With the year coming to an end, we thought we would throw five bands your way that we feel you really must see next year.
The UK music scene is flourishing. We are truly blessed with incredible bands right now and whilst this list of five bands is by no means exhaustive in terms of truly great live bands, it is a list of the five bands we think you should see, if not right now, then as soon as you can!
ARKAYLA
Manchester’s heir apparent, Arkayla are undoubtedly Manchester’s band of 2025. Whilst Manchester’s other leading young bands appear to be floundering and heading into an uncertain 2025 buoyed only by social media follows that outnumber sales and streams (there seems to be another of that in an era when SM followers seem to dictate the size of festival stages… strange that) Arkayla with their slow but sure social media savvy and most importantly an arsenal of delightful, easy-going instant classic indie pop are set for a great 2025 and beyond.
In Cal Blakebrough, Arkayla are blessed with a frontman that appeals to the disenfranchised, he’s the everyman, the bedroom bard writing his poetic view of the world around him, not some wanky sixth-form cobbled street love songs and the band have that rare ability to be better live than on record.
DIRTY BLONDE
In a line, you need to see Dirty Blonde before they’re one of the biggest alt-rock bands on the planet. This year saw a band that was already pretty damn good live, become something very special indeed!
Ailish and Hayley and their staggering stage presence command any stage they grace and whilst larger stages can leave many bands feeling a little vulnerable, Dirty Blonde more than rise to the occasion. This is a band with real stadium potential in both material and performance so without a doubt, Dirty Blonde are a band to see at a smaller venue while you can.
LOCK-IN
Benjy Leak is a beautiful soul and with his brother and fellow beautiful soul Joe, form the backbone of one of the most blissed out, wondrously chilled indie pop bands around, Lock-In.
2024 saw Lock-In sell out London Lafayette and deliver some simply stunning festival performances, Benjy adding PA stack surfing to his list of skills. Autumn saw the band pretty much sell out their first headline tour including a special night at Manchester Deaf Institute. Expect more of the same at next year’s festivals, only to considerably bigger crowds as word of these wonders spreads.
HUNGRY
Originally hailing from Cambridge, Hungry arrived in Manchester a couple of years ago and the dedication and commitment that saw a band locate to a university together is obvious in any of their live shows.
Whilst the band’s early Manchester shows impressed what were in all honesty, quite small crowds, more recent shows have been impressing not only the right numbers, but the right people. One esteemed icon of the UK music press even hailed Hungry as ‘the next big British band’.
If you’re unfamiliar with the band, think Hendrix jamming with Motorhead and Cypress Hill and you might come close. Even on a subdued night, frontman Jacob Peck’s (main image above) stage presence makes Frank Carter look like some shy, retiring, shoe-gazer. A must for 2025 before they take off.
THE MOLOTOVS
In the days when burgeoning artists seem to jump at the first opportunity to upload and stream every musical idea they have, it’s great to see a young rock and roll band doing it the old-fashioned way. The Molotovs seem to be playing somewhere every bloody night and when you see them, it shows!
It’s easy to see why The Molotovs have been handpicked by rock royalty for support slots, the band emanates classic rock and roll swagger… Mathew the perfect frontman, all windmills, jumps and high kicks, the already iconic Issey Carts on bass… think a high fashion Kim Gordon and you won’t be too far from the mark.
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