The Black Eyed Peas – will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap – have just announced that they will be embarking on a tour throughout Europe as a unit for the first time in eight years, starting on October 27 in London. Tickets go on sale on July 13 at 9am at LiveNation.co.uk. The group has also premiered a brand new single and provocative […]

Soulful Jamaican reggae man Beres Hammond is heading this way for a bunch of summer dates – made all the more special by the name of his supporting partner on this trip: Sanchez. Opening on August 18 at the Birmingham O2 Academy, the gigs then run: London, Brixton Academy [19]; Birmingham, O2 Academy [22]; Bristol, O2 Academy [23]; London, O2 Forum […]

Coming from UMOD from July 6 is This Is How We Do It, a 55-track, three–CD compilation of old-school, feel-good R&B smashes, led by Montell Jordan’s million-selling hit of the same name. Still, over 20 years after it topped the US singles chart, one of the ultimate summer party jams, the Grammy-winning This Is How We Do It sounds as […]

Acclaimed vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Judith Hill has just released her new single and video The Pepper Club. Written and produced by Hill, the track presages a handful of UK live dates in mid-summer. Catch her at: Manchester, Night & Day [July 15]; Liverpool, Shipping Forcast [16]; Pizza Express, Birmingham [17] and Pizza Express, London [18/19]. The Pepper Club is the […]

Bluesman of the road extraordinaire, Robert Cray, has turned our way again and booked himself a series of autumn gigs up and down the UK. Catch him at: Bexhill On Sea, De La Warr Pavilion [October 15]; Salford, Lowry [16]; Aylesbury, Waterside Theatre [17]; Glasgow, City Halls [19]; Edinburgh, Usher Hall [20]; Sheffield, Memorial & City Hall [22]; Cheltenham, Town […]

Lauryn Hill plans to bring her ‘The Miseducation Tour’ package – celebrating the 20thanniversary of her iconic album – over here towards the year’s end. Kicking off in Glasgow on November 23 at the SSE Hydro, she then goes: Manchester, Arena [Nov 26]; Birmingham, Arena [27]; Dublin, 3 Arena [30]; and London, O2 Arena [December 3]. Visit https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/search?aid=795402&user_input=lauryn&q=Ms.%20Lauryn%20Hill&tm_link=tm_header_search

Aiming right at the Father’s Day market, Got The Blues is a 4CD boxed set from UMOD of all-time blues classics designed to… well, one assumes to let dad know just how miserable life could be if it weren’t for his family showering him with gifts all the time. And asking him to lend them a tenner. And turn the TV […]

A new photo exhibition exploring a decade of hip-hop culture between 1982-1993 and featuring iconic images from British photographers Janette Beckman and former Echoes contributor and all-round good chap David Corio is set to run at the Getty Images Gallery in London from June 1 until August 4. The two snappers’ portraits of such as Run DMC, Slick Rick, Salt […]

This month sees the launch of the inaugural London Saxophone Festival, a celebration of all things sax, taking place at a range of venues and event spaces across the capital. The series of concerts will include performances from GRAMMY winning artists Bob Reynoldsof the widely celebrated jazz and funk collective Snarky Puppy, Casey Benjaminof the The Robert Glasper Experiment, MOBO […]

Record-breaking, chart-topping singer-songwriter Gabrielle returns this summer with the album, Under My Skin, her first studio record in 11 years. The project drops on August 17 and can be pre-ordered now from https://Gabrielle.lnk.to/UnderMySkinPR. The first single from the album, Show Me, is out now. Last year, Gabrielle connected with Grammy-nominated producer Steve Chrisanthou to write Show Me. Says Gabs: “When Steve first played me the music to […]