The View From The Merch Table: Health

Photo: Mynxii White “I mean, it just amuses me to no end,” says Health’s John Famiglietti, musing on his favourite piece of merch the industrial-rock band have ever produced. He’s talking about the butt plugs that he’ll soon load up for their European tour in support of their brilliant new record ‘Rat Wars’, which will take in UK and Ireland shows in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, Liverpool and London. 

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Monday, 23 September 2024

Five Artists Who Could Headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the Next Decade

Having been announced for Super Bowl LIX’s halftime show — set to take place on February 9, 2025 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans — Kendrick Lamar is poised to join one of the most elite clubs in music, following in the footsteps of Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Rolling Stones and last year’s headliner, Usher. The Compton rap titan has already had a taste of that rarefied air after guesting with Dr. Dre at Super Bowl LVI two years ago, but he’s now tasked with creating some iconic moments of his own.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Tuesday, 17 September 2024

'You've Got A Family': Delilah Bon On Loud Fans, The LGBTQ+ Community and 'Evil, Hate Filled Female'

In the four years since Delilah Bon was born, she has evolved at a rapid pace. The alter-ego of Hands Off Gretel’s Lauren Tate, her blend of nu-metal and hip-hop is thoroughly addictive, with a sharp focus on hard-hitting topics that many musicians wouldn’t risk engaging in. Find her standing up for trans rights one moment and calling out the dangers posed to young men by incels the next.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Wednesday, 11 September 2024

'You Can Feel It Shake Your Ribcage': Fat Dog on debut album 'WOOF.'

Photo: Pooneh Ghana Few bands would dare to announce a headline show at the 2,300-capacity O2 Forum in London’s Kentish Town with just three songs to their name. Unless you’ve become the next Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter overnight, any sensible promoter would laugh at such a proposition. Unless you’re Fat Dog, that is. In the case of the mind-bending dance-punks, it simply felt like the natural next step of their journey. It’s happening on November 23, following up a wider UK and Ireland tour in support of their recently released, hotly anticipated debut album ‘WOOF.’.

Written by: Rishi Shah | Date: Tuesday, 10 September 2024

'I'm Still Here': Yours Truly's Mikaila Delgado Talks 'Toxic'

Photo: Max Pasalic Yours Truly’s rise was a whirlwind. Inspired by viral songs that took off before their debut album was released, they booked huge support tours with bands such as You Me At Six and Pierce the Veil, whom they’d idolised as fans. But whirlwinds do tend to leave damage in their wake.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 04 September 2024

Brotherly Love: Five Pivotal Oasis Gigs

Photo: Simon Emmett Be honest, you never thought it would happen. But it has. Oasis are back. Liam and Noel have patched things up to announce a gargantuan stadium tour of the UK and Ireland, beginning with two nights at Cardiff's Principality Stadium next July. 

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Dead Pony: Ignore This At Your Peril

Photo: Euan Robertson “We started calling it nu-rock because it’s a big modern, shiny sound,” Dead Pony vocalist Anna Shields says, describing the irrepressible, dancefloor-ready blend of big riffs and even bigger choruses that has propelled the band out of the Glasgow scene. “We take a lot of influence from nu-metal as well as early 2000s rock bands and pop stars. We also have a lot of electronic influences, like The Prodigy and Pendulum.”

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Thursday, 22 August 2024

Here Be Legends: 10 Iconic Reading and Leeds Sets

Photo: Dee McCourt (Borkowski Arts) Every year, Reading and Leeds rolls around with the promise of one more blowout before summer is over. This year, headliners Blink-182, Lana Del Rey, Liam Gallagher, Fred Again.., Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Gerry Cinnamon will head to Richfield Avenue and Bramham Park over the bank holiday weekend, hoping to write themselves into the history of the fests alongside the legends we’ve collected here. Here are 10 unforgettable sets to get you hyped for what’s to come.

Written by: Huw Baines & Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Wednesday, 21 August 2024

The View From The Merch Table: SeeYouSpaceCowboy

Photo: Errick Easterday Festival season is in full swing, meaning that you probably recently saw someone across a field and felt an instant kinship with them because of the band shirt they were wearing. It’s one of the immutable truths of being a music fan — merch lets us know when other people are on our wavelength.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Tuesday, 20 August 2024

A New Lease of Life: Hockey Dad on 'Rebuild Repeat', Support Slots and Creative Gambles

“We’re on, g’day mate,” Billy Fleming opens with a smile on his face. Hockey Dad’s vocalist and guitarist has not long returned home from rugby training, but there’s much to discuss before he can wind down for the night.

