezra and Sigrid @ Motorpoint Arena

This sold out show at Nottingham’s Motorpoint arena certainly did not disappoint. I’d been trying to get a ticket from the day that the tour was announced and by some miracle managed to get hold of one 3 hours before. Aside from a night of fab music, one thing I particularly loved about this tour was the use of personalised tickets in order to prevent resale and ticket scalping – a huge threat to the live music scene. Doors opened at 6:30 and I spent an hour making my way thr

Acoustic Rooms Weekly: Birthday Special 04/03/19

Abby Clarke

Mar 5, 2019
5 min

Acoustic Rooms Weekly: Birthday Special 04/03/19

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

Abby Clarke

Feb 19, 2019
3 min

Acoustic Rooms Weekly 18/02/19

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

Album Review: Ariana Grande - 'thank u, next'

Cameron Chadwick

Feb 11, 2019
3 min

Album Review: Ariana Grande - 'thank u, next'

Just 6 months after ‘Sweetener’, Ariana Grande follows it up with an effortless blend of pop and R&B, proving she has every right to be the biggest female artist in the world in 2019. The announcement of a new full-length Ariana Grande album so soon after the triumphant and incredibly charming ‘Sweetener’ seemed to many to be a quick cash-grab, capitalising on the monumental success of her recent singles. This may be true, but if so, it’s stacked way too high with bangers to

Shadows Like Strangers @ The Angel Nottingham

Abby Clarke

Feb 9, 2019
3 min

Shadows Like Strangers @ The Angel Nottingham

Last night saw the album launch show for Shadows Like Strangers’ debut album Cali. They managed to sell out The Angel in Nottingham with support from Cut the Heroics and Jetlines, whilst also raising money for GRL PWR- a charity in aid of ovarian cancer. I had never attended a gig in The Angel before and the venue itself was very interesting. They’ve cleverly converted an old chapel above the pub into a music venue with a capacity of 110, using the old area for the organ as

Abby Clarke

Feb 7, 2019
4 min

Busted @ Rough Trade

This afternoon, Busted went down to Rough Trade in Nottingham to perform an intimate set ahead of the album charts tomorrow in which they are in close competition with The Special’s greatest hits for the number one position. Having only announced the show on Monday, and then announcing a second Rough Trade show yesterday, as well as a third in London the same evening, Charlie, James and Matt managed to sell the venue out. Doors opened an hour before they were due to perform,

Abby Clarke

Jan 29, 2019
4 min

Review: Beat The Streets 2019

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

Album Review: Shadows Like Strangers - 'CALI'

Abby Clarke

Jan 25, 2019
3 min

Album Review: Shadows Like Strangers - 'CALI'

The Mic got an exclusive listen to Shadows Like Stranger’s debut album ‘CALI’ which is due to be released on February 1st, after nearly four years in the making. Shadows Like Strangers themselves are still less than a year old but the four-piece pop-punk group from Nottingham have had a successful time, ending last year supporting Lacey at Nottingham’s Rock City Basement for a sold-out show. The album opens with ‘Counterpart’ which sets the scene of the album perfectly being

Abby Clarke

Dec 11, 2018
3 min

Acoustic Rooms Weekly 10/12/18

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

Abby Clarke

Dec 8, 2018
2 min

Don’t Forget Rupert @ The Bodega

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

Ben Standring

Oct 25, 2018
4 min

Live: Black Honey at Rescue Rooms

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

Abby Clarke

Oct 21, 2018
2 min

Silver Wilson @ The Bodega

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

Abby Clarke

Oct 11, 2018
2 min

Cassia @ Rescue Rooms

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

Abby Clarke

Oct 8, 2018
2 min

Interview with Deco

Over a year ago I joined Deco before their last Bodega headline show and Saturday night I joined Max and John again to catch up with what they’ve been up to since. They admitted that their music has become both more popular with fans but also, they have streamlined their sound to appeal to wider audience. They also explained that the four of them have rebranded as a two-piece (although four still perform) and are focusing more on primary colours and summery vibes. Strangely,

Abby Clarke

Oct 8, 2018
2 min

Deco @ The Bodega

Following a successful summer of festivals and the recent release of their new single “Upside Down”, Deco came home to headline a sold-out Bodega. Supporting were LUNAH (also known as Ben Mcconnachie) and Black Cats and Magpies. LUNAH- Photo credit unknown Opening the show was LUNAH, an indie-electronica music producer who recently produced the music for Deco’s latest song. He also invited singers Katie Cooper and Giulia onto the stage to perform the songs that he has produce

Abby Clarke

Oct 3, 2018
2 min

Pale Waves @ Rock City

Pale Waves returned to Nottingham on Tuesday night after they’d previously played an incredibly packed out set at this year’s Dot to Dot festival. Having only just released their debut album “My Mind Makes Noises” a couple of weeks ago, the Manchester four-piece have exploded onto the music scene, helped by The 1975’s Matt Healy, and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Starting the night off were angsty indie rock band- King Nun. They took a little while to settle in