What’s On

With Brill Building wit, and a Midwestern sense of melancholy Josh Rouse has built a career that spans almost 25 years, reaching back to his acclaimed 1998 debut “Dressed Up Like Nebraska” and continuing to his breakthrough albums “1972” and “Nashville”. His well-crafted and hook-laden tracks are coupled with closely-detailed, well-observed vignettes in his lyrics.

Now passing 50, Josh faces the next phase of his life. “I remember seeing Tom Waits on the cover of a magazine with the headline ‘Tom Waits at 50’.” Josh recalls “I was in my twenties and that seemed so far off… but he made a great record (“Mule Variations”) and I hope I have too.”

The Junction presents: The Dangerous Summer.

The Dangerous Summer signed their first record deal as high school seniors and quickly established themselves among the alt-rock world’s elite. Passionate delivery, confessional authenticity, and deeply resonant musical storytelling define their sound.
The band writes hooks that serve as soundtracks for important life moments for a diverse group of listeners spread across the globe. The audience is more family than a fanbase. The community feeling is apparent at every gig, from Slam Dunk to Riot Fest, from touring with State Champs to headlining shows. Reach for the Sun is the record that “shot them into the pop-punk pantheon” (Kerrang!). Powered by unshakeable, enduring alt-rock anthems, the Ellicott City, Maryland band’s debut album made them heroes of the Warped Tour world, all while they carved their own unique path.

2011’s War Paint was a sophomore-slump-smashing follow-up. Grantland likened the “tall and wide” riffs of 2013’s Golden Record to The Hold Steady and U2. (“Catholic Girls” even earned The Danger Summer praise from the famously discerning Pitchfork.) Alternative Press saluted The Dangerous Summer as a group that stayed true to their sound, praising the songs on their 2018 self-titled comeback album as equal parts charismatic and addictive. 2019’s Mother Nature conjured an emotional storm, with an uplifting bent. Underoath’s Aaron Gillespie appeared on the 2020 EP, All That Is Left Of The Blue Sky. Produced by Will Beasley (Turnstile, Asking Alexandria), 2022’s Coming Home ushers in a new era for TDS. The Dangerous Summer never sacrificed their unique, diverse sonic identity, one that appeals to fans of everything from Kings Of Leon and Coldplay to Jimmy Eat World and Bright Eyes.

Coming Home is a triumphant summary of what The Dangerous Summer is all about, past, present, and future.

The last time drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally were in a band together, they were the rhythmic architects for Fugazi, an organization whose decade and a half of disciplined progressivism provided a necessary bridge between the zenith of late-punk expression and everything alternative in rock that followed. In 2016, the two were enlisted by guitarist Anthony Pirog in a conspiracy to subvert and reimagine the power trio, bringing fully into the 21st Century a form that may have reached near perfection with Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys on the very first day of the 1970s.

Alan Fletcher is a household name in the UK because of his portrayal of Dr Karl Kennedy in the popular Australian drama Neighbours. Thousands of people also know Alan’s work as a successful musician, first as a Rock artist with his band Waiting Room and lately with as a fine Americana and Alt/Country singer-songwriter.

In 2024 Alan and his five-piece band promoted his album The Point on a sold-out 22 date UK tour

In 2025 Alan and the band return to the UK for a 32-date tour promoting his upcoming album Back to School.

Alan’s songs are a blend of humour (For the Love of Lager, How Good is Bed, I’ve Got a Crush on Susie K) and poignant reflections on love and life (Hey You, The Point, Back to School)

Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy Alan’s songs and meet a TV legend up close and personal.

What they say about Alan’s gigs.

Engaging, delightful, wistful and original, The Point is classically crafted whilst contemporarily composed. It’s an album that covers a wide spectrum of emotions, that shakes and stirs with infectious honesty. – The Manc Review (mancreview.com)

Overall, Alan Fletcher delivered a show that surprised in the best possible way. He had a fantastic vocal quality throughout as well as some solid guitar playing, but what elevated the evening for me was the balance he struck between thoughtfulness and fun and the strength of his connection with the crowd. It’s safe to say he’s going to appeal to music fans way beyond just those who know him from ‘Neighbours’.
Entertainment-focus.com – Laura Cooney

Although the essence of the show is the great Americana of Alan’s songs and delivery, Jen added some lovely, polished vocals and the whole band was exceptional … it is always great to see such a high-quality band having such a ball on stage … and the audience rightly loving every second. Five hugely talented musicians and singers delivering a truly outstanding set of Americana … up there with the finest gigs ever … loved every second … richly entertaining show … doesn’t get much better!!
Rich Wakefield Leicester Musician review 2024

This event has been rescheduled from Wednesday 16th April. All tickets remain valid.

“…a muscular slug of sugar-coated power rock” – Q Magazine

October Drift have gained a strong word-of-mouth following since exploding onto the music scene.

Despite the early success of their incendiary debut singles – receiving support from Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy and Q Magazine to name but a few – and a string of sold-out gigs, this band still remain something of an enigma.

October Drift’s music is similarly ambiguous, characterised by their signature wall of sound guitars, soaring, ponderous vocals and driving, urgent drums.

The band have gained a reputation for delivering blistering, high-energy live shows, and we can’t wait to welcome them back.

‘Going Down To The River…To Blow My Mind’ is the third in the ‘psychiatric trilogy’ of albums by Luke Haines and Peter Buck. It was recorded in Portland Oregon, USA.

Foot-down-to-the-floor- throttle-out style.

Peter Buck – Electric guitars, 12 string guitars, acoustic guitars
Luke Haines – Lead vocals, Fuzz guitar, synth and recorder
Scott McCaughey – Bass, Moog Bass, Piano, Mellotron, Backing Vocals
Linda Pitmon – Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals.
Plus special guest Morgan Fisher on piano.