Written by: Jack McGill | Date: Wednesday, 07 August 2024

Follow The Leaders: The Evolution of Korn

Photo: Tim Saccenti We’re always being told that everything is cyclical, but for a certain strain of millennials the recent reappearance of enormous, suffocatingly heavy jeans on the youth of today will have sparked a massive nostalgia hit. Nu-metal, that much-maligned beast, is back. From Fontaines D.C. riffing on its tropes in the build up to their new record to hardcore bands far and wide — shout out to Candy’s recent album ‘It​’​s Inside You’ — tuning down to its stomach-rupturing heaviness, it’s sidestepped novelty status for the first time in decades. Well, unless you’re talking about Korn, that is.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 06 August 2024

'A Distorted Guitar Remains Undefeated': Twin Atlantic's Sam McTrusty on 'Meltdown'

Photo: Stevie Kyle For a man about to check off a long-simmering career goal, Sam McTrusty cuts a jovial, relaxed figure. The Twin Atlantic frontman is calling us en route to soundcheck at Glasgow’s Garage, taking Stereoboard on his journey – quite literally – from home to the venue’s back door, via a brief taxi ride. Tonight will complete a jigsaw puzzle, ticking off the last major venue in their hometown the band are yet to play. “I'm delighted, because now I can literally say that we’ve played every venue in Glasgow,” he beams.

Written by: Rishi Shah | Date: Monday, 05 August 2024

Billy Joel: Five Pivotal Performances From The Piano Man

It’s a busy season for Billy Joel. The Piano Man recently closed a major chapter in his life  with his 150th and final show as part of his marathon residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden — it began a decade ago — and he will soon head across the pond for a massive standalone date at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, his only European engagement of the year and his first show in the Welsh capital. There are still rooms left for him to conquer, it seems, so he’s doing it. In anticipation of one door closing and another opening, here we take a look back at some of the pivotal live performances in Joel’s 50 plus years in showbiz. Sing us a song etc etc etc.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 29 July 2024

Stray Kids: K-Pop Titans Offer Jaw-Dropping London Spectacle

Photos: Jennifer McCord News broke at the start of the year that Stray Kids were returning to London for the first time since 2019, sending their massive fanbase — known as Stays — into a heightened state of anticipation as their headline performance as the closing act for BST Hyde Park’s 2024 season loomed large. And, make no mistake, the K-pop titans delivered on that promise in truly jaw-dropping style.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Thursday, 18 July 2024

The Stevie Nicks Songs We'd LOVE to See Her Hyde Park Supporting Cast Cover

There’s only one Stevie Nicks, as we’re about to discover all over again when she touches down for massive shows in Dublin, Glasgow and Manchester ahead of a London headline set as part of the British Summer Time series. On July 12 at Hyde Park, Nicks will top a bill studded with women — much like Taylor Swift — whose own music owes something to the trail she blazed while fronting Fleetwood Mac or, later, drawing up blueprints for high-sheen pop-rock as a solo artist.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 08 July 2024

'Our Memories of Things Matter': Rap Trio Previous Industries On Their Singular Debut

Photo: Robyn Von Swank The pandemic was a well-documented time of upheaval. It was a period when things either came together or broke apart, with little in between. Comprising Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave and STILL RIFT, the inventive, reflective rap trio Previous Industries fall into the former camp.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Thursday, 04 July 2024

Macca, Billy, AC/DC And Me: Stereoboard's Guide To The Best Tours In The Second Half Of 2024

That’s half a year in the books. Mad, right? But, fret not, that just means it’s time to look forward to all the fun, noise and chaos accompanying the biggest, best tours still to come in 2024. You’ve got pop megastars new and old, rock legends, rock innovators and hip-hop royalty all set to land in the UK and Ireland before Santa packs his sleigh (it’s July, I know). Dig in below as we run through a handy list of what’s on offer in the next six months.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 02 July 2024

'I'm Ready Now': Sananda Maitreya on Making His UK Live Return After 22 Years Away

Photo: Manuel Scrima Sananda Maitreya’s journey through music has been a Promethean odyssey for an artist focused on following his own direction and sense of integrity even when others failed to support or recognise his vision. Now, after 22 years away, he is ready to make a triumphant live return to the UK when he steps on stage at Love Supreme Jazz Festival, which runs from July 5 to 7 at Glynde Place in East Sussex.

Written by: Jeremy Blackmore | Date: Monday, 01 July 2024

'The UK Represents': Ice-T On Body Count's UK Tour, New Music and The End of The World

Photo: Alessandro Solca There’s no better way to describe Ice-T than as a seasoned veteran. The New Jersey-born, LA-raised rapper and actor’s 42 year career is bursting with stories, controversies, accolades and accomplishments in hip hop and heavy metal.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Thursday, 27 June 2024

The View From The Merch Table: Spanish Love Songs

Photo: Hannah Hall If you love music, your wardrobe is likely stuffed full of band shirts. You might have a bunch of hoodies or a cap or two as well, or maybe something even more eclectic than that — a keychain or a bottle opener or a coffee mug. All this stuff is a conversation starter with fellow fans, a way of announcing that you belong to a certain scene, and a way of shouting about bands you love. On top of that, it’s also a vital way of putting money in artists’ pockets at a time where making enough to survive and keep creating is harder than ever. Put simply, it’s the lifeblood of music.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Wednesday, 26 June 2024