BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands: Track Not Found and Claudia Valentina – 27/08/22

With two festivals taking place in the Channel Islands this weekend the August bank holiday weekend was a big one for live music and it was no different on my BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands radio show which you can listen to by clicking here. My guests in the studio were Guernsey punk...

Upload Festival CI – St James Cafe and Online – 22-23/01/21

There’s no denying, as I sit here on my sofa on the day after the event, that there’s a kind of dark irony to the latest Upload Festival CI - but we’ll get to that later. The Upload Festival CI began during the first coronavirus lockdown in mid 2020 when local musician Kiya Ashton realised...

Robert J. Hunter, Hollie Lucia and Lula & Gene – St James Concert Hall – 16/01/21

Back before Christmas Robert J. Hunter escaped the UK lockdowns to return (temporarily) to the Bailiwick for the holidays and played a sold out show at St James Cafe. Given the success of that night and the continued lockdowns in England he’s stayed in the islands and so another show, this time in St James’...

L’Islet Records Present Metal, Metal, Metal with Granite Wolf and Apothis – The Vault – 08/01/21

With ice forming on the roads and dry January in full effect it seemed a bit quiet as I arrived at The Vault for my first live music event of 2021 but, with DJ Pagan already blasting some fine metal classics from the PA, the scene was well set for a night of the heavy...

Rentoclean and Eloise Fabbri – The Vault – 29/12/20

To say 2020 has been an eventful year for RentOClean would be an understatement. With the release of their debut album, Scrub-A-Dub, having been delayed by a combination of lockdown and health issues in the band it finally came out at the end of October only for its launch show to be cancelled for more...

Music in Guernsey (and the Channel Islands) in 2020

I don’t really know how else to begin my review of music in Guernsey and the Channel Islands this year other than to say something that has already been said far too many times over the past twelve months, that it has been an odd year in pretty much all regards. I also don’t want...

L’Islet Records Christmas Smash Up – The Vault – 19/12/20

L’Islet Records live events have been one the success stories of live music in Guernsey 2020 and so it I made sense for them to round things off with a festive knees up in their usual style, showcasing newer acts as well as their alt-rock mainstays Coastal Fire Dept, and all with refreshingly few mentions...

Eloise Fabbri Single Launch – St James Cafe – 16/12/20

Eloise Fabbri has been busy making a name for herself on Guernsey’s live scene over recent years and, on Wednesday 16th December, launched her debut single, Beauty, with a special event in the cafe at St James, showcasing not just her new music but that of three other up and coming artists. First up was...

The Sacred Hearts and From Darkness – De La Rue – 14/11/20

When this gig was first announced it instantly raised a few questions. Not only did it see one of the angstier, heavier, bands on the island playing alongside one of the more upbeat but also the De La Rue, while a pub known for live music, generally hasn’t been known as a home for the...

Havoc Events X L’Islet Records: Alt-Rock vs Metal – The Fermain Tavern – 07/11/20

WhIle we all know it’s really not about any kind of contest but there is something tantalising about a pair of metal bands squaring off with a pair of ‘alt-rock’ acts in front of crowd at what, on its best nights, can be one of Guernsey’s best music venues. That’s exactly what we got tonight...