Author Archives: John S

About John S

I'm blogging about the things I love: music, sport, culture, London, with some photos to illustrate aspects of our wonderful city. I’ve written a novel called “The Decision”, a futuristic political thriller, and first of a trilogy. I’m also the author of a book on music since the 1970s called “ I Was There - A Musical Journey” and a volume of poetry about youth, “Growin’ Up - Snapshots/ Fragments”. All available on Amazon and Kindle.

London Jazz Festival: Sun Mi Hong Quintet and Ant Law/Alex Hitchcock at the Purcell Room, 17 November 2022

Posted on November 29, 2022 by John S

The London Jazz Festival ran from 11-20 November this year. Kath and I went to a couple of events; I would have liked to go to more but already had an unusual number of concerts lined up in November. The … Continue reading →

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Widowspeak at Studio 9294, Hackney Wick, 15 November 2022

Posted on November 28, 2022 by John S

The gigs keep coming this November! After the Pitchfork Music Festival, I had Monday off before venturing out east to see Widowspeak at Studio 9294, a new venue for me. I’ve been to Hackney Central enough times, to see bands … Continue reading →

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Pitchfork Music Festival at the Roundhouse, 13 November 2022

Posted on November 28, 2022 by John S

  Pitchfork, if you don’t know, is an online music publication, founded in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis, as an independent music blog. It’s grown from those beginnings and is now based in New York and owned by … Continue reading →

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The Staves celebrate “Dead & Born & Grown” at the Barbican, 22 November 2022

Posted on November 24, 2022 by John S

It was ten years ago when I first came across the Staves, three sisters – Jessica, Emily, Camilla – from Watford, who sang the most beautiful harmonies. I was looking through my Twitter feed and saw a post from the … Continue reading →

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Wilko Johnson, 1947-2022

Posted on November 23, 2022 by John S

We got the news that today the great rock’n’roll guitarist Wilko Johnson had died, aged 75. For people like myself whose musical development was transformed by punk in the 1970s, Wilko played a crucial role, with his band of the … Continue reading →

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Julia Jacklin at the Roundhouse, 11 November 2022

Posted on November 22, 2022 by John S

Julia Jacklin is an Australian singer-songwriter in the indie-folk vein, who I’ve liked ever since I first heard her debut album Don’t Let The Kids Win in 2016. We caught a glimpse of her show at End of the Road … Continue reading →

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Sigur Ros at the O2 Academy Brixton, 10 November 2022

Posted on November 20, 2022 by John S

I’d like to start this review with the piece I wrote about Sigur Ros for I Was There – A Musical Journey, which I published in 2016. Bjork was first, but the band that epitomises the sound of Iceland must … Continue reading →

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Indigo Sparke at the Louisiana, Bristol, 7 November 2022

Posted on November 10, 2022 by John S

On Monday I took a trip to Bristol to see one of my favourite artists at the moment, Indigo Sparke. She’s an Australian indie-folk singer, currently based in New York. She released a new album in October called Hysteria, which … Continue reading →

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Biig Piig at Hoxton Hall, 3 November 2022

Posted on November 5, 2022 by John S

Biig Piig is the stage name for Jessica Smyth. She was born in Ireland, lived in Spain for much of her childhood and moved to west London in her teens. Her music began as a jazzy hip hop fusion, but … Continue reading →

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Four great concerts: Ravi Coltrane, The Unthanks, VS Funk Soul Orchestra and Caroline

Posted on November 3, 2022 by John S

I’m wrapping these four shows up in one review as I have a busy November coming up, with 12 gigs at the last count – and the start of the World Cup! The concerts took place over the last three … Continue reading →

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