gig guide
Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Lounge
24th - 26th April, Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place)
New York, NY 10003
“Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Lounge are excited to present the music of The Queen of blue-eyed-soul: Dusty Springfield! From Swingin’ London, to the studios of Memphis, TN, to the nightclubs of NYC, with a catalog of classic hits written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Randy Newman, Gamble and Huff, The Pet Shop Boys, and many more. The Loser’s Lounge and their eclectic cast of unusual characters are "Ready Steady GO!" To present the musical legacy of one of the greatest singers of our time, Dusty Springfield”.
Tickets from $50
Gang Of Four
24th April, Sony Hall
“2025 will be the 45th anniversary of the release of Entertainment! in the US, and will be our final year as a band. It’s been wonderful, but all things must end. We want to go out with a bang and celebrate with our fans and friends. So, on what will be our last US tour, we’ll play two sets at each show: Entertainment! from start to finish in the first, and the best of the rest in the second. Come and join in, it’ll be a blast!”, say the band.
They are calling the tour, The Long Goodbye. Many thought the band would have called it quits after the 2020 death of guitarist Andy Gill, but this is a chance to see original members Jon King and Hugo Burnham perform one of the most important Post-punk albums in full. Unmissable.
Charli XCX
Wednesday 30 April - Sunday, 4 May, Brooklyn Barclays Center
Essex girl Charli XCX brings her BRAT tour back to Brooklyn for four night this spring after a smash hit run last summer. Lily Alen is a masive fan “BRAT in Brooklyn tonight was honestly one of the best things I have ever witnessed. Charlie XCX is a fucking goddess.”
Charli lead the crowd with one banger after the next keeping the whole place moving. Her set incorporated plenty of the rave elements that her new album calls for, and her voice is amazing, especially during the moments when she held out some notes that showed off her prowess.
Who are we, or you, to argue? So get down to The Barclays Center and wave your hands in the aiiir like you just don’t caaare.
The Damned
Thursday, 1st May, White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ
Punk gods THE DAMNED completed a 10-date North American tour in the spring bringing the band’s ‘80s lineup back together with the return of Rat Scabies for the first time in America in 35 years. He rejoined David Vanian, Captain Sensible and Paul Gray to play shows across the USA. One of the original founding members, Scabies put it simply: “Be careful what you wish for.”
Audiences can expect songs from “Machine Gun Etiquette”, “The Black Album” and “Strawberries”, as well as fan-favorites “Neat Neat Neat”, “New Rose” and more.
47 years after releasing their groundbreaking debut, “Damned Damned Damned”, they released their twelfth studio album “Darkadelic” last year, reaching the Top 10 in the U.K. albums chart.
Have they cleaned up their act with maturity? .... Have they fu**!
Alison Moyet
Friday, 2nd May, Webster Hall
Former Yazoo/Yaz singer Alison Moyet is coming to The Big Apple to support her new (10th solo) album, Key.
“I consider myself ridiculously fortunate to be able to say ‘I will’ rather than ‘I remember when’,” Alison says. “So, as I tell you I am returning to North America imminently to perform again for whomsoever may care, and that I am beyond delighted by this brilliant fact, you can take me at my convoluted word!”
The NYC show is in the heart of the city at Webster Hall which is a perfect intimate venue for her fantastic bluesy voice.
Harry Bicket & The English Concert
Sunday 4th May, 2pm, Carnegie Hall
British conductor, harpsichordist and organist directs the period-instrument ensemble The English Concert (he’s also their Artistic Director), in this annual treat. Last year they performed Handel, and this season they will be performing Giulio Cesare in Egitto, one of Handel’s most popular Baroque operas. As Carnegie Hall says… “With exquisite ensemble work, charismatic singers, and a playful penchant for the theatrical, this concert performance brings to life the ancient dramas of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and more” . What a lovely way to while away a Spring Sunday afternoon!
Tickets from $28.50 (incl. $4 fee)
Underworld
Thursday 15th May, Mirage at Avant Gardner, Brooklyn
Has it really been 9 years since Karl Hyde and Rick Smith were in town? Wow! They were fantastic at Terminal 5 back then, and this time they are putting on an even more stunning show at the newly refurbished Mirage space at Brooklyn’s Avant Gardner (it looks amazing).
Underworld released Strawberry Hotel, the duo’s terrific 11th album, last year, and that will obviously feature large, but expect all your favourite floor-fillers.
This is going to be a helluva performance, not to be missed. Tickets are selling fast so grab one quick as this will sell out. There’s a bit of a rave to follow the gig, so they’ll be plenty of opportunity to shout “Lager, lager, lager” at the top of your voice, if the feeling takes you (and you know it will).
Geordie Greep (formerly with Black Midi)
Saturday, 17th May, Brooklyn Paramount
East Londoner Geordie has now split with Black Midi and released his first solo album, The New Sound. He comes to Brooklyn in May to promote it on his first solo tour stateside. The New Sound, as the name suggests, is a step change from the musical influences in Black Midi. ‘It brings "in tons and tons and tons of Brazilian tropicalia, which is really one of the most predominant influences on the entire record".
