There are more bands from Sheffield than the Arctic Monkeys

Ask people to name a band from Sheffield and I can pretty much guarantee they will say the Arctic Monkeys. Not without reason of course, as they quite clearly are one of the biggest acts to come from here. But sometimes you just want to hear some new music so I’ve been hunting around online and as a result have found a few new Sheffield based bands that I’d like to recommend.

And the best thing about new musicians is that their gigs are pretty much always at student friendly prices. Even Bastille only cost us £10, and they now all of a sudden have a number one album and single that beat the likes of Emile Sande and Bruno Mars. This makes it highly likely that their tickets will cost around triple the price by this time next year, so if you can get in there and see bands when they’re just starting out, you could save a lot.

Polkadodge

Polkadodge are a 4 piece band I recently discovered on Facebook. When searching local gig listings or venue pages looking for support acts, the name popped up a few times so I thought I’d have a listen.

The group of Sheffield lads have an easy listening, pop punk type sound and I’d say if you’re a fan of bands such as Kids in glass houses or All time low, then these are for you. Their catchy choruses and chants of woah oh oh oh’s in songs like ‘Catfish’, are sure to have you hooked and create a great atmosphere at a live gig. 

They can often be found performing at various venues around Sheffield and are also supporting local band  ‘Bromheads’ tomorrow night (25th April) at Leadmill, where tickets are just £8.

They are gathering a good following through social networking, and have recently been signed to Sound-Hub Records. They’ve posted a few songs on their Soundcloud page, and a clip of the bands latest recording called ‘Borderline’ can be heard there and pre-ordered now through their Facebook. So if you want to hear about their latest gigs and music keep an eye out on there too. 

Liberty Ship

I was just browsing the Leadmill Facebook page when I spotted that these guys are currently on tour supporting King Charles and as a big fan of his I thought they might be worth checking out.

Turns out I was correct, as these guys, coming from Sheffield have a really great indie-pop sound to them. The first song I listened to, ‘Further’ is a slower one, but it still managed to draw me in straight away with the lead singer having one of those voices you could just listen to all day. They have a really refreshing and easy listening sound that could appeal to everyone. And without actually having many songs up online at the minute they have still managed to gather a huge fanbase on their Facebook and YouTube pages, most likely through the vast amount of gigs they’ve done all around the country.

If you like what you’ve heard, be sure to check them out on Facebook to hear about their gigs and new music.

Take The Seven

Take The Seven are a 5-piece alternative rock band based around Chesterfield, North Derbyshire and Sheffield.

On checking out Take The Seven’s soundcloud page, I found that although they might be slightly heavier than the other bands I’ve mentioned so far, they’ve actually done some really good covers of Adele and Taylor Swift. Their version of ‘Set fire to the rain’ exposed them to a huge audience and really showcases the vocalist’s talent.

Despite having only been formed for under two years, they’ve managed to grab support slots with acts such as Senses Fail and My Passion, and their debut 7-track EP ‘Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious’ is out now and can be heard on www.taketheseven.com.

They are also playing at Sheffield o2 Academy soon, tickets for which can be found here (and they’re only £6!) as well as various gigs around Chesterfield.

The Natterjacks

Ok, so I actually only first listened to these guys around an hour ago and I’m already hooked. As ‘Cold Sets In’ began playing I found myself instantly being reminded of Mumford and Sons, what with the acoustic but fast paced and catchy guitar intro. It could definitely be said that they maybe sound a bit too similar… but I’m sure  they wouldn’t class that as an insult, and these guys can certainly pull it off as the vocals are amazing. It’s hard to believe that they started out doing pop punk covers before getting their inspiration from such a different style of music, but they definitely made the right choice as they suit it perfectly. They have a lot of songs up already on their soundcloud page, so have a listen.

They were also recently featured on BBC introducing, performing 3 of their tracks and have managed to reach nearly 150,000 views in just two months. And the greatest thing I’ve found about this band is that their live vocals are 100% as great as in their recorded tracks. In my opinion, definitely my best musical discovery of the day and I’ll certainly be keeping up with them on Facebook and trying to make it to a local gig, especially after sadly realising they actually played in Sheffield’s Lava Lounge just last week!

Tramlines Festival

Some of you may have heard about Sheffield’s annual music festival Tramlines. It’s now in it’s fifth year, and for just £6 a day from the 19th – 21st July you can access around 70 venues across the city hosting 100’s of musicians from all genres.

