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The cellist for the band, ‘The Sparrow Quartet’, recently released his debut, ‘Learning to bend’. This blend of classic and folk music seems to be working well for him. Maybe it’s the 24 years of classical training, or it could be his unique performance style and creative vision that creates such a diverse and moreish album. A truly unique and easy listener.

How to see the sun rise- Ben Sollee

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Described as ‘french drum and bass’ I beg to differ… their energetic, laid back style on maybe one of their best tracks ‘Whistle’ bundles them with the likes of Jamie T and Bedlam Sound Clash. Great chill our grooves to listen to particualrly on a wind down after a night out.

Whistle- Sporto Kantes

Living and working in London, Irish singer-songwriter- musician Wallis Bird is definatly a girl of many talents. Her music is original and fresh, her voice a world apart from the stereotypical femal singer-songwriters, ranging from grunge folk to lively pop. ‘Counting To Sleep’ crings to mind the honesty and strength of Ani DiFranco.

Counting To Sleep by Wallis Bird

Ok so if you dont already know who the strokes are…SHAME on you! For the majority of you who im sure have dipped at least a little toe into the strokes pool will be excited to hear the NME rumour that a new album may be on the way.

Since their last album ‘ First Impressions of Earth’ the band have been very quiet. Posted on their official site  bassist nikolai Fraiture said “I’d like to say that i’m still looking forward to a fourth album release. We just need to work out a few technical kinks” lets hope the sound of Julian Casablanca will be piercing our ears sooner rather than later!

The Raw are a small band from Derby, UK who may just be about to hit the big time. After entering the bogdog battle of the bands for fun, the guys managed to win the UK final sending them off to LA for a reality TV show. The final prize? A £1 million record deal. Want to know more?

Formed in 2006 these guys had only one goal in mind, to make good rock music, with catchy melodies and shimmering guitar licks. Influenced by the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Feeder, Stereophonics and The Killers to name but a few. Last Scene Falling are currently preparing more material for another studio visit. Having competed in numerous band contests, the guys have set their sights higher and are bidding to support feeder on their upcoming tour, take a visit to their website to show some support.

Air Traffic have had little attention in the mainstream, bar a few awesome singles! They’re a band who just keep on churning out so many great songs, each different to the next. Comparisons can be seen in the sensitivity of coldplay, the energy of supergrass, athemic sounds of snow patrol or the infectiousness of any Franz Ferdinand track. Tour dates have been announced for this month check out their webpage for more details.

Two guys and one peroxide blonde female, audiofying wizardry and captivating 80’s disco. At least thats how they describe themselves. The English trio dont specify a genre, myspace has chosen to pigeon-hole them as ‘electro, indie, alternative’. They seem to be a band here for fun, they make the music for themselves and to have a laugh, the end result, something magical that I can’t compare to anything i’ve ever heard. Releasing a vinyl later this year definatly a band to look out for, keep up to date with their antics by checking their myspace page.

Getting tickets to popular events can be a ball ache! As band’s and festival’s reputations grow, the chance of you being there lessens! The days of waiting outside your local record store are almost over, as the majority of tickets now go on sale over the internet. Hopefully by following a few tips I’ll help you bag those sacred tickets! So…

Be prepared, when logging on always make sure you have your card details to hand. Nowadays, most bands offer presale tickets to those fans on their webase a day or two before going on sale to the general public. Make sure your signed up to their mailing list to ensure first pick of the tickets!

If presale isn’t an option for example, with festivals, make sure you know the date and time tickets go on sale so you can log on a couple of minutes beforehand. Also visit more than one site to try and get your tickets. As it gets closer to the sale time keep refreshing your page or re-entering the address (sometimes refreshing doesn’t work to stop spammers) until the ticket sale goes live. Fast typing is now essential to get in all your details before the pages expire!

If you didn’t manage to get tickets dont worry there’s still some options available to you…

If it’s a big event there will probably be a second batch being sent out in the next 24 hours. Keep checking forums or rumour sites to find out. With Leeds and Reading for example HMV had some tickets on sale the next day in store.

Alternatively e-bay is always an option, although you’ll probably find yourself paying a little more than you wanted to, it’s usually a dead certainty for tickets. If you want to risk it 2-3 days before the show, ticket websites sometimes release another small batch. If you’re really daring turning up the day of the show sometimes works, if the box office isn’t open there’s usually a fan or scout selling tickets at a reasonable price.

And Finally a quick tip, if you’ve decided to take the internet option a fast computer and a high speed connection will increase your chances of ticket success. Don’t give up persistance usually pays off. And remember, take care when entering your card or billing information, you don’t want, after 3 hours of waiting , to find out you’ve sent your ticket to the wrong address or it wont accpet you’re card!

Last but by no means least, when your tickets arrive keep them in a safe place, speaking from experience it’s not fun loosing them before the gig!

They’ve been described as ‘Bloc Party on speed’ and when watching them as a warm up act for panic! at the disco I could see what was meant they had a great energy about them! Their debut album ‘dance like no-ones watching’ is out on the 12th of May and is full of experimental, electro indie sounds thrown together to create an exhilerating sound! Check out the lads webpage for your thrill!