In the past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to be able to see lots of great live music around York and Leeds. Writing for a university magazine (and being live music editor), I’ve been able to grab press tickets and even interviews with some great artists and as well as discovering some new music which I’d love to share.

George Ezra

First up was interviewing and seeing the wonderful George Ezra, a real young talent who happens to be from near my hometown too. His music is of the guy and the guitar routine, but with a really unique voice and having been backed by Radio 1, he’s set to become a big name.

We got to chat to him before his gig in York and he was really lovely and funny.  You can read the interview here.

His gig later was great too – you can read the review of it here.

Newton Faulkner

I’ve been a fan of Newton Faulkner since his first album and so I jumped at the chance to see his ‘Studio Zoo’ tour in York. Supported by the wonderful Sam Brookes, Newton’s set was laid-back and relaxed despite the big venue. I hadn’t heard much of his newer stuff but his musicality was undeniably convincing – I’ve never heard one man make so much music with just his guitar. You can read a fuller review of the gig here; I’d really recommend anyone of any music taste seeing him for a beautiful musical experience.

Luke Sital Singh

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview Luke Sital Singh in a beautiful old church’s vestry in Leeds. He was really nice to chat to – you can read the interview here. The gig afterwards was great and included four up and coming acts (Annie Eve, Farewell J.R., Eliza and the Bear and Luke) all playing equal sets to a relaxed audience in the unique venue. It was such a great evening – Luke’s set was lovely and it topped off by the relentless energy of Eliza and the Bear which definitely converted me into a fan. You can read the review of the gig here.

I think that’s probably enough self-promotion of my articles for now! I’ve absolutely loved writing for The Yorker and it’s been fun getting free tickets to artists I might not necessarily see otherwise, as well as meeting some of the rising stars of the British music scene. It’s also been great to practise writing articles so regularly which has given me a chance to hone my writing skills and to most probably annoy the entire music industry with my incessant emails.

What new music are you listening to? Has anyone seen any really good gigs recently?