Photo Credit: James Potter
Tickets from $48
Fatboy Slim
Friday 30th May
Knockdown Center, Queens
Following last year’s sold-out headlining set, Fatboy Slim returns to Knockdown Center for a full-venue, day-and-night, indoor-outdoor takeover.
Last time he hit the stage at 2 a.m. spinning until 4, he fizzed behind the decks with huge energy and intensity, winding up the crowd to stratospheric levels start-to-finish. The area behind his DJ booth was packed out with fans dancing and singing along Boiler Room-style.
Expect even more this time and I’m sure Norm will be poping up all over the show inside and out to keep the vibe buzzy. This’ll be the highlight of the summer so you better book Monday off work now.
Simple Minds/Soft Cell
June 11 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ
June 13 at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY
Jim Kerr has announced The Minds are back and Alive and Kicking again after 40 years!
The Metro area dates are part of their huge North American tour in honor of their seminal album “Once Upon A Time” that gave us such huge hits like “All The Things She Said”, “Sanctify Yourself” and of course “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which has been retroactively added to a remastered bonus disc.
This nationwide trek, the group’s first proper U.S. run since 2018, includes stops at Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center on Wednesday, June 11 and Long Island’s Jones Beach Theater on Friday, June 13.
They’ll have good company too!
The Scottish synth-pop icons will be joined by ’80s legends Soft Cell and Modern English. So it’s time to find that old tube of eye-liner and put on your baggy pegs and shout “Hey, hey, hey, heeey!”
JAMES BLUNT: BACK TO BEDLAM 20th Anniversary Tour
Tuesday, 17th June 7:00 pm, Central Park
James wrote some of the songs on this, his debut album, while on service as a Tank Captain in Kosovo. He would serenade his comrades as the shells exploded around them. They suffered for his art, and now it’s your turn too. Known for his delicately sweet voice on songs like “Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover,” Back to Bedlam, was the best-selling UK record of 2005 earning Blunt five GRAMMY nominations. Central Park is a much nicer setting than Central Kosovo to enjoy his sweet summer sounds so book now to avoid disapointment.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
6th July, The Paramount, Huntington
8th July Terminal 5, NYC
These are the rescheduled dates from October for the synth-pop duo from Merseyside. Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey have come a long way since their 1979 hit Electricity . They released their fourtheenth studio album Bauhaus Staircase last year which peaked at No.2 in the UK charts. They are now ‘80s revival festival fixtures.
Oasis
31st August, 2025, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Unknown British band from Manchester, fronted by two moody brothers, play their debut gig in the US.... Rumor has it they are a cross between The Beatles, The Sex Pistol and The Glitterband. It might be worth the trek to New Jersey to check them out, no one has ever seen or heard them before, but it might be a laugh.
The Darkness
Weds 10th Sept, Irving Plaza
British pop-metal-rockers The Darkness bring their glammy brand-new tour, Dreams on Toast to the city this autumn The group’s 2025 run will hit venues across the United States and Canada, so be warned. Formed in Lowestoft in 2000 by brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins after they were involved in a horrible mobility scooter accident outside the Weatherspoons. They soared to fame with their debut album, Permission to Land, which featured the infectious “I Believe In A Thing Called Love.”
Supergrass
Thursday, 11th September, 2025, Pier 17, NYC
Your only chance to see English indie rock stalwarts, Supergrass, in NYC this year! 15th May 2025 marks 30 years since the release of ‘I Should Coco’ and Supergrass will be performing this debut album live, in its entirety, for the first time, plus a small selection of additional fan favourites! One not to miss!!
Elbow
Monday, 29th September, 2025, Brooklyn Steel
Elbow have announced North American tour dates in support of their bold 2024 album Audio Vertigo. It’s their first tour in five years! They hit NYC early in the tour. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 28 at 10:00am local time. Get ready for some belting classics and great new tunes. Bound to sell out!
Miki Berenyi Trio
Saturday, 11th October, Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Shoe-gazing godess Miki Berenyi hits Brooklyn to promote her new album. “I don’t think any of us ever gazed at our fucking shoes.” she laughs. “If we were looking down it was at our effects pedals.”
So what’s the new album Tripla like? “I realised that most [pop] lyrics are grounded in being young – love and sex and the energy of youth. It’s harder to find things to write about when you’re older that isn’t gardening or a trip to B&Q, so there’s green politics and social media and stuff. At my age [57], it can sound like you’re trying to be relevant and young, but those things affect older people just as much. I wrote about how things affect me emotionally, which I have always done.
They were great last year at Webster Hall, and this will certainly be another cracking gig. “The term “shoegazing” was coined as a sort of insult”, she says “So it’s very funny that it’s become a genre. Revenge of the nerds!”.... Right on!
The Beta Band
Saturday 1st November, Brooklyn Steel
Scottish Indie rockers The Beta Band have reformed after 20 years and bring their reunion roadshow to Brooklyn Steel. The band will feature the classic lineup: Steve Mason (guitar/vocals), Richard Greentree (bass), John Maclean (samples/keyboard), and Robin Jones (drums). Known for their eclectic blend of folk, rock, electronica, and trip-hop, often described as a unique mix of psychedelic and indie. So something to put a smile on everyones’ face. Don’t forget your tweed cap.