BRAT On Bimboviolence, 'Manslayer' and Dialling Up The Camp For Their Live Show

Photo: V. Valadez Metal music is supposed to be scary. As a genre, it’s always had one foot in the world of horror, from the first devilish guitar notes of Black Sabbath through to the golden era of the satanic panic. Whether it’s gnarly riffs conjuring demons from the depths of hell or little black and white stickers appeasing pearl-clutching parents, it has always been part of the appeal. BRAT understand that implicitly, and they have a couple of ideas up their sleeves about how to step things up.

Written by: James Palaczky | Date: Monday, 21 September 2026

Into a Fog Bank: Shearwater on 'The New World' and Their 'Three Bands, One Band' UK Tour

Photo: J Benson For Jonathan Meiburg, completing the latest Shearwater album did not signal the usual move into a rehearsal space to prepare for a promotional tour. Instead, pursuing his ancillary career as a natural historian, Meiburg took to the high seas aboard a scientific research vessel bound for Antarctica, where the crew spent two months of perpetual daylight surveying the ocean floor, lowering cameras thousands of metres below.

Written by: Jeremy Blackmore | Date: Monday, 14 September 2026

Hottest Tickets: Your Guide To The Biggest Shows In September 2026

Hi there! Welcome to the latest stacked edition of Stereoboard’s monthly gig guide, where we cast an autumnal eye over the biggest shows coming to the UK in the next few weeks thanks to data pulled from our Hottest 100 tickets list, which determines who’s hot and who’s even hotter by comparing face value ticket prices from more than 50 agents and resellers over a 24 hour period.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Thursday, 10 September 2026

Rock 'n' Rolodex: Brian Fallon On Embracing Collaboration To Make 'Not Bad For New Jersey'

Photo: Danny Clinch Brian Fallon is visibly beaming as he recalls the recording of his new solo album. “I would play them the demo in the morning and we’d say, ‘Okay, we got it’,” the Gaslight Anthem frontman says. “Eric [Slick, drums] would click off one-two-three and I’m tellin’ you, if I’m lyin’ I’m dyin’, I don’t think we did a song more than four times. It was nuts. It was truly like when you see those movies of Bob Dylan playing in the ‘60s. There were no mistakes.” 

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 09 September 2026

The Opposite of AI Slop: Papangu's Mind-Bending Prog and More Weird Wonders At ArcTanGent

During the 1970s, multiple South American countries – including Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay – were governed by militaristic, right-wing dictatorships. These regimes’ brutal actions led to an exodus of teachers, including a slew of musicians who settled in the Brazilian city of João Pessoa, helping to establish the now-venerated music department at the local Federal University of Paraíba. Before long, it was a hotbed of different folk styles from all over the continent.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Tuesday, 18 August 2026

Songs of Praise: Jimmy Eat World's 'Bleed American' Still Hits 25 Years Later

All photos: DEPOT Live Following a bustling summer of events at Cardiff Castle, with everyone from the Streets to Katy Perry making memories in the Welsh capital, it fell to Jimmy Eat World to deliver a glorious night of nostalgia as the perfect curtain call. 

Written by: James Palaczky | Date: Monday, 17 August 2026

Melancholy and Euphoria: Temples on 'Bliss' and Bringing Their New Era to Life on Tour

Photo: Jimmy Fontaine For more than a decade, Temples have produced a repertoire of versatile sounds across four LPs of psychedelic goodness. But, even considering this track record, the band have now entered a new era with ‘Bliss’, a record that leans further into sharp dance-driven textures, including pulsing synths, crisp electronic beats and club-style rhythms, than ever before.

Written by: Laura Mills | Date: Thursday, 13 August 2026

Hottest Tickets: Your Guide To The Biggest Shows In August 2026

Hi there! Gather round for latest edition of Stereoboard’s monthly gig guide, where we crunch the numbers to give you the inside track on where to be and who to see thanks to our ever-changing Hottest 100 tickets list, which determines its standings by comparing face value ticket prices from more than 50 agents and resellers over a 24 hour period.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Thursday, 06 August 2026

Sex Pistols and Frank Carter's Punk Spirit Still Has Bite

All photos: Depot LIVE It’s been 50 years since punk exploded on London’s King’s Road and while the anarchy may now come with artisan food stalls and VIP wristbands rather than spit and safety pins, the music still carries plenty of bite. There’s an unmistakable sense of occasion around Cardiff Castle for the return of the Sex Pistols, Britain’s once most-feared band, with their last in the city coming way back in 1976.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Wednesday, 05 August 2026

Pints, Pills and Poor Choices: The Streets' 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' Is As Real As Ever

All Photos: Depot Live If you were broke in 2004 but could somehow scrape together enough loose change for a messy night out and a kebab, among other questionable life choices, the story Mike Skinner told of losing £1000 on ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’ probably felt less like a concept album and more like a snapshot of your early twenties. Fast forward more than two decades and The Streets are bringing the hedonism, heartbreak and hope contained in their seminal rap opera to Cardiff Castle as part of a nationwide tour, and suddenly the glorious clusterfuck of being young doesn’t feel quite so far away anymore.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Tuesday, 04 August 2026

Conquering Heroes: Biffy Clyro Underline Their Live Greatness

All Photos: Depot Live Armed with riffs that summon the fury of ancient dragons, Biffy Clyro breached the walls of Cardiff Castle in a rock ‘n’ roll assault of epic proportions. 

