Small And Perfectly Formed: The Alternative Festival Experience

Festival season is a very evocative time for any music fan. A moment's daydreaming can easily conjure images of majesty and mudslides at Glastonbury, metal horns at Download or thousands of arms aloft in front of the main stages at Reading and Leeds. But in recent years, the scene has grown. For every Glasto, there are now five or six small, independent events offering music fans the chance to broaden their festival horizons.

Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Monday, 17 June 2013

A Quiet Night Out (Download Festival Feature)

Download has, since its first staging back in 2003, become a byword for everything loud, hairy and metal. On June 14, Iron Maiden, Slipknot and Rammstein will descend on Donington Park to headline another weekend of guttural roars, blastbeats, flame-throwers and good times.

Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Thursday, 13 June 2013

In With The Old, In With The New (Download Festival Feature)

Many festivals grow beyond their initial boundaries to become iconic. It's not surprising, then, that bills around the world are packed out by the giants of the music world. On June 14, Download gets underway at Donington Park, and this year's line up is diverse and exciting, with bands old and new set to complement each other perfectly.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Wild Nights: Five Classic Download Sets (Download Festival Feature)

On June 14, Download gets underway. Iron Maiden, Rammstein and Slipknot will headline the 11th edition of the festival, a descendant of the legendary Monsters of Rock event held on the same hallowed ground at Donington Park.

Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Tuesday, 11 June 2013

The New Breed: 10 To Watch At Download 2013 (Download Festival Feature)

On June 14, the great and good of the metal world will descend on Donington for the latest edition of Download. The UK's biggest festival for fans off all things fast, loud and hairy, this year's line-up offers a little something for everyone.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013

The New Beat (Blood Command Feature)

With one foot on a monitor, Silje Tombre screams: “We are here to claim the throne”. It's 10.30 on a Thursday night and Blood Command are tearing through Cult Of The New Beat, the centrepiece of a thrilling, brutal set at Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013

Winter Songs (Children Of Bodom Feature)

Children of Bodom have been around the block a few times. Now in their 20th year, the Finnish metallers will release their eighth full-length, 'Halo of Blood', in the UK on June 10, and once again they have turned in a diverse collection that flits between the genre's various extremes.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 06 June 2013

Talking Music (Scott Ian Feature)

With festival season almost upon us and summer doing its best, June through to August can be a dry spell for gig-goers not keen on fields. There's a warm-up show here and there, and the occasional blinding tour to keep non-festival goers satisfied, but it's a time crying out for something different.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 03 June 2013

Is It Time To Ditch The 'Face Value' On Concert Tickets? (Ticketing Feature)

You wake up bright and early, you log on to the page to buy your tickets and you nervously glance at the clock counting down the seconds until 9am.

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Stereoboard Look At The Biggest YouTube Sensations (Psy, Justin Bieber, Boyce Avenue Feature)

In the last few days, Youtube sensation Psy - the man behind famed 'Gangnam Style' - was confirmed for Capital FM's Summertime Ball. It just seems like yesterday when we first saw Psy and his friends dancing and thrusting their way through some strange choreography on course for e-world domination. But, it begs the question - how far can a Youtube sensation go? 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Tuesday, 30 April 2013

New Jersey: A Mecca Of Rock ’N’ Roll (My Chemical Romance, The Gaslight Anthem, Springsteen Feature)

Two recent events have drawn my thoughts towards New Jersey of late. First, the band who formed my teenage years and fuelled my passion for music split up. That would be New Jersey's own My Chemical Romance. Then, while being freakishly organised, I found a review I wrote regarding The Gaslight Anthem, noting that they hailed from what seemed to be 'a Mecca of rock 'n' roll'. Ever since I read that, I've been unable to shake that New Jersey feeling, because - truthfully - that state's track record is pretty spectacular. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 22 April 2013

Stereoboard Look At The Best Smart Phone Music Apps

Although there are lots of music apps available for downloading to a mobile phone, this doesn’t mean that they are all the same. Gaining more and more popularity – music apps are on a par with gaming ones for mobile devices. The most common type of music app is one that enables the user to download music onto their mobile device, but there are also other kinds available as well, and the sheer number of music apps can make finding what you want a little tricky.

