One of Manchester’s brightest talents, Doves have announced a string of UK shows for April and May this year to co-incide with the release of their greatest hits, “The Places Between: The Best Of Doves” which is out on 5th April.

Tickets go on sale on Friday (19th March 2010)

Wednesday 28th April 2010 – Hull City Hall
Thursday 29th April 2010 – Leicester De Montfort Hall
Sunday 2nd May 2010 – Blackburn King Georges Hall
Tuesday 4th May 2010 – Folkestone Lea Cliffs Hall
Wednesday 5th May 2010 – Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Thursday 6th May 2010 – London Troxy
Saturday 8th May 2010 – Liverpool University
Sunday 9th May 2010 – Bradford St George’s Hall

Good Shoes have announced a string of tour dates in late April/early May. Tickets are on sale on Monday (11th January) at 9am. Catch them at:

Monday 19th April 2010 – Norwich, Arts centre (14+)
Tuesday 20th April 2010 – Southend, Chinnerys (14+)
Wednesday 21st April 2010 – London, Dingwalls (14+)
Thursday 22nd April 2010 – Brighton, Audio (16+)
Friday 23rd April 2010 – Gloucester, Guildhall (14+)
Saturday 24th April 2010 – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms (14+)
Monday 26th April 2010 – Exeter, Cavern (16+)
Tuesday 27th April 2010 – Wolverhampton, Little Civic (14+)
Wednesday 28th April 2010 – Manchester, Deaf Institute (18+)
Thursday 29th April 2010 – Leeds, Silver hips at hifi club (18+)
Friday 30th April 2010 – Hull, Lamp (14+)
Saturday 1st May 2010 – Derby, The Royal (14+)

Reverend and the Makers have announced a sizeable UK tour for March as they play some smaller places.

Tickets are on sale now, priced between £10 and £13.50 each.

Monday 1st March 2010 – Carlisle, Brickyard
Tuesday 2nd March 2010 – Dundee, Dusa
Thursday 4th March 2010 – Inverness, Ironworks
Friday 5th March 2010 – Aberdeen, Warehouse
Saturday 6th March 2010 – Dunfermline, Velocity
Monday 8th March 2010 – Middlesbrough, Empire
Tuesday 9th March 2010 – Nottingham, Trent University
Wednesday 10th March 2010 – Gloucester, Guildhall
Thursday 11th March 2010 – Wrexham, Central Station
Saturday 13th March 2010 – Wakefield, Escobar
Sunday 14th March 2010 – Crewe, M Club
Monday 15th March 2010 – Leigh, Bar Bliss
Wednesday 17th March 2010 – Coventry, Kasbah
Thursday 18th March 2010 – Buckinghamshire, University
Friday 19th March 2010 – Plymouth, White Rabbit
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Falmouth, Princess Pavilions
Monday 22nd March 2010 – Yoevil, Orange Box
Tuesday 23rd March 2010 – Norwich, Waterfront
Wednesday 24th March 2010 – Hull, Welly

Manchester’s The Courteeners have announced a sizeable UK tour for March 2010.

“I really can’t wait for the rest of the country to get the chance to hear our new songs live – they’re going to blow everyone away,” lead singer Liam Fray claimed to NME.COM. “For me, playing live is what it’s all about – standing on the stage, seeing all those faces singing back at us. There are no other fans in the UK that are as dedicated – or as well dressed – as ours. See you down the front.”

Tickets go on sale on Friday morning (4th December) at 9am. Catch the guys at:

Thursday 4th March 2010 – Hull University
Friday 5th March 2010 – Lincoln Engine Shed
Saturday 6th March 2010 – Liverpool University
Monday 8th March 2010 – Nottingham Rock City
Tuesday 9th March 2010 – Bristol O2 Academy
Thursday 11th March 2010 – Norwich UEA
Friday 12th March 2010 – Blackpool Empress Ballroom
Monday 15th March 2010 – Bournemouth O2 Academy
Tuesday 16th March 2010 – Oxford O2 Academy
Thursday 18th March 2010 – London O2 Brixton Academy
Friday 19th March 2010 – Sheffield O2 Academy
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Birmingham O2 Academy
Monday 22nd March 2010 – Newcastle O2 Academy
Tuesday 23rd March 2010 – Edinburgh Picture House
Wednesday 24th March 2010 – Glasgow O2 Academy
Friday 26th March 2010 – Leeds O2 Academy

Hot up and comers Little Comets have announced a string of tour dates starting next Thursday.

