We’re please to announce that This Is Tmrw will be welcoming The KVB to Hare & Hounds on Monday 29th October!

Like a hazily remembered dream, U.K. duo the KVB blend reverb-soaked shoegaze with minimalist electronic production to create their delicate and ephemeral sound. Formed in 2010 by Nicholas Wood and Kat Day, the KVB got started with a number of limited cassette and vinyl releases before their first full-length, Always Then, arrived in 2012. Two more albums, Immaterial Visions and Minus One, arrived the following year, Minus One being a proper release of material that had surfaced before in the form of digital downloads and extremely limited cassettes. In 2014, the duo ventured to Brian Jonestown Massacre mastermind Anton Newcombe’s Berlin studio to track what would become their Out of Body EP, released later that year on Newcombe’s own A Records label. This session would mark the KVB’s first recordings made outside of their own home studio as well as the first time they’d work with drummer Joe Dilworth, best known for his work with Stereolab. Keeping up their busy schedule, the KVB collected some of the more experimental output they recorded in 2014 on Mirror Being, which Invada released in June of the following year. The duo continued to move in a more experimental, heavily electronic direction on 2016’s Of Desire, which the KVB recorded with vintage synths from Invada head Geoff Barrow’s collection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYFG5x-kzr8

Tickets go on sale this Friday (1st June) at 10am and can be picked up here.

We’re delighted to announce that Live Nation will be welcoming indie pop four-piece Clean Cut Kid to Hare & Hounds on Monday 26th November!

Liverpudlian indie pop four-piece Clean Cut Kid formed in 2014. Fronted by husband-and-wife team Mike and Evelyn Hall, they started out as a duo before meeting bassist Saul Goodman and briefly rehearsing as a trio. In November 2014, Ross Higginson joined on drums and the band’s lineup was complete. Even as a youngster Mike was fixated with music, spinning the Beatles Blue and Red albums, along with Michael Jackson’s Dangerous, on his Walkman, and then eventually taking up the guitar in his teens after his father gave him a battered acoustic with only three strings. His penchant for classic pop permeates the band’s own music that is characterized by unabashedly romantic lyrics and infectious melodies. A series of singles began their career, starting with “Runaway” and “Vitamin C” in 2015. The influence of Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, and Paul Simon served them well, as they were signed to Polydor after playing only their second show. Following their single releases, Clean Cut Kid’s debut album Felt appeared in 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-a5GHXwNQw

Tickets go on sale Friday 25th May at 9am and can be picked up here.

We’re pleased to announce that Leftfoot & THSH Jazzlines will be welcoming London five-piece Ezra Collective on Monday 12th November!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGkZM6wjIwk

We’re delighted to announce that Simmer Down will be welcoming Al Campbell backed by Friendly Fire Band on Friday 29th June 2018!

Come and join us at the official Simmer Down Festival Launch party as we start the countdown to one of Birmingham’s much loved flagship festivals.

We are delighted to present one of Jamaica’s foremost roots reggae artists Al Campbell backed by Birmingham’s stellar musicians from the Friendly Fire Band. Having worked with Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor, Barrington Levi, the Mighty Diamonds, Campbell has a massive catalogue of hits and is a favorite on the European reggae festival circuit. His “Gee Baby’ was a big hit in 1975 in both Jamaica and the UK and his recording of ‘Late Night Blues’ became a staple of blues parties.

Joining Al Campbell live on stage will be some of some of Birmingham’s finest artists including Dennis Lloyd, Shelley Lightining, Misti Diore, Jay Bigby, Janel Antoneshia, Patricia Panton and Leesha Mac. Music on the night will be supplied by roots savant Tony Roots from Newstyle Radio and your host and compere is Mr Ranking from the Legends of Legends family.

Come and join us at the Simmerdown Lounge at the Hare & Hounds and party on down to the sweet reggae sounds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbqPtlDc6SA

Tickets are on sale now and can be picked up here.

Hailing from London, England, Ten Fé are an English alternative indie pop duo known for their nostalgic, hook-laden synth leads, sorrowful vocals, and atmospheric, ethereal guitar work. Musicians Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan met at a house party in Haringey, London and instantly established a rapport due to their similar music tastes. The friendship grew and the pair began busking. With a shared penchant for shoegaze and dream pop, the two eventually began working on their own material together.

Originally operating under the moniker Fé, the duo released their first single, “Time,” in 2013 via Bad Life Records, and garnered a rapturous response online. The track earned praise from BBC Radio 6 Music and Lauren Laverne, ultimately leading to them performing in-session at BBC Maida Vale with Rob Da Bank. This paved the way for more gigs, including performances at the Great Escape Festival and Bestival. After cementing their status as a magnetic live act, they released the 50/50 EP, produced by Luke Smith (Depeche Mode, Foals).

