Lioness - Sonic Boom

Live-off-the-floor, a trio of musicians channeling steamy electro-soul energy, pulverizing drumming, whipcrack synths, killer bass, and a swaying vocalist shrieking every ounce of karma out of her system. This is a sleek, propulsive-fueled escapade, pushing a fusion of rock-meets-house music to it's sizzling, and most unholy moments.

Howlin Rain - The Horseshoe

Lord have mercy on my soul. Glorious anthems evoking that towering and freewheeling spirit, overdriven blasts of The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and Cream. A sprawling rock-jam hurtling forward, hypnotic organs, hammering drumming, pyrotechnic soloing. Adding to the urgency is Ethan Miller's raspy spleen-venting vocals. The music rekindles the torch of late 60's San Francisco, and iconic rock-blues bombast, plugging-in on pure adrenaline, working on mighty and breathtaking magic.

Fred - The Hideout

Very rarely do we get the creme-de-la-creme of Irish bands on these shores, so it was a pleasure. Roddy Frame-Moz-like vocals, dancey rhythms, jubilant chants/melodies, uplifting Housemartins-type joviality with wonderfully sweet keyboards, taking it's cues from the 80's.

Christina Maria - Holy Joes

Vocals of longing bliss, warm charisma, personal lyrics, with a flirtatious bossa-nova-type intimacy evoking images of romantic moonlit serenades. A magnetic presence, and if you use your imagination, for one transcendental moment, the joyous yet fragile beauty of Karen Carpenter comes to life.

First Person Shooter - Tattoo

Welcome to the high-flying sci-fi circus. This is a band that displays their many facets, a sprawling combination of techno, industrial, binded together with a dynamic rock-assault. It's all about the live-show experience, convincing non-believers that these night-time warriors are nothing short of fist-pumping, ready to blast you to the outer-limits of the cosmos.

Brasstronaut - The Drake

A gentle mix of slowburn orchestral-jazz, Ben Folds magnetism, Miles Davis-trumpet-bursts, baroque-music, evoking starry-eyed neo-psychedelic soundscapes. This is a lush pastiche of sound straddling the intimacy of a Greenwich Village coffee-house, warm spirit of mid-60's Miles Davis, to UK inflected ambient rock. Soulful hymns from the depth of despair to euphoria. Introspective. Exhilarating

Foxfire - Sneaky Dee's

A bright groove-driven explosion of funk, glam, New Wave, soul, and a Broadway musical. All at once. Grounded in 70's glitz, vinyl funk beats and dazzling virtuosity, Foxfire is a spectacle of sound with enough momentum to electrify the neighbourhood, where for a glorious moment, everyone feels the spirit.