Musical highlights of 2024…

[TrevorR]

It is that time of year when you look a back of the year. So here are the last of my personal musical highlights by theme. 

 

Albums :

• The Last Flight - Public Service Broadcasting: a wonderful album charting the last flight of Amelia Earhart. A perfect synthesis on music and narrative but a truly innovative yet accessible band.

• From the Beginning - Big Horizon: a bunch of top UK session players having fun on their days off and producing an uplifting set of ‘70s West Coast/Yacht Rock influenced pop songs.

• Fires reissue box set - Nerina Pallot: this album has a big place in my heart so getting to delve into it in a luxuriant box set format was wonderful. So many great songs on this lesser known gem.

 

Gigs:

• Public Service Broadcasting - Pryzm, Kingston: effectively an album launch gig but in a more intimate venue than their usual. They translate their audio-visual music so brilliantly on to stage.
• Adrian Snell’s The Passion - All Souls Langham Place: a prog rock opera about the Easter story that I’ve loved for over 40 years. Amazing to see it performed with a full orchestra.
• Big Horizon - Pizza Express Live, Holborn: their debut gig in their own right (ignoring the fact they’d been playing Madison Square Gardens a few weeks before as Jeff Lynne’s ELO backing band). Such a fun night out and lovely so see a couple of old chums there too!
• Pete Roth Trio - The Old Court, Windsor: a jazz trio led by the excellent Pete Roth and featuring drum legend Bill Bruford’s return to live. Amazing to see these musical maestros in action in such an intimate setting.

Not a bad set of musical high spots for a 12 month period. What about yours?

[NancyJohnson]

I'd concur with Public Service Broadcasting.  A fine release.

 

Genuinely struggling to list anything else of merit from bands that I follow.  The new studio/live Tears For Fears album.  Umm.  One band I adore (Momma) released one new track.  

 

Looking through my main playlist on Spotify (which we just add stuff to constantly), I reckon we've added 150 new songs, but I haven't really been arsed to investigate these bands too much.  I suppose being cast adrift because of the legal case brought by WB/Sony has restricted my listening to a bunch of decent US indie stations.

 

 

 

[SteveXFR]

Julie Christmas's Reduculous And Full Of Blood album was my highlight of the year. Just absolutely brilliant. Her performance at Arctangent Festival was also my live highlight. She just takes the audience to another world. 

 

 

 

Another highlight was seeing my daughters band play to audiences of a few hundred multiple times and then finish the year with their first headline show and fill the local live music venue, a proud dad moment for sure as well as a night of great music. 

[miles'tone]

Sierra Ferrell - Trail Of Flowers has been a welcome highlight. She's the real deal, and has an old soul from another time. Love her.

 

 

Gruff Rhys - Sadness Sets Me Free.

It came out at the beginning of the year but is still on repeat in my car, setting me free.

A beautiful record.

 

[PaulThePlug]

My Son suggesting we go to the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard acoustic gig at Brighton.

Edited 13 hours ago by PaulThePlug

[Mudpup]

I discovered Haley Reinhart and subsequently Post Modern Jukebox. Totally not my normal bag of fish but oh my word, what a singer!

 

(And the second video is of PMJ with Morgan James singing one of my faves)

 

 

 

[TrevorR]

37 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

I discovered Haley Reinhart and subsequently Post Modern Jukebox. Totally not my normal bag of fish but oh my word, what a singer!

 

(And the second video is of PMJ with Morgan James singing one of my faves)

 

 

 

Love PMJ! Have you heard their take on “The Final Countdown” by Europe? Brilliant and laugh out loud funny at the same time!

 

And their “Mr Blue Sky” is just sublime.

 

[Mudpup]

Check out the bass solo at about 2.25 in. It made my eyes go funny until I could figure out what was happening!