By Darren Grayer. Formed in 2023, Better Joy is the creation of Manchester based singer/songwriter Bria Keeley. She began writing songs at university before forming the band which then released four singles in 2024, followed by last month’s six track ep, Heading Into The Blue. The band have been...
Book review: Modern Poetry & Frank: Sonnets, by Diane Seuss
By Anita Foxall. Modern Poetry and Frank: Sonnets were my first encounters with Diane Seuss’s poetry, both Fitzcarraldo Editions published in February this year which I picked up from Southampton’s own October Books. This Michigan born poet grabbed my attention as soon as I started reading the first...
City’s tourist guides ready to start busy year of walls and vaults exploration
Guides from the city’s two guiding organisation, the Southampton Tourist Guides Association (STGA) and See Southampton, met at the Bargate ahead of finalising plans for a series of exciting exploration walks across the Old Town in 2025. Walks will visit the city walls and explore a number of Southampton’s famous...
Heritage: A proud day for SS Shieldhall
By Martin Brisland. On 2nd April 2025 there was a Presentation Ceremony of the Kings Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) onboard Steamship Shieldhall in the Western Docks. The impressive glass trophy was handed to Captain Martin Phipps by Mr. Nigel Atkinson, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. Distinguished guests included Cllr...
Album review: Rats! Rats! Rats! – Bloody Hello & launch party
By Sam Wise. For us the highlight of Victorious Festival last summer was not, as predicted, The Pixies, on the promise of whom we had bought the tickets. No, the real stars of the event, for us, were Gosport punk/grunge duo Rats! Rats! Rats!, who we caught on one...
Southampton artist Lucy Kitchen named Turner Sims’ Turn It Up local associate for 2025
Turn It Up is development opportunity for musicians from Southampton and SO postcodes. Launched in 2024 by University of Southampton music venue, Turner Sims, the inaugural winners of the scheme were folk duo Pegasuses. Supported by funding from Arts Council England, the programme aims to help local musicians turn...
Teenage Waitress – a Rock n Roll Powerpoint on Songs, comes to the Railway, Winchester
Southampton’s Daniel J Ash, who writes and records solo music under the project name Teenage Waitressis putting on a special gig with a twist on in Winchester on April 26. He explains: “As a songwriter of quite a few years, and a lecturer in songwriting at the University of...
Southampton gig guide – April
By Vicky Greer. The sun is out, the people of Southampton are venturing outside again, and we’ve got a stacked line-up of live entertainment coming to the city. I don’t care if I’m getting ahead of myself – summer has arrived, basically. This April, we’ve got some of...
Front Line Assembly come to Southampton this month
Vancouver-based electro-industrial scene legends Front Line Assembly have been pushing the boundaries of their genre for almost four decades since being founded by Bill Leeb in 1986. Exploring beat-driven electronic body music with forays into corrosive industrial metal, the core FLA duo of Leeb and long-term cohort Rhys Fulber...
Free RSA event focuses on what devolution could mean for Southampton
Image: Mike Daish. What does devolution mean for Southampton? What are the benefits for our city? And if a new Mayoral Strategic Authority is created, how can Southampton realise those benefits? All are invited to join the discussion on Tuesday 8th April to talk about the proposal to create...