The duo ultimately decided to relocate to the thriving artistic streets of Berlin to continue making music. After arriving in Berlin, the bandmembers changed their name to Ten Fé, explaining that the change reflected their newly felt sense of growth and artistic confidence. They began work on their debut full-length with producer Ewan Pearson (M83, Jagwar Ma).

During the latter half of 2016, Ten Fé released album tracks online as teasers of what was to come, and “Make Me Better,” “Elodie,” and “Overflow” received widespread acclaim, with comparisons to Britain’s Madchester scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s and the work of Richard Ashcroft and the Verve due to their use of majestic strings, celestial guitar work, and electronically tinged percussion. In particular, “Make Me Better” received much praise, not least for its remix by British electronic outfit UNKLE. Their debut full-length, Hit the Light, was released in early 2017. The album featured the singles “Elodie” and “Twist Your Arm.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ru-GmPL-go&list=PLGIUY2LL7suomBXBaBApzE16eYh_bd9Z5

Tickets are on sale now and can be picked up here for just £8.

We’re pleased to announce that over 50% of tickets for Italian guitarist Luca Stricagnoli this October have already sold!

Luca is an acoustic guitarist known for his unique style and innovative playing techniques. His original approach to music has led him to a variety of successes from obtaining over 100 million views on his music videos to having the opportunity to perform all around the globe.

His debut single received over 14 million hits on YouTube and Facebook in just a couple of weeks — an especially impressive feat for an instrumental music video.

Using up to five guitars in the same piece, modified capos, and self-conceived stratagems, Luca continually leaves his audiences in awe and wondering what’s next for the up-and-coming guitarist. In addition to his musical abilities, Luca brings an enthusiastic energy to the stage that attracts concert requests from every corner of the world.

Although it has only been a year and a half since Luca started playing concerts, he has already performed in a vast multitude of countries.

In Italy, Luca played at the “Dopofestival” in Sanremo, after an invitation from Italian composer Vittorio Cosma. He was even deemed “a phenomenon” by the well-known Gialappa’s Band. Luca has also performed for the main national TV and Radio in his current residing-place of Germany, such as RTL, SWR1 and SWR4.

Luca shared the stage with several big names of the acoustic guitar world during the International Guitar Night tour. These names included the founder of the Latin-Swing style Lulo Reinhardt, grammy-nominated musician and inventor of the Slide Guitar Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, and Brazilian guitarist and composer Chrystian Dozza. He has also been a guest artist for Italian musical legends such as “New Trolls – La Storia” and “Davide Van De Sfroos”.

Throughout his career, Luca’s music has been published by countless magazines and has grabbed the attention of world-famous artists such as the band “Walk Off The Earth”. The band even published Luca’s work on their Facebook page, obtaining more than eight million views on a single video.

Luca is currently working on a new release in which he explores even more approaches to guitar playing and debuts a new guitar that he created with Davide Serracini, all while discovering what the custom instrument has to offer the world of music. The album tour, featuring special guest Meg Pfeiffer, will cross over ten countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2mkYv3JrjU

You can pick your tickets up here for just £12.50.

We’re pleased to announce that Punk Rock Blues will be welcoming Barrence Whitfield & The Savages to Hare & Hounds on Tuesday 15th May!

There’s no harder hitter than frontman Barrence Whitfield of Boston, MA. When he hits the boards with the Savages, you’re either gonna ride the energy or be crushed by it. We’re talking Joe Louis, Howlin’ Wolf, Wilson Pickett, Smokin’ Joe Frazier. Barrence has what these greats all possessed, the one thing a trainer cannot teach a fighter: a lust for mayhem. The wilder, louder, more insane the Savages bring it, the more BW is ready to attack the mic, to bring it high, to bring it low, to wear you down on the ropes, and eventually drop you.

Backing Whitfield are the best cornermen in the business, led by garage/punk guitarist Peter Greenberg, the visionary who started the Savages after a legendary stint with the Lyres, and his sidekick Phil “Mr. Tenacious” Lenker on bass. Greenberg works his guitar with the ruthless intricacy of a chain saw ice sculptor. Lenker meshes with drummer Andy Jody for an unrelenting sequence of haymaker beats. Tom Quartulli’s saxophone rips like a foghorn through the mist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuNZFieMDWk

Tickets are on sale now and can be picked up here.

We’re pleased to announce that Surprise You’re Dead Music will be welcoming American band Earthless as well as Ruby The Hatchet to Hare & Hounds on Sunday 29th July 2018!

Formed in 2001, Earthless prides itself on creating energetic, utterly unique and free thinking instrumental music inspired by an eclectic mix of German krautrock and Japanese heavy blues-rock. The Californian trio has dedicated itself to mastery of the mind-bending jam session, evoking the spirits of Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath in equal measure. Named after a song title from vintage New York garage-psych band The Druids of Stonehenge, Earthless’ sound has been called “A sonic kaleidoscope of lava and lightning”, earning it the title of “California’s loudest band”. The group delivers “one of the best live shows in all of modern, heavy rock,” leading to one reviewer stating that the band’s “epic shredding harkens back to the days were psychedelic rock had balls the size of grapefruits and wasn’t afraid to take its listeners on a ride for which they may never return.”

