It is Friday night and you’re out on the town for a few beers with your mates and someone says they’ve heard there is a good band on tonight. As you enter the venue it sounds like a big stadium band has taken residence, but looking up you notice there are just five musicians on that compact stage making a lot of noise between them. Perspiration runs down the bespectacled singer’s face as he enunciates his words clearly and quickly, while his fellow musicians excel on their respective instruments to artfully frame the lyrics. It’s The Hold Steady and you’re in for a good night, perhaps not the ‘Massive Nights’ they sing about, but certainly a memorable one.

Gareth Main continues his blog from deepest, sunniest Denmark. It’s a toss up between fishing and Radiohead at this year’s Roskilde festival.

This year’s Tapestry festival has been cancelled following poor ticket sales.

End of the Road festival has announced the final pieces to their line-up jigsaw, unveiling the artists playing this year’s Local stage.

Extinct birds, bluegrass and West African drumming: you can tell straight off that The Dodos are live ones.

Some people have all the luck in their work, Bearded has Gareth Main sitting in the sun at Roskilde Festival in Denmark, in the first of what was meant to be a daily blog, he talks about the Somme and wet girls. No music then?

A successful band has its less successful back catalogue released by their former label. Is it unashamed cashing in or does the Biffy Clyro singles collection have something to offer? Peter Clark finds out

Jeremy’s not happy about his slaughter coming earlier this month, fortunately some releases still survive a good roasting, breath easy Domino…

Give us a little soul… David Brown takes a look at Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed’s soul reinvention

Domino Records is celebrating their 15th anniversary with a stage at the Underage Festival.