Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Friday 16 October 2026 London Coliseum ★★★★ Superbly sung and staged, the London premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera is visceral and thought-provoking The Cast of ENO's Angel's-Bone London Coliseum © Nirah-Sanghani ‘It’s visceral,’ said a friend who saw the Manchester production of Angel’s Bone in May, before it transferred to the London Coliseum and …
Continue reading "English National Opera – Angel’s Bone – Live Review"
Friday 9 October 2026 RNCM, Manchester A joyful and exhilarating meeting of cultures ★★★★★ Last Friday’s concert by Manchester Collective and the Sidiki Dembélé Ensemble brought together two cultures: British classical music and traditional West African music. Born in Abobo, near Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Sidiki Dembélé is a percussionist and composer. Rakhi Singh, the Collective’s …
Continue reading "Manchester Collective x Sidiki Dembélé: Constellations – Live Review"
Thursday 8 October 2026 The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ★★★★★ The Hallé continues its magnificent season with the debut of conductor Nodoka Okisawa in two 20th-century Russian masterpieces The Hallé Orchestra and Pavel Kolesnikov It’s a great time to be living in Manchester, not just because of the consistently lovely weather (!), but also because of …
Continue reading "The Hallé – Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 – Live Review"
Friday 31 July 2026 Band on the Wall, Manchester ★★★★★ Shez Raja and friends bring joy and virtuosity to a life-affirming gig Guthrie Govan (left) and Shez Raja © Mia Scudds Shez Raja is a great communicator. Dressed in his trademark white suit and cap, he bounded on stage at last Friday's gig at Manchester’s …
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Saturday 18 July 2026 Royal Albert Hall, London ★★★★ There’s life in the old prog yet… A celebration of the classic era of British prog rock The BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Robert Ames.Image © Andy Paradise The first-ever rock band to appear at the Proms was Soft Machine on 13 August 1970. The first-ever …
Continue reading "Prog Rock Prom: A Fanfare for the Common Man – Live Review"
Tuesday 30 June 2026 Aviva Studios, Manchester ★★★★ The music of four titans of contemporary classical music, including a new piece from Cassie Kinoshi that was remarkable in more ways than one Manchester Collective. Image © Mike Skelton Tuesday evening’s concert by Manchester Collective at Aviva Studios in Manchester was titled ‘Patterns in Repeat’ with …
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Saturday 20 June 2026 Manchester Monastery, Gorton Lane, Manchester ★★★★★ Kantos Chamber Choir celebrates its tenth anniversary in stunning surroundings and an amazing acoustic Kantos, RNCM and the University of Manchester Chamber Choirs, with conductor Ellie Slorach. Image © The AC Product It’s ten years since Claire Shercliff (Company Director) and Ellie Slorach (Creative Director) …
Continue reading "Kantos Chamber Choir – Hope on Earth – Live Review"
14 May 2026 The exterior of DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen We approached the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen on foot from the centre of the city, walking past the university towards a campus that houses DR (Danmarks Radio), which, like the BBC, is just over 100 years old. Like the BBC’s northern base at Media City UK, …
Continue reading "A Tour of Europe’s Finest Concert Halls – Part III: DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen"
Saturday 25 April 2026 The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester ★★★★★ The orchestra continues its superb run of form with Julia Wolfe's vision of the aftermath of 9/11, Bomsori's virtuosic violin-playing in Tchaikovsky, and Berlioz's opium-induced visions Violinist Bomsori with members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra © Chris Payne Like Manchester's two Premier League football teams, its …
Continue reading "BBC Philharmonic Orchestra – Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto"
Tuesday 7 April 2026 Band on the Wall, Manchester ★★★★★ Soft Machine launch their new album Thirteen and revisit some classics Soft Machine: John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Baker, Asaf Sirkis Last time I saw Soft Machine's Theo Travis onstage was nearly a year ago, at a much larger venue, the London Palladium, guesting for …