Review: Let’s Rock, Southampton Common, 8 July 2023

Review By: Ian Howie-Lee & Catherine Collins – Photo Credit: Kate Hunter Photography Thousands of revellers once again descended on Southampton Common yesterday for the return of retro ‘80s festival, Let’s Rock, with headline performances from Soft Cell and Boomtown Rats. There were ‘80s costumes and neon galore, and...

For the Queer Joy of it

By Alex Thurley-Ratcliff. Image of Ri Baroche at Art House show by Anita Foxall.   ArtfulScribe, that provoker and promoter of writers and writing in Hampshire and Dorset, recently enticed me into their workshops on Queer Joy. It’s not a phrase I had heard before; growing up in an...

Review: The Isle of Wight Festival, 2023

Words by Nick Mabey (Friday) & Lewis MacLean (Saturday & Sunday). Additional reporting by Paula Wilson.  Main image by Chloe Hashemi.   Friday by Nick Mabey. Friday at the festival and Newport was rocking. The sun shone, the crowds swarmed, everything was as it should be. For me it...

Review: Isle of Wight Festival, Friday 16 June

by Nick Mabey.  A Different Class  Friday at the festival and Newport was rocking. The sun shone, the crowds swarmed, everything was as it should be. For me it was all about Jarvis Cocker but more of that later.  First things first; a minor rant. For package holiday makers,...