Northern Music Scene

08/12/2025

Live Review: Pet Needs – Deaf Institute, Manchester
Posted on December 4, 2025 by Jace Media Music
https://jacemediamusic.com/2025/12/04/live-review-pet-needs-deaf-institute-manchester/

08/12/2025

08/12/2025

Nothing More – Live – SWG3 Galviners – duffpress
Posted on December 8, 2025, by Jace Media Music

https://jacemediamusic.com/2025/12/08/nothing-more-live-swg3-galviners-duffpress/

08/12/2025

Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast Live Bannermans Posted on December 8, 2025December 8, 2025 by Jace Media Music Review By Darren McIntyre Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast are an Americana / Roots rock band currently residing in Ashville, North Carolina but were born in Detroit & raised in New York City....

08/12/2025

Gregg McKella – Songs from the Underground

A raw, soulful wander through memory, renewal, and the spaces between

Gregg McKella steps into his own spotlight with Songs from the Underground, a striking 12-track collection that captures the grit, fragility, and quiet transcendence of a life lived close to the pavement. Known for his work across psych-rock, space-folk, and experimental soundscapes, McKella’s first solo outing distils decades of experience into a record that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.

Across the album, McKella guides listeners through shifting emotional and musical terrains. Some songs unfold with hushed simplicity, driven by acoustic guitar and close-miked vocals that feel almost confessional. Others reach outward into expansive arrangements, weaving atmospheric textures, hypnotic rhythms, and dream-stained melodies. This interplay between the intimate and the cosmic forms the backbone of the record, giving each track its own distinct emotional gravity.

What binds the project together is its sense of place and lived experience. Many of these songs were shaped during McKella’s time performing on street corners and in underground spaces—moments where fleeting encounters, long nights, and small revelations became part of the music’s DNA. That history lingers in the storytelling. Themes of displacement, unexpected human connection, and the constant negotiation between vulnerability and survival run throughout the album.

There’s also a quieter spiritual thread woven through the work. McKella reflects on rebirth and purpose with a steadiness that feels earned rather than imposed. Even in its darker corners, the album never succumbs to despair. Instead, it leans into reflection, healing, and the tentative optimism that follows hardship. The result is a record that acknowledges scars without being defined by them.

Musically, Songs from the Underground showcases McKella’s versatility. His voice shifts effortlessly from gentle introspection to soulful grit, while the instrumentation spans earthy folk, hazy psychedelia, and immersive ambient flourishes. Each track feels meticulously shaped yet emotionally unfiltered, maintaining a sense of spontaneity that harks back to his busking roots.

By the time the final notes fade, Songs from the Underground leaves the impression of having walked through someone’s memoryscape—street corners, inner battles, moments of clarity, and the quiet spaces that change us. It’s a bold and beautifully human debut, offering a compelling portrait of an artist reclaiming his past and reshaping it into something luminous.

15/11/2025

JULIET’S NOT DEAD Posted on November 13, 2025 by Jace Media Music VENUE – Off The Square, Manchester DATE – 8th November 2025 Words – Graeme Wright, Nicola Warren Pictures – Graeme Wright Ah, Juliet’s Not Dead. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. With apologies to Elizabeth Barret...

15/11/2025

Hard Rock Hell XVIII – From fresh blood to rock veterans – Day Two keeps the fire burning. Posted on November 13, 2025November 13, 2025 by Jace Media Music Where – Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth When – Nov/8th Nov 2025 Day Two: Friday, 7th November Review and Photographs by Linda McDe...

15/11/2025

Release Date: 28/11/2025SOHO DUKES would like you to believe they started life as a nineteenth-century drinking club. They’d very much like you to believe that it was while on a crawl around the taverns of ol’ London Town that Bomber (Bass) and Johnny Barracuda (vocabulary) first crossed the wea...

15/11/2025

Greyfox Conspiracy – “Preacherman” Posted on November 14, 2025 by Jace Media Music Hard rockers Greyfox Conspiracy return with their brand-new single “Preacherman”, the second release from their upcoming debut album of the same name — dropping 12/12/2025 at the legendary Patriots, Crumli...

15/11/2025

Aviana at The Cathouse, Glasgow – A Night of Unmasked Emotion and Unrelenting Metalcore Power Posted on November 14, 2025November 14, 2025 by Jace Media Music Review By Darren McIntyre. Images By Scott Anderson Gothenburg’s own Aviana have come a long way since emerging from the Swedish metalcor...