Written by: Brad Norris | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Gig Of The Week: Win Two Tickets To See Counting Crows At London’s Hammersmith Apollo (Competition)

San Francisco rockers Counting Crows return this week for their first UK tour in over 4 years. In association with Eventim, Stereoboard are giving away a pair of tickets to see Counting Crows perform live at London's Hammersmith Apollo on Tuesday 23rd April - see our new competition below for details.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Monday, 15 April 2013

The Power Of Nostalgia (The Big Reunion, Stone Roses, Ant And Dec Feature)

Two pretty phenomenal events have occurred in pop culture over the past few weeks. The first is something your average rock or indie fan was probably blissfully ignoring, albeit aware of: a group of 6 previous big-names in late 90s early 00s music have produced a spectacle that a) managed to garner ratings that rivalled many of it’s parent network’s biggest drawers, and b) been able to receive such demand for their one off show in London - that subsequently it’s presence is now demanded in 12 arena dates up and down the country.

Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Friday, 12 April 2013

Win A Copy Of Counting Crows New Live Album 'Echoes Of The Outlaw Roadshow' (Competition)

UK fans have had to wait four years to see Counting Crows on stage again, but they’ll hardly be complaining: to coincide with the much awaited tour later this month, the San Francisco rockers have just released their newest collection of live songs 'Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow' through Cooking Vinyl. You could win a copy of the album in our brand new competition, below.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Stereoboard's March Playlist Feat. Joe Bonamassa, The Defiled, Justin Timberlake - Listen Now

Crikey - it seems just yesterday we were doing our monthly round up at the end of February, and now it's Christmas already. Oh, wait - that's just the British weather throwing a rather annoying curveball. Luckily March hasn't been all bad, especially for our ears (even more so if you were smart enough to wear a snug hat), as there's been plenty of tracks to revel in, from some metal goodness to Ant and Dec leaping back to their good ol' PJ & Duncan days.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 01 April 2013

My Chemical Romance: Merci Pour Le Venin (Feature)

Being a teenager is kind of a crazy time; everything seems huge to you and you have a lot of firsts. For music fans, we tend to experience a first true love with music - a band we discover outside of our parents' influence and that we fall head over heels with, that we obsess over and call our own. This band then leads us onto discovering other new music and - more often than not - some questionable fashion choices. That band, for me, was My Chemical Romance.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Sunday, 24 March 2013

British Rock - Forgotten Heroes & Where We Went Wrong (Palma Violets, The Strokes, Muse Feature)

Stereoboard's Jonathan Rimmer analyses the current lack of buzz for British guitar bands and how we let a whole generation of talented bands pass us by.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013

Stereoboard's Top Ten Albums For Those Who Miss 'Classic Bon Jovi' (Bon Jovi Feature)

With the release of their latest album New Jersey superstars Bon Jovi have further defected from the raunchy rock & roll bombast of their past. 'What About Now' sails by on a gentle breeze of mature melodies and understated ballads that are light years away from the monolithic choruses and roaring guitar attack of 1980's multi-platinum masterpieces 'Slippery When Wet' and 'New Jersey'. Whilst painfully frustrating for devotees of Bon Jovi's punchy melodic rock stylings, their dedication to the mainstream sounds of the day is hardly surprising. More so than any other band of their ilk, they've backed up an unwavering desire to remain commercially viable with incredibly astute business decisions. In 2013, making anachronistic party rock just won't provide the kind of sustained success Jon Bon Jovi craves. When he described himself as being 'the CEO of a major corporation' in the band's 'When We Were Beautiful' documentary, the motivations for his recent musical choices are all too evident.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013

Five Music Books To Read Before You Die (Feature)

Books aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and before and after the chronicles of Harry Potter; they certainly weren't mine either. That was until I stumbled upon a genre that I’d previously assumed just didn’t exist if it wasn‘t a celebrity biography: those books about sex, drugs and rock n’roll. Needless to say, popular music is a genre that doesn’t require a whole lot of selling. But here, I’ll be counting down (my/our/Stereoboards?) top five music books of all time. Because, let’s face it, if you spend enough time reading about music on internet pages - you might as well read about it on actual pages too. Just a little suggestion.

Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Wednesday, 20 March 2013