Each member of Earthless has done time in many other bands. Drummer (and former pro skater) Mario Rubalcaba currently plays in the hardcore punk band OFF! and has also occupied the drum throne in Rocket From The Crypt and Hot Snakes amongst many others. Bassist Mike Eginton played with Electric Nazarene and guitarist Isaiah Mitchell was most recently in Howlin’ Rain, has played with Nebula and Drunk Horse and also heads up the Bay Area band Golden Void. In the end, Earthless is the musical rock that grounds the three musicians and now, after more than half a decade since the release of their last studio LP, Earthless has returned and is out to prove — through sheer rock power — why they are considered the cream of the modern day heavy psych scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqzRWMQJwfk

Tickets are on sale now and can be picked up here.

We’re delighted to announce that The MJR Group by arrangement with ATC Live will be welcoming American indie band Petal to Hare & Hounds on Sunday 11th November 2018.

Despite our best efforts, there are some things we just can’t outrun. Everything catches up to us in the end, no matter what we do to hide from it. It’s a reality that Petal’s Kiley Lotz examines on Magic Gone, the band’s latest full-length album on Run For Cover.

Recorded over the course of a month at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA, Magic Gone is a
bitingly honest look at adulthood, accountability, responsibility, and mental health and the
difficulties that go along with each of them. “I was a closeted queer person struggling with
chronic mental health disorders,” says Lotz of the three year period that inspired the album.
“There comes a moment where all the paranoia, anxiety and pain become too much and you
realize the structure you built to survive is no longer is going to serve you. I had to make some very big life changes to make sure I didn’t die. It was not easy taking that level control over my life after spending many years worrying about upsetting others and being the best and most successful person I could be.”

That’s not to say that the last few years have only been negative for Lotz – there were a lot of great moments, too. She moved from New York City to Philadelphia, changed her focus from
acting and theatre to music, toured with Julien Baker, Slingshot Dakota, and Kevin Devine, and
chose to come out and live openly as queer, which she looks back on as one of the most
beneficial decisions she’s ever made. “Coming out was the beginning of a long and continuing
process of self actualization, of taking a hard look at myself and the problems I had and how I
could fix them,” says Lotz.

Still, the highs of her rapidly changing life weren’t able to outweigh the lows, and in early 2017, Lotz found herself hitting a breaking point. Her mental health was rapidly declining, and after a relapse of suicidality, she made the difficult decision to prioritize her health above all else and move back to her hometown to enter intensive treatment for her major depressive and panic disorders.

It was that duality – the valley between the positives and negatives of life that she’d experienced – that inspired Magic Gone and its two halves. Side A, titled Tightrope Walker, features songs Lotz wrote before entering treatment, while Side B, Miracle Clinger, is comprised of songs she wrote in recovery. “I think those two parts of me are what kept me alive,” Lotz explains. “I became so skilled at the act of getting through every day that I trusted that ability, but knew if I slipped I could face a bad end. Still, I couldn’t help but have faith in myself and people and God and that things could be better, even though I felt so lost and hopeless.”

The culmination of it all is an album that showcases Lotz’ prowess as both a vocalist and a
songwriter, drawing equal influence from ‘70s powerhouses like Queen and Nina Simone as it
does modern vocalists like Solange, Margaret Glaspy and Mitski. Producer Will Yip distills Lotz
down to her purest form, lending an unprecedented rawness to her sound. Themes of duality
even make their way into the album’s instrumentation, specifically in Lotz’ decision to include
church organ on the album; playing organ was a huge part of her life growing up, and to this daythe sound of it inspires both comfort and fear in her. Track by track, the singer transforms her vulnerability from a curse into a tool with which to examine both where she went wrong and
where she went right in her struggle for survival. Lotz offers a lesson for each of us on having the courage to face our demons and make the best choices for ourselves. “Really feeling what it’s like to be completely heart broken, instead of just pushing it down so deeply, allowed me to see the true strength in vulnerability. That acknowledging pain, struggle, loss and heart break, is strong. That being out is strong. That being ill takes strength all it’s own.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj0bSCU9z7s

Tickets go on sale at 9AM on Friday 11th May, and can be picked up here.

We’re delighted to have won the ‘Best Venue Under 500 Capacity’ award at The Birmingham Music Awards last night!

Thanks to everyone who voted for us, all of the promoters & artists who work with us, our loyal customers and our amazing team of staff who work tirelessly to make the venue what it is. Thanks also to Jo Jeffries and her team for organising such a top night!