Written by: James Palaczky | Date: Monday, 03 August 2026

Creating, Excavating: Rival Sons' Jay Buchanan Goes Off Grid to Make 'Weapons of Beauty'

Photo: Matthew Wignall For most artists, writing an album in isolation in the Mojave Desert might be considered a form of self-flagellation. But Jay Buchanan isn’t most artists. When Rival Sons’ guitarist and vocalist finally got round to crafting his first solo record, he knew he had to go all in like never before, switching off from the hubbub of a tech-reared society and going off grid.

Written by: Chris Lord | Date: Monday, 13 July 2026

Hottest Tickets: Your Guide To The Biggest Shows in July 2026

Hi there! Please be seated for the latest edition of Stereoboard’s monthly gig guide, where we host all of the biggest names in live music under one roof, running through who’s hot and who’s even hotter thanks to our ever-changing Hottest 100 tickets list, which determines its standings by comparing face value ticket prices from more than 50 agents and resellers over a 24 hour period.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Thursday, 09 July 2026

Wildlife You Can't Outlast: LIFE On Adventure, Community and 'ABSTRACT / NATURAL'

Photo: Luke Hallett “It is an oxymoron, isn’t it?” responds Mez Sanders-Green when quizzed by Stereoboard on the title ‘ABSTRACT / NATURAL’. The vocalist of Hull post-punk crew LIFE admits it’s difficult to neatly articulate the nuance underneath the title of their fourth album, explaining that literally anything — from a brick to the Zoom call we’re speaking on — can be interpreted as abstract or natural. “You know nature’s abstract / It goes on and on,” he wails during Buried Giant, a brooding Sprints-esque alt-rock rager.

Written by: Rishi Shah | Date: Monday, 06 July 2026

Keep The Fight Moving: Downtown Boys on 'Public Luxury' And Creating Community on Tour

Photo: Ebru Yildiz Victoria Marie turns the camera away from herself, the Zoom window revealing a pile of norteño ballad tapes that belonged to her grandmother. They were one of many sources of inspiration that Downtown Boys’ vocalist and co-founder called on while making their formidable new album ‘Public Luxury’, slotting the folk tradition alongside literary and political figures such as Palestinian activist Leila Khaled, Chinese-American writer R.F. Kuang, Che Guevara and, “anything Sally Rooney, especially Intermezzo,” Marie says.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 02 July 2026

Alter Bridge's Blackbird Festival is a Triumph For Loud, Unapologetic Heavy Music

Photos: DEPOT With the post-Download blues well and truly shaken off, riff-worshippers turned their attention to the next major event in the 2026 rock and metal calendar: a huge, heavy weekend in the Welsh capital, beginning with Alter Bridge’s inaugural Blackbird Festival at Cardiff Castle.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Wednesday, 01 July 2026

Karol, Ariana and You: The Best Tours In The Second Half of 2026

Summer is here! You want to be outside, among people, sipping something cold while it's hot. You also want some tunes, right? Luckily for you, we’ve pulled together details of some of the most hotly-anticipated tours set to hit the UK and Ireland in the second half of 2026 to give you just that and more, with some arena crackers to come once the leaves turn.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Wednesday, 01 July 2026

Hot Hot Hot: The Cure Underline Their Legendary Rep at Baking Cardiff Show

It’s hot. All day, Cardiff has been burning up in the mother of all heatwaves, but respite arrives in the form of The Cure’s headline set to kick off this summer’s Blackweir Live series. The calming serenity of songs such as Pictures of You and The Last Day of Summer offer more of a balm than a portable fan or a 99 ever could.

Written by: James Palaczky | Date: Friday, 26 June 2026

Squeeze on 'Trixies', Their Biggest Ever Tour and the Importance of Grassroots Venues

Photo: Dean Chalkley Squeeze co-founder and lead singer Glenn Tilbrook has spoken of his excitement at joining hundreds of artists in celebrating the role of grassroots venues as part of Everywhere At Once, which will run between June 26 and 28. The UK-wide live music event will bring festival season directly to more than 400 grassroots music venues across the country, with some 2000 artists performing, representing the full spectrum of the country’s music scene.

Written by: Jeremy Blackmore | Date: Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Bruises, Beers and Bands: The Five Best Sets At Download 2026

Photo: Leora Bermeister The dust has settled on Download 2026 after thousands upon thousands of metalheads from all walks of life descended upon the promised land of Donington Park to soak up the best acts the world of heavy music has to offer.

Written by: James Palaczky | Date: Wednesday, 17 June 2026