There was some controversy over the festival charging at all, as it’s usually completely free but due to the council’s funding cuts of around £30 million overall, they had no choice but to charge a small amount in order for the festival to run.

After last year having the likes of Alt-J and We Are Scientists, the excitement is building for the locals of Sheffield to find out who they have lined up for 2013.

Today they have announced the first set of acts as you can see in the poster, and the rest of the lineup so far can be found here.

The lineup so far features Duke Dumont, who are currently in the charts at number 4 with their single with A.M.E, ‘Need U’, which 3 weeks ago entered the top 40 at number 1.

A lot of the acts are only just becoming known in the music scene so if you haven’t heard of many, it could be worth checking them out because this time last year that’s where Alt-J were; and now look at them.

So if you’re into the festival scene but your student budget isn’t allowing you to attend the likes of Glastonbury or Leeds, then get yourselves back to Sheffield for Tramlines. Half of the festival fun is about the drunken antics with your friends, so presuming you have your student accommodation for over the summer it’ll work out to be a fun and cheap way to do something different with your weekend, as well as discovering some new music.

To keep up to date with new announcements and ticket information, follow them on their twitter page: @tramlines.

Sheffield headphone disco vs. The Leadmill

First things first, if you are a student in Sheffield and you didn’t attend this event then I’m sorry to say it but WHY?
It was seriously the best night out I’ve had in ages.

For those who don’t know, a headphone disco (or silent disco) is one where you turn up, pay a small refundable deposit for your headphones and then dance the night away in an otherwise silent club. There are two DJ’s which in this case were Leadmill’s indie vs. chart/pop, which you can switch as you please on your headphones to choose what you’re listening to.

My only experience of one of these parties was in Magaluf last year, and you’d think that would be hard to beat but trust me, after getting there we realised it was in a tiny club, and this along with the fact we hadn’t yet taken full advantage of our free bar when our friend goes and cuts his finger open meant that we chose to leave anyway.

Back to the point, so why was this such a good night? The music was just so good; from The Beatles and The Beach boys to One direction and Nicki Minaj, there was something for everyone. It was so varied that there was never a moment where you didn’t love or know at least one of the songs. One of the best songs that I remember coming on was ‘Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody’ which as you can imagine was a popular one. The atmosphere was awesome, and when you remove your headphones you can see which DJ is winning by what the loudest sing a long is. 

I even remembered to record a few short audio clips for my blog so you can hear that it sounded a little like this…

As you can hear, there’s usually a clear winner in song popularity but definitely had a bit of competition coming from my friends trying to out sing me with their Rita Ora on the other channel. We even had the popular freshers anthem ‘Million Voices’ by Otto Knows, which certainly had everyone going crazy singing those oh so difficult to remember lyrics of ‘Eh eh eh eh eh, ah ah ah ah ah’ for an entire song.

So anyway, if you’re hitting any festivals this summer or hear about anywhere holding a silent disco I highly recommend it, I’ve only been to V festival myself and they didn’t have one but this year I’m going to Leeds fest so it’s definitely not gonna be something I miss!

You don’t have to go out and get smashed, enjoy some live music. (or do both)

Here’s another guide but this time I want to focus on the live music aspect of Sheffield’s nightlife. From a young age I’ve enjoyed going to gigs as often as possible but I’m finding this a lot harder now that I’m trying to live off a student budget. So I’ve written this to give you all an idea about the various live music venues you can visit and what type of thing you can expect to find there, with some being a lot cheaper and more accessible than if you’re used to just seeing bands at big arenas.

The Leadmill
The place where Sheffield’s most famous band began. 
Yes the Arctic Monkeys started out by playing gigs to a few hundred people, and soon they became popular enough to have since played both the arena and stadium here in Sheffield. Leadmill is a fab venue for up and coming bands, but also some pretty well known ones such as Sheffield’s very own Reverend & The makers, The Pigeon Detectives and many more.

UP & COMING:
Bastille 19th March –
Check out my review of the gig here.

More events at Leadmill

O2 Academy
I managed to see Professor Green for £5 here during freshers which was such a good night. The size is perfect, it has a brilliant atmosphere but is still small enough for you to be able to see from wherever you stand. Prices vary but the O2 quite often have well known guests at their Propaganda club night which means it’s the standard £4-5 entry and only £1 drinks.

UP & COMING:
Bowling for soup – 17th October 2013
Tom Odell – 30th October 2013

More events at the O2 Academy

Sheffield City Hall
This venue is home to a variety of entertainment; from musicians to comedians. With a capacity of just over 2000, it’s small enough to feel involved but bigger than your average nightclub.