Thursday 3rd December 2009 – Kingston Slang
Saturday 5th December 2009 – Loughborough University (w/ Reverend & Makers)
Tuesday 8th December 2009 – Reading Oakford Social
Wednesday 9th December 2009 – Oxford Bullingdon Arms
Friday 11th December 2009 – Barnstaple Square
Tuesday 15th December 2009 – Hull Adelphi
Wednesday 16th December 2009 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Thursday 17th December 2009 – Sheffield Boardwalk
Friday 18th December 2009 – Cambridge Junction

The beautiful First Aid Kit are back on the road again in February and March next year, playing some smaller venues around our fair country.

Tickets for some dates are on sale now, whilst others go on sale on Friday (20th November) at 9am. Catch the guys at:

Friday 19th February 2010 – Edinburgh – Sneaky Petes
Saturday 20th February 2010 – Glasgow King Tut’s
Monday 22nd February 2010 – Birmingham Rainbow
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 – Manchester Deaf Institute
Wednesday 24th February 2010 – Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Thursday 25th February 2010 – Stockton Georgian Theatre
Friday 26th February 2010 – Hull The Adelphi
Saturday 27th February 2010 – Nottingham Bodega
Monday 1st March 2010 – Sheffield Bungalows and Beers
Tuesday 2nd March 2010 – Norwich Arts Centre
Wednesday 3rd March 2010 – Oxford Jericho Tavern
Thursday 4th March 2010 – London Union Chapel
Saturday 6th March 2010 – Bristol Louisiana
Sunday 7th March 2010 – Southampton Hamptons
Monday 8th March 2010 – Brighton Hope

They Say:
The seeds of Twin Atlantic were sown when front man Sam McTrusty and bassist Ross McNae met at school, united by a love of music. Guitarist and cellist Barry McKenna came on board after driving the fledgling band around Scotland to tiny pub gigs. The final piece of the puzzle came in the shape of drummer Craig Kneale, who had been in an earlier band with Ross. Since those early days, they have evolved into one of the UK’s most exciting new rock bands, poppy melodies twisted with a metallic crunch and shades of prog experimentation.

After an ambitious EP, A Guidance From Colour, and show-stopping support slots with alt-rock legends Smashing Pumpkins and like-minded American prog rockers Circa Survive, fans are already showing up at gigs with their logo and lyrics tattooed to their bodies. They’re far from an overnight success though – a lot of hard work has gone into this band. “Our practice space up until recently was Craig’s dining room,” says Sam. “We’d be at his house at 12 and practice until half four, and then he would go to sleep for two hours, get up, go to work at B&Q all night, sleep for two hours, wake up and then practice. He did that for months.”

In March 2009, shortly after selling out the 1,000 capacity QMU in Glasgow, the band headed over the ocean to the crazed streets of Austin, Texas to play four blistering shows at South by Southwest. Their American adventure took them to LA shortly afterwards to record Vivarium with producer John Travis, who has worked with Kid Rock, Sugar Ray, Static X and Social Distortion.

We Say:
Packed with enormous sweeping riffs and impassioned vocals dripping with some gorgeous Scottish vowels they’re quite similar to Biffy Clyro, but a bit more melodic and still incredibly Scottish. Not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely a great band to watch.

You Say:
Watch the video below, or catch them on tour at the below dates

Their tour kicked off on Friday in Inverness and resumes on Thursday

Thursday 17th September 2009 – York, Fibbers
Friday 18th September 2009 – Stoke, Sugarmill
Saturday 19th September 2009 – Liverpool Korova
Sunday 20th September 2009 – Nottingham Bodega
Monday 21st September 2009 – Birmingham Hare & Hounds
Thursday 24th September 2009 – Carlisle Brickyard
Friday 25th September 2009 – Hull Lamp
Saturday 26th September 2009 – Southampton Joiners
Sunday 27th September 2009 – Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
Tuesday 29th September 2009 – London old Blue Last
Wednesday 30th September 2009 – London Garage (w/ The Joy Formidable)
Thursday 1st October 2009 – Oxford Bullingdon Arms
Friday 2nd October 2009 – Edinburgh Studio 24

Mumford and Sons have announced a string of new UK tour dates for September and October around the UK.

