Messy Eater’s EP-closer ‘All Out Of Time’ takes us back to a head-nodding hip hop groove, crackly organ and harmonica samples and tongue-in-cheek lyrics: “I’ve spent a lifetime mining for gold / now we’re all using plastic to pay”.
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Behind the music: Messy Eater on EP ‘Southern Fried’
Following his standout debut live session for BBC Introducing earlier this year, and support from Apple Music, Amazing Radio and numerous press tastemakers for its preceding singles, Messy Eater finally released the full ‘Southern Fried’ EP on the 22nd of August.
Inspired by the wildly inventive sampling adventures of The Avalanches and The Dust Brothers’ production on Beck’s ‘Odelay’ and the Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul’s Boutique’, Messy Eater mixes up dusty southern US blues, soul and country samples, 90s hip hop beats and wry lyrical observations on modern life with an idiosyncratic 21st century flair.
Opener ‘Slowcoach’ (“a genre-melting joyride” (Unrecorded)) sets the scene: a slow swaggering boom bap beat and sampled blues guitar riff underpin a huge singalong chorus that celebrates escape from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind: “I hear people say, there’s not enough hours in the day / not so fast / slowcoach”.
This is followed by the reflective ‘On The Right Track’ (“infectiously grooving… instantly catchy… wonderful” (Plastic Mag)) and ‘I Think I’m Headed For A Breakdown’, which is the sound of barely-contained existential crisis bursting out in an anthemic chorus: “I’m headed for a breakdown… / when is my next holiday? / I need a duvet day” before detouring into oddball sampling of self-help mantras.
The two previously unreleased tracks reveal further dimensions to Messy Eater’s kaleidoscopic sound: the urgent ‘Keep On (I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead)’ surges forward with a hooky brass sample, driving bass and insistent lyrics “time is money and money is time!”; while closer ‘All Out Of Time’ takes us back to a head-nodding hip hop groove, crackly organ and harmonica samples and tongue-in-cheek lyrics: “I’ve spent a lifetime mining for gold / now we’re all using plastic to pay”.
Behind the music: Tim Gambles on ‘Story Told Wrong’
‘Story Told Wrong’ came out on the 7th of August and has gone through a real transformation. The track started out as a tongue-in-cheek EDM experiment, but once Gambles teamed up with a fellow local songwriter, they realised the potential of its emotional core. Tim; “We stripped it back, reworked the structure, and then brought it to the band, and it naturally evolved into something way more ‘me’; a moody and melodic blend of pop and alt rock. It’s a track about miscommunication, hindsight, and the way stories get twisted, whether in relationships or in your own memory.”
Through heavy riffs, warm basslines, and a ridiculously catchy chorus, Gambles conveys the above message and at the same time re-introduces himself to the UK music scene, who’re in for a real treat. “‘Story Told Wrong’ is a track that grew up fast,” he says. “And I think it’s ready to speak for itself.”
Stage Managing The Conjuring 2025 at Pealie’s Barn
I don’t often get this personal on here, but today I have to. It’s Monday afternoon and I have just come back from my first festival weekend of the summer. I feel exhilarated, emotional, loved, appreciated, and a little tired. This year was my second of joining the team at The Conjuring and there’s not enough big words to describe the feelings it brings.
The heart that is put into these three days of live music is absolutely incredible, Jack, who I met through his spoken word, brings all he’s got to these days, as well as a community he has built over the years and that community is like no other I’ve come across. This gathering of stunning souls welcomed me, a stranger, into their inner circle and made me feel like part of the family.
Together with Dave and Sally and a bunch of brilliant others I managed the stage at the festival on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, at a venue that made the entire experience even more incredible. I hadn’t heard of Pealie’s Barn before Jack mentioned it to me, and after he did it kept popping up on my social media timelines as friends and musicians were all of a sudden gracing line-ups at the venue. I instantly fell in love with the place, the parlour, the courtyard, the stage, the barn, every nook and cranny of it, and most of all; the people running it. I live and feel fully, everything that passes the revue, it all gets my full attention, so when I meet people that feel like sunshine on my skin, they will get my full attention too. They took care of the sound, manned the bar, baked pizzas, made coffee and breakfast, cleaned, organised and made sure the place was secure.
