Following on from the amazing lineups of the past two years, the Mencap Little Noise sessions are back again this November to raise more money for the mental disability charity.

The lineup is almost complete, with a string of pretty amazing performances scheduled. Personally, I’m most excited about Editors day, along with the pop-tastic Alexandra Burke, Mika and Newton Faulkner days – all of the shows have great talent and with the promise of special guests, I say you should hop on down to Union Chapel to check out some great music. Head on over to the Little Noise Sessions website for more answers to your questions.

The artists so far announced include:

Monday 16th November
Editors
The Maccabees
Bombay Bicycle Club
Everything Everything

Tuesday 17th November
Alexandra Burke
Alphabeat
Marina and the Diamonds
VV Brown

Wednesday 18th November
Mika
Paloma Faith
Alex Gardner
Daisy Dares You

Thursday 19th November
Richard Hawley
I Blame Coco

Friday 20th November
Lostprophets
The Blackout
Egyptian Hip Hop

Saturday 21st November
Taio Cruz
Tinchy Stryder
Chipmunk

Sunday 22nd November
Florence and the Machine
Golden Silvers
Erik Hassle
Ellie Goulding

Monday 23rd November
David Gray
The Low Anthem
Lisa Mitchell

Tuesday 24th November
Newton Faulkner
Scouting for Girls
Little Comets
Stornoway

Crazy Ginger Dreadlocked guy Newton Faulkner has announced a full October tour.

Tickets are priced £16, except Cornwall and York £16.50, London and Manchester, £17.50, Belfast £20, Dublin 22 Euros. Tickets go on sale on Friday, 17th July.

Monday 12th October 2009 – Glasgow ABC
Tuesday 13th October 2009 – Newcastle City Hall
Wednesday 14th October 2009 – York Opera House
Friday 16th October 2009 – Ipswich Regent Theatre
Sunday 18th October 2009 – Warwick Arts Centre
Monday 19th October 2009 – Manchester The Lowry
Tuesday 20th October 2009 – London Shepherds Bush Empire
Thursday 22nd October 2009 – Swansea Brangwyn Hall
Friday 23rd October 2009 – Cambridge Corn Exchange
Sunday 25th October 2009 – Liverpool Philharmonic
Monday 26th October 2009 – The Hall For Cornwall
Tuesday 27th October 2009 – Portsmouth Guildhall

Stephen Long has one of the most complete sounds I have heard for ages. It is safe to say that at the moment he is not the biggest star on the planet but I’m sure that it is only a matter of time before this guy is eating up the charts. If you like Newton Faulkner you’ll love Stephen Long with his witty lyrics and astonishing acoustic playing.

It is hard enough to create the standard of music Stephen produces but doing it all by yourself shows the talent he has to give. At this moment in time, he has precious little material to show off but listening to songs like “On and On” are unmistakably spell binding. It really is a wonder of the world that he is still an unsigned act but it highlights that not everyone who deserves it, gets there in the music industry.

Influences like the Beatles and Rod Stewart may not show themselves directly in his music but the quality of these professionals is there and Stephen’s music seems to have a truly unique dynamic to it. I suppose that phrase is a cliché these days for new artists but from the moment you listen to any of the tracks from the acoustic guru, you know that a musical genius is in your presence.

So if you’re looking for an artist to fill the gap in your music collection between James Blunt and Newton Faulkner then look no further than Stephen Long.

He’s ginger, dreadlocked, does a Spongebob Squarepants cover when performing live, and is at number 3 in this weeks album chart. Who is it? The one and only Newton Faulkner. He’s just announced a new tour in November and early December when he’ll be touring all the usual haunts around the UK.

Tickets are on sale for the below dates now.

Thursday 15th November 2007 – Glasgow ABC
Friday 16th November 2007 – Newcastle Tyne Theatre
Saturday 17th November 2007 – Sheffield Plug
Monday 19th November 2007 – Brighton Corn Exchange
Tuesday 20th November – Nottingham Rock City
Wednesday 21st November – London Shepherds Bush Empire
Friday 23rd November – Bristol University
Saturday 24th November – Manchester Academy 2
Sunday 25th November – Leeds Met Uni
Tuesday 27th November – Norwich Waterfront
Thursday 29th November – Wolverhampton Wulfrun
Friday 30th November – Portsmouth Pyramid
Tuesday 4th December – Cornwall Truro Hall

Picture is taken from Lee Jordan’s (not him of Harry Potter fame, a different one!) flickr stream under the Creative Commons License.