Music in 2018

A big warm welcome back to you all, hopefully, most of you have just about survived the typical Manchester cold and all of your exams and deadlines. Now’s the time for turning a new page and going onto the next chapter, and with that, I think of finding new artists to be the new soundtrack of your year, not only this but here are just a few things that you should be (or at least I am) looking forward to in 2018.

New Artists to watch out for:

1. Khalid – The singer of ‘Thunder’ and ‘Young, Dumb and Broke’ (3 things I am definitely feeling right now) is on tour from January up until July 2018. The 19-year old is performing in Manchester on the 17th February at Manchester Academy… just 6 days after his birthday, so make sure you go down and celebrate with him. I have no doubts it will be anything less than flawless.
2. Pale Waves – The Manchester-based indie-pop band has been ‘making waves’ in the industry recently, pardon the pun. The group who met at BIMM and frequently performed at Night & Day recently toured with The 1975 and now are working on releasing their debut EP soon, and an album towards the end of the year too.

   

3. Lewis Capaldi – The Scottish soul singer released ‘Bruises’ in 2017, and has been on repeat on my Spotify ever since. His voice is raw and powerful. He’s doing a handful of tour dates and performing in at Club Academy in Manchester on the 16th February as well as at the Neighbourhood Weekender on the 26th May. Lewis Capaldi will be one of those artists you get to brag about that you saw him in Club Academy way before anyone else.

   

4. Superorganism – Superorganism, is fun and wacky and twisted. The 8 piece has taken off very quickly, and it only takes listening to tracks like ‘Everybody wants to be famous’ and ‘Something For Your M.I.N.D’ to see why. I spoke to the group recently and they talked about how their shows create a whole new world and experience, something similar to a mushroom trip. The group are performing at Gorilla on the 7th March.

Big Releases for 2018:

1. ARCTIC MONKEYS ARE COMING BACK, I REPEAT ARCTIC MONKEYS ARE COMING BACK. I’m just going to get that one out the way first, and before you roll your eyes at this i’ll just remind you that there has probably never been a time when you have not completely lost yourself to listening to ‘I bet that you look good on the dancefloor’ on a night out, considering that was one of the first hits for them, it remains to be a complete banger. Their last album AM was released back in 2013, their next album is long overdue and eagerly awaited.
2. The 1975, Music For Cars – Whilst there hasn’t been an exact date for this, it is being predicted that the new album will fall on, or around the 1st June. The Northern pop group have been hinting at fans for a while on social media, with big things in the pipeworks. The 1975 like to reinvent themselves and experiment with their music, I’m interested to see what they do this time in 2018.
3. George Ezra, Staying at Tamara’s – The new album is being released on March 23rd, The ‘Budapest’ singer has finally returned after 4 years gracing us with his new album, Staying at Tamara’s. He also has plans of touring during March and April too!
4. Avril Lavigne??  Whilst this has no album name or actual real confirmation if this is actually happening, there are still many a rumour about Melissa — I mean Avril — Bouncing back into life into the music scene. I wonder if she’s gone back to her ‘Sk8r Boi’ days or has evolved into something else entirely… my inner 10-year-old rock chick is screaming with excitement.