When organising events, working with a venue is always easier than against them, and the same goes for promoters, Pealie’s Barn got that. The team did everything within their power to accommodate all of those that entered the gates throughout the weekend and helped make the event what it ended up to be; incredible. Now here comes the part we don’t often talk about, something I’ve tried to speak about at a previous job, and got ridiculed for; the post-festival transitional depression.
For three days – in this case – time ran differently, the communal focus had nothing to with the day-to-day, and I surrounded myself with like-minded sunshine souls that all had one thing in common; their love for live music and the goal to use it as an act of revolution. Once I returned to my laptop to check in on emails, PR-campaigns, upcoming tours and life admin, I crashed. The sounds and smells of the festival site had gone, no more breakfast on a barn with a coffee and a book, no more sleeping in the barn, no more exciting buzz from the crowd, fire dancers in the evening, and jokes with the security. The sounds and smells had evaporated and had left me a little empty.
Now I will be back on a festival site again tomorrow, but no festival site is the same, and they all leave me with an emotional hangover and that bit of heartache for the new friends I’ve met who I wish I would see more than once a year. It’s not easy, but a friend of mine recently shared these wise words with me; “Life is a never-ending drama, that’s what comes hand in hand with knowing so many folk and being close to them, but I wouldn’t change it for the world”, and I couldn’t agree more. Although I know that I’ll be fine, and distracted, again soon, don’t underestimate this emotional struggle, and know that it’s not just you who deals with it, I’ve been told we all do. With the enormous highs, come painful lows, but the highs make it all worth it or I would’ve stopped working in events long time ago.
Stage Managing at Marrapalooza 2025
Last weekend I returned to the role of Stage Manager at Marrapalooza, an incredible grassroots multi-venue music festival run by David at Portions For Foxes. I was stationed at The Old Coal Yard where, in my personal opinion, the line-up of artists was best.
The Old Coal Yard is a great live music venue with a bar, space for darts, pool, and table football, and with a big stage and spacious dance floor made for the perfect backdrop for Marrapalooza! The day kicked off smoothly with fantastic local rock outfit Wild Spelks, man-with-guitar Withered Hand mesmerised with soft songs, Melanie Baker brought her story telling alt rock tracks in stripped back form with guitarist John Evans, after we picked up the pace and volume with Fast Blood, All Girls Arson Club, Soapbox, Knives, and headliner Native James!
A personal favourite, if I had to choose one, would be Soapbox, who I’ve seen support Snayx in Newcastle before, and they once again delivered on a blinding live set to which I am now undeniably addicted to. Hopefully the band will make their return to the north east soon, on a bigger stage without a doubt, as they are soon off to the Netherlands for sets at its biggest and best music festival; Lowlands, and Left Of The Dial this October.
A new favourite would be alt-rep artist Native James, who blew my expectations out of the water with an explosive set and tracks still ringing in my ears. A bit of hip-hop. grime, punk, metal, and garage, because he couldn’t possibly fit any more genres into his sound, a pleasure to watch and listen to! It was a joy working with such a great team of artists and professionals from across the country, and hopefully we’ll all be back together again for a next iteration of Marrapalooza!
Reviews on PØRTERS’ ‘Motion Without Direction’
Fast-rising genre-hopping alt-rock outfit PØRTERS released their debut EP ‘Motion Without Direction’.
Their debut is a bold fusion of alt-rock energy and 4-part harmonies. Out of the North East and straight into your speakers comes Newcastle’s own female-fronted power outfit PØRTERS. ‘Motion Without Direction’ is a searing, genre-blending introduction to a band that’s not afraid to hit hard while harmonising sweetly.
Reviews on KATHMANDU’s ‘Charlie’
KATHMANDU has been praised for writing catchy songs with a twist, but then discovered that even some of their friends thought that their songs were too indie to be truly catchy.
