Interscope

March 23, 2018March 23, 2018

BPREVIEW: 30 Seconds to Mars @ Arena Birmingham 29.03.18

On Thursday 29^thMarch, Thirty Seconds to Mars will be performing at Arena Birmingham as part of their Monolith Tour.

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets priced from £37.60 (plus booking fee) as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

It has now been close to 20 years since we were introduced to Thirty Seconds to Mars, with their self titled debut album shooting them into the top end of the alternative music scene. Two decades later, the band are still rooted in rock but have evolved a sound that takes inspiration from a range of musical styles.

However, it was during 2005 that the Los Angles based three piece paved their way into commercial mainstream with the release of their sophomore album, A Beautiful Lie – containing singles such as ‘The Kill’, ‘Attack’ and the titular ‘A Beautiful Lie’. Moving away from the progressive and ‘space rock’ of their debut, A Beautiful Lie brought the band into a more personal context – as front man, Jared Leto, told the American broadcaster, USA Network, “on the first record I created a world, then hid behind it. With A Beautiful Lie, it was time to take a more personal and less cerebral approach.”

With a growing fan base, firmly rooted in the band’s music alone, Thirty Seconds to Mars would release of further two albums over the following decade – This Is War (2009) followed by Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013). They would also win a cavalcade of awards, including a Guinness World Record for the longest concert tour by a rock band (just over 300 shows to be precise).

Then in November 2015, Thirty Seconds to Mars announced they were working on their fifth studio album – set for release in April 2018. So far two tracks have been released from America, with the album’s explosive and cinematic lead single, ‘Walk on Water’, hitting No1 on both the UK Rock and Metal and US Rock Airplay Billboard charts.

The supporting Monolith Tour was announced in October 2017, kicking off in Switzerland and coming over to the UK for five dates, starting with a show in Cardiff on 23^rd March and ending at Arena Birmingham on 29^th March – before heading back across the channel for shows in Portugal, Spain and a string of festival appearances.

‘Walk on Water’ – 30 Seconds to Mars

30 Seconds to Mars perform at Arena Birmingham on Thursday 29^th March, as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.arenabham.co.uk/whats-on/thirty-seconds-to-mars

For more on 30 Seconds to Mars, visit www.thirtysecondstomars.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more on Arena Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.arenabham.co.uk

March 9, 2018March 9, 2018

BPREVIEW: All Time Low @ Genting Arena 15.03.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

All Time Low will be performing at the Genting Arena on the 15^th March – opening the show by performing their sophomore album, So Wrong, It’s Right, in full. Support will be coming from Southampton based Creeper.

Doors open at the Genting Arena from 5pm (Forum Live) and 6pm (Arena Bowl), with All Time Low scheduled to perform from 8pm onwards. Tickets are currently on sale from £37.63 plus booking fees – as presented by SJM Concerts/Gigs and Tours. For direct gig information, including full showtimes, venue details, and online ticket sales, click here.

This will be the first UK tour for the Baltimore band since they released their latest album, Last Young Renegade, which scooped the Rock Sound Award for Album of the Year in 2017. A far cry from the more summer-y beats of So Wrong, It’s Right – their most recent LP explores a darker side to All Time Low’s style, winning over their fans with tracks such as ‘Dirty Laundry’.

It’s clear All Time Low have come a long way since releasing their debut studio album, The Party Scene, back in 2005. Their steady climb to pop-punk stardom has included performances at festivals such as Warped Tour, Reading and Leeds, plus more albums than you can shake a muddy greenfield stick at.

But the band’s last album did mark a significant shift as All Time Low left their long time label, Hopeless Records, to release Last Young Renegade through the Atlantic subsidiary, Fueled by Ramen. Their latest tour announcement hasn’t been without its obstacles either – with the withdrawal of Pierce The Veil as a co-headliner following allegations of sexual misconduct against the band’s drummer, Mike Fuentes, the status of the UK leg seemed in doubt.

But All Time Low soon rectified the situation by announcing that, as opposed to bringing in another headliner at such short notice, they would instead fill the time by performing their 2007 album So Wrong, It’s Right in full – alongside recruiting the support of ‘horror punk’ four piece, Creeper, on their UK dates.

And with popular tracks such as ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ and ‘Remembering Sunday’ hailing from the album in question, fans are in for a nostalgic treat at the Genting Arena and across the UK.

‘Dirty Laundry’ – All Time Low

For more on All Time Low, visit www.alltimelow.com

For more on Creeper, visit www.creepercult.com

For more from SJM Concerts/Gig and Tours, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gigsandtours.com

For more from the Genting Arena, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

February 13, 2018

BPREVIEW: Imagine Dragons @ Genting Arena 24.02.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Imagine Dragons will be performing at the Genting Arena in Birmingham on Saturday the 24^th February, with support