Even Butterflies Make A Sound
Songs of the Folk is a US folk duo currently based in Maldon, Essex. Regrettably, for UK music lovers, they are returning to their home country. Our loss is very much the USA’s gain. Their final UK show will be Chelmsford’s Hot Box this Sunday (15 June). Support comes from Little Lore, a London-based, indie-Americana […]
Florence Sommerville and band kick off the Country Roads country and Americana shows at Acanteen in Chelmsford this Thursday (12 June). Special guest on the night is Manchester artist Louise Conner. Florence, from Orsett in Essex, is touring extensively and is just back from Nashville where she played the iconic Bluebird Café. She releases her […]
In a fantastically exciting venture, Hot Box, in association with Midnight Mango, will be hosting a couple of the biggest names in music from Africa in the next weeks. Nick Salter and DJ Funkendick provide all-vinyl tuneage at the shows. The former provides the details below and tells us how he fell in love with […]
Altogether Stranger is the latest work from Omnichord-toting songwriter Lael Neale. This album is her third collaboration with producer Guy Blakeslee. It follows Star Eaters Delight (2023), which found a huge fan in the legend that is Iggy Pop. Neale, Virginia-born but California-resident, said: “In the course of writing this [new] record there was one song I […]
Ora Cogan, genre-shredding chanteuse and multi-instrumentalist, released Bury Me, a 7” EP, last week. The Canadian is on a major European tour to promote the vinyl released by Prism Tongue. Many terms have been used to describe her always-captivating music since her first release in 2008: smoky psychedelia, gothic country, post-punk, psych-rock, traditional balladry, cinematic. […]
Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan, who together comprise the much-loved, sorely missed duo It’s Jo and Danny, announced details of the second edition of The Wake, the festival they launched last year. The one-day event is on Saturday, 23 August 2025. As if not busy enough, Jo is also releasing new sounds through her IndieThroughTheLookingGlass […]
Simon Heartfield has long been a fixture in the electronic underground, with a career stretching back to the early 2000s. His new LP, The State of Social Movement, is out this week. About his new release, Simon said: “[I] wanted to combine some dancefloor, electro, and techno elements with more abstract soundscapes.” With that in mind, […]
Jason McNiff, the internationally heralded songwriter and guitarist, brings his trio to Chelmsford’s Hot Box this Sunday (23 March). Tickets are available here. Furthermore, Jason and fellow Hastings residents, The Lost Revellers, are staging A Razor’s Edge – a celebration of the incredible music, lyrics, and legacy of Bob Dylan in their hometown next week. […]
The new Snakes LP, Expo, finds the group entering a darker domain than their debut Colour Polished Dreams. Guest reviewer Anthony Gibbons dares to enter their lair. In Chinese mythology, 2025 is the Year of the Snake. In an interview with the BBC, Dr Xuan Wang, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at Cardiff University, […]
Shake Rag, ace punk-blues rockabilly act from Hyde, has been invited to play Chelmsford’s Hot Box again, despite nearly taking the roof off a couple of years ago. The support for this Saturday’s show comes from local trio The Trial. Discover the connection between Shake Rag and Elvis Presley Ahead of the show, Richard Moses […]