I will also be attending a McFly concert at the end of April so will later be telling you all about that! From front row may I add. (don’t laugh, I bet you’d all sing along if 5 colours in her hair came on.)
Check out my review here.

UP & COMING:
Leona Lewis 3rd May 2013
Bill Bailey 6th May 2013

More events at Sheffield City Hall

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena

The motorpoint arena accommodates up to 13000 people and is home to the bigger acts, having myself seen bands such as My Chemical Romance perform there in the past and they regularly host performances from the likes of Olly Murs, The Script and One Direction.

UP & COMING:
One Direction – 13th + 14th April 2013
that’s this weekend, somebody come with me PLEASE? I‘m genuinely not joking…

More events at the Motorpoint Arena

Don Valley Stadium
Sadly, Sheffield’s biggest venue has been just this week announced as closing down. Often know as the training ground for Sheffield’s Jessica Ennis, it has also had it’s fair share of major musicians performing there such as (again) the Arctic Monkeys and hosted large events like Sheffield Hallam’s Party in the park.

West Street Live
Interested in finding out about some new musicians in the area? Or you are one yourself needing somewhere to play? West Street Live is your place. They are open every night and entry is FREE and they welcome local and national musicians of every genre. They also offer a variety of unique drinks from what I’ve heard at very good prices.

More events at West Street Live

The Viper Rooms
Similarly to West Street Live, The Viper Rooms offers big opportunities for small up & coming artists, mainly on  a Wednesday when they have a variety of different performers each week, from catchy pop musicians to soulful songwriters.

Plug
Plug isn’t just for the club nights, it also offers a wide range of live shows too. A few weeks back they had Chase & Status performing there and during freshers week I saw Sam & The Womp. (Who? I hear you ask, but you all remember that ‘Bom bom bom’ song…)

UP & COMING:
Gabrielle Aplin -15th march

More events at Plug

Corporation
For the fans of heavier rock/metal/punk music, you need to get yourself down to corp and see what they have to offer.

More events at Corp

Bastille: Live review (19/03/2012 – Sheffield Leadmill)

Over the Christmas holidays, I became familiar with a new band: Bastille. I noticed that they were playing at Leadmill in march and mentioned it to a friend who is a fan of theirs, but then made the school boy error of deciding to wait for our next loan installment before buying tickets,  so you can imagine my disappointment when I went on the Leadmill website to find it had sold out. 😦

I was determined I was going to see them live though, so I kept checking back on the Leadmill website and was lucky enough to find that a few weeks ago there were suddenly two tickets available. Obviously I brought them without a second thought and this is my review of our time seeing them.

Just look at that beautiful face. If that’s not enough to make you want to see Bastille live though then seriously, go download the album because that should do it.

(Just want to add, that photo isn’t mine it’s from here.)

After listening to their debut album ‘Bad Blood’ on repeat constantly in the run up to their gig, I was even more excited. And they certainly didn’t disappoint.

This was the first time I’d been to Leadmill to see a live band, so it seemed really strange seeing it at full capacity, and with us barely able to fight our way through the crowd to get a decent view we definitely regretted not arriving earlier. Coming on stage to an excited and impatient crowd at around 9.30pm, Bastille began with their album’s title track Bad Blood, which called for a major sing along from the crowd and got everyone in the mood. They then went on to play nearly their entire album, plus those such as ‘Poet’ and ‘Sleepsong’ that older fans of the band will know.

My favourite song of theirs is probably ‘Things we lost in the flames’, it’s a ballad track from the album, and hearing it live literally gave me goosebumps. The lead singer Dan Smith, sounds equally as good live if not even better than on the album. ‘Overjoyed’ and ‘Oblivion’ were also amongst my favourites to be performed, with everyone singing along to every word.

They even surprised everyone with a brilliant cover of City High’s ‘What Would You Do?’, this was definitely one of the highlights as with so many of the crowd knowing the song and being clearly impressed at their choice of cover, the atmosphere was amazing.

Unfortunately my camera has been playing up so I was unable to get the quality of pictures and videos that I’d hoped for, but my phone camera isn’t too bad so here’s a clip of it.

They ended on ‘Pompeii’, their number one single at the time and then returned to play another couple of songs, ending on crowd favourite and debut single ‘Flaws.’

Pompeii. (Please excuse my singing)

So yeah, if you get the chance (and they’re playing festivals such as Leeds/Reading) then I highly recommend this band.