With this in mind, they challenged themselves to see if they could write a first-class pop song that indie lovers and more commercial listeners would enjoy. The result is ‘Charlie’, a hazy lazy summer single to bathe in or to dream away to. Mission accomplished.
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James Kennedy releases music lovers manifesto ‘Loud Medicine’
“EASILY THE GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT MUSIC AND BEING IN A BAND” ERIC ALPER, SIRIUS XM
Following the runaway success of his first book, ‘Noise Damage’ which topped the Amazon Best Sellers charts in Heavy Metal Books, Punk Books and Music Books, James Kennedy has just released his follow up book, ‘Loud Medicine’ which was published by UWP Books on the 5th of June.
Kennedy Podcast’ from South Wales says: “Noise Damage was a tough act to follow but I’ve worked really hard on this one and I’m so excited that people can finally read it.”
‘Loud Medicine’ is a collection of musings on all things good, bad and ugly about music and the music industry. The book takes the reader on a joyride through the hidden world of the everyday musician where they share every ill-conceived adventure, battle scar and industry screw-over. They’ll also learn how they can save our grass roots venues, support their favourite artists, protect their mental health, why God is a Jazzer, what you should never say to a musician and what exactly is an Evian Shower.
By the end of the trip, the book will serve as a music lovers manifesto for change and a musicians manual for survival. It’s also a love letter to everyone’s favourite medicine and the people who make it. Whether you’re a musician, a music fan or just out for a good time, ‘Loud Medicine’ will have you laughing, learning and losing your mind in dismay. You may even come away feeling more inspired, informed and mobilised.
Live music at Newcastle’s Castle Keep
I am of the belief that everything done within the creative and performing arts is done better when done together, so to announce this next collaboration is quite the dream come true. I always aim to work with venues that are outside of the ordinary so Newcastle Castle seemed the perfect fit to organise a big musical extravaganza this summer. When myself and the team first met it simply clicked. Ideas started rolling and a few weeks ago we finally announced our event!
Only the other day did I finally confirm our entirely line-up but the wristbands are in, the posters and flyers are ordered, the interview questions have been answered and the first 25% of tickets have been sold already! Our micro festival boasts of an array of wonderful intimate performances across genre and style, a bar at the heart of the medieval building and a merchandise store.
I am incredibly excited to have had incredible grassroots musicians India Arkin, Joe Goodall, George Bailey, Rivkala, Porcelain, So Anne-So, Vigilantes, and Wolfred confirm they’ll be joining us for this music extravaganza. I have known all of these talents for different amounts of time and they’ve all blown me away multiple times in the past through various events. I can’t wait to hear them all mesmerise our audience through their own unique crafts and hope they blow you away like they did me!
Stage Managing at Stockton Calling 2025
Stockton’s musical highlight of the year is without a doubt Stockton Calling, which is the all-day music festival that makes every Easter weekend a memorable one. This year I intended to attend and review as I usually do, however things turned out a little differently when I got the request to manage the stage at The Social Room, to which I simply couldn’t say no.
This bright and spacious venue became an instant favourite as soon as it opened its doors above Stockton’s iconic KU Bar. Brightly coloured walls, a floor like a chess board, a wide stage and two well-equipped dressing rooms make for a comfortable space to be in whether you’re a music fan, an artist, or a stage manager. With a fantastic sound engineer, light engineer, and team of staff working at the venue, it was always going to be a wonderful day.
Despite the fact that I was working instead of attending, being stationed at one venue makes a multi-venue festival that bit less stressful, knowing where I’m supposed to be at all times. It also meant that I got to see and work with nine incredible acts who were all very professional and so very talented. I have added the latest releases by The Ransoms, Camel Island, North Riding, M60, Currls, Alien Chicks, Adult DVD, Hungry, and The Paddingtons to the playlist linked below!
There really is nothing quite like discovering new musical talents, while being paid to take care of their every need, and helping a fantastic local festival run smoothly.
LLIVELY Music 