Celebrate the peak of post punk and goth with a celebration of two of the pioneers in the genre! All the hits from Lovecats to Boys Don’t Cry, Peekaboo, Kiss Them For me and more!

Live Laugh Love. It’s a phrase you might encounter in a certain type of cursive on the wall of a certain type of home. On the opposite end of the mood board, it’s also a stick-and-poke tattoo on Chastity Belt guitarist/vocalist Julia Shapiro’s left ankle (just below a highly improvised Shrek), and the title of the band’s fifth album. It’s fun, it’s funny, but it’s also sincere, not unlike the band’s history – a joke that became real because it was always real – and the enduring bond that has been their band’s foundation for the past 13 years.

In their decade-plus together, the four-piece – Shapiro, Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals) – have created a resonant body of work. The early days of “Nip Slip” and “Pussy Weed Beer” (hits from their iconic debut full-length “No Regerts”, which recently celebrated 10 years) and the “Cool Slut” era of 2015’s “Time To Go Home” were raucous bonanzas of dry wit and self-evident feminism. A newfound gravity on 2017’s “I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone” shifted the lyrical mood toward introspection as they continued to refine their trademark sound: lush intertwining guitars, meticulous rhythms, a careful balance of melancholy and optimism. Two years later, the dreamy Chastity Belt marked a renewal of vows to their musicianship and friendship, each member coming into their own as artists, convening with a fresh perspective on collaboration.

Price includes a 50p venue levy

“Bambara have evolved from Birthday Party-ish post punk to the more melodic Birthmarks. Letters To Sing Sing thunders along like Fontaines DC, Face Of Love’s crepuscular funk is laced with MBV-style guitars while Elena’s Dream haunts with Twin Peaks disquiet. An enthralling fever dream of an album. ****” – MOJO

“Birthmarks” is a reincarnation of sorts for the trio – twin brothers Reid (vocals) and Blaze Bateh (drums), alongside childhood friend William Brookshire (bass) – altogether. Five years removed from “Stray”, and three from their 2022 EP “Love On My Mind”, “Birthmarks” inevitably arrives with the weight of a new chapter after a lengthy absence. Long ago having established their brand of magnetic darkness – equally formed by the grit of their adopted New York City home and the mysterious corners of the Georgian swamps that raised them – Bambara found themselves in a period of slow, laborious evolution. Birthmarks emerges directly from the band’s favoured aesthetics and themes but captures them with a new sense of sonic adventurousness and thematic subtlety, resulting in a collection of songs that are somehow both the band’s most apocalyptic and most poignant.

The Tubs’ second album, “Cotton Crown”, sees the Celtic Jangle boyband venture into darker, more personal territory while continuing to hone their highly addictive brand of songcraft. It’s a true level up album which sees the band expand their sonic palette to take in a kaleidoscopic range of influences: everything from soulful pub rock (“Chain Reaction”) to Husker Dü aggression (“One More Day”) to melancholy sophisto-pop (“Narcissist”) gets a look in. As Pitchfork noted, The Tubs see jangle as a “vast world of moods and muses” and “Cotton Crown” sees them continuing to explore this world and creating a distinctly Tub-ular sound in the process.

In 1968, when Terry Reid was only 18, Aretha Franklin remarked that “there are only three things happening in England: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Terry Reid.” Firmly on the radar of those in the know back in those halcyon days, he still is, several decades later.

Reid’s teenage years found him touring with The Rolling Stones (including their fabled 1969 American tour), Cream, Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac, as well as playing prestige slots at festivals such as Isle of Wight and Glastonbury. The story of him having to turn down Jimmy Page to front Led Zeppelin and recommending that he check out a certain other young singer who had recently supported him instead has become legendary. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant discuss Terry in the Led Zeppelin documentary “Becoming Led Zeppelin”

Already a singer of some repute, Reid’s soulful voice and powerful vocal range also earned him the nickname ‘Superlungs’ following his recording in 1969 of the Donovan song “Superlungs My Supergirl” that opened his self-titled second album.

Price includes a 50p venue levy

Green Mind presents… acts TBA

Green Mind presents… acts TBA

Rock night

This year, Grant-Lee Phillips will release his 12th solo album, the self-produced “In the Hour of Dust”. It’s a work that doesn’t shy away from the big themes of contemporary life.

“The mood on this album is contemplative,” says Phillips, “trying to find meaning in an age of confusion, feeling your way through the blinding dust of unreality.”

“In the Hour of Dust” is also a highly intimate affair; both in its musical presentation and the highly personal – often autobiographical – lyrics in the songs, all set, the songwriter admits, “against this larger discordant backdrop.” Audiences first discovered Phillips’ thoughtful, literate song-writing in context of the rock band Grant Lee Buffalo, a trio which found success with the 1993 debut “Fuzzy”. The title track catapulted the group to international recognition. Grant Lee Buffalo followed up “Fuzzy” with 1994’s “Mighty Joe Moon” (an album featuring the modern rock hit “Mockingbirds”) etching a distinct mark, while transcending the era. Beginning with his 2000 solo debut “Ladies’ Love Oracle”, Phillips opened another chapter in his career, as a folk- and Americana-focused artist crafting songs and stories rich with details and humanity. At this precise moment, Phillips was invited to join the cast of a burgeoning television series. The Gilmore Girls would enjoy lasting syndication and multi-generational embrace, introducing Phillips, ‘the Town Troubadour’ to a new audience.

Reflects Phillips “I don’t see songs of love and songs of protest as being so far apart, really. It’s all about recognising the value of connection in a disconnected time.”

Please note this is an early show, with doors at 5pm and an expected finish of 9pm.