Saturday 12th September – Glasgow, King Tuts
Sunday 13th September – Nottingham, Bodega
Monday 14th September – Manchester, Ruby Lounge
Tuesday 15th September – Bristol, Thekla
Wednesday 16th September – London, Scala
Friday 18th September – Aberdeen, Café Drummonds
Satyrday 19th September – Inverness, Loopalu
Monday 21st September – Newcastle, The Clunt
Tuesday 22nd September – Hull, Adelphi
Wednesday 23rd September – Leeds, Cockpit
Thursday 24th September – Sheffield, The Plug
Tuesday 29th September – Birmingham, Glee Club
Wednesday 30th September – Oxford, Bullingdon
Friday 2nd October – Norwich, Arts Centre
Saturday 3rd October – Tunbridge Wells, Forum
Sunday 4th October – Cambridge, Junction 2
Tuesday 6th October – Brighton, Komedia
Wednesday 7th October – Bath, Moles
Thursday 8th October – Southampton, Talking heads
Sunday 11th October – Northampton, Roadmender

Today we’d like to introduce The Blizzards, an indie-pop five-piece from Mullingar, Ireland. After noticing that their press release had intriguingly described their sound as “Weezer on steroids”, I was unsurprisingly eager to hear more from this quintet.

Growing up among records injected with the soul of the sixties, ska of the seventies, and electro-pop of the eighties, The Blizzards are a mixture of all these influences with an additional modern-day twist of their own. Their energetic guitar-pop brims with catchy riffs, lively choruses and angelic harmonies, while frontman Niall Breslin’s gritty vocals perfectly rough up their otherwise sprightly sound.

They’ve already supported Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs and The Fratellis – while the band themselves are said to be speedily gaining their own cult-following at their apparently “explosive” live shows. This coming June shall see The Blizzards hit the U.K, so be sure to catch the band at the following dates if you can -

Monday 1st June 2009 – Cardiff Barfly
Tuesday 2nd June 2009 – Southampton Joiners
Saturday 6th June 2009 – Derby Rockhouse
Sunday 7th June 2009 – Hull Lamp
Monday 8th June 2009 – Liverpool Barfly
Tuesday 9th June 2009 – Glasgow Ivory Blacks
Thursday 11th June 2009 – Bristol Start The Bus
Friday 12th June 2009 – Oldham Castle
Saturday 13th June 2009 – Coventry Kasbah

Furthermore, the band will be releasing sunny indie single ‘Buy It Sell It’, through Island Records on July 6th, while their debut album, ‘Domino Effect’ is set to be released later this year in September.

To learn more about these exciting up and coming guitar-popsters, head over to The Blizzards MySpace page now.

Ahh, The Cribs. The bands band, things really took off for them in 2008, and now they’re locked up in Los Angeles with their new guitarist Johnny Marr recording a new album.

To celebrate, they’ll be touring throughout the end of September and first half of October.

Tickets for all of the below dates go on sale at 9am on Friday, 15th May. Catch the guys at:

Thursday 24th September 2009 – Norwich UEA
Friday 25th September 2009 – Cambridge Junction
Saturday 26th September 2009 – Liverpool Academy
Monday 28th September 2009 – Hull University
Tuesday 29th September 2009 – Glasgow Barrowlands
Wednesday 30th September 2009 – Newcastle University
Friday 2nd October 2009 – Manchester Apollo
Saturday 3rd October 2009 – Lincoln Engine Shed
Sunday 4th October 2009 – Leeds Academy
Tuesday 6th October 2009 – Exeter Lemon Grove
Wednesday 7th October 2009 – Southampton Guildhall
Thursday 8th October 2009 – Leamington Spa Assembly Rooms
Saturday 10th October 2009 – Bristol Anson Rooms
Thursday 15th October 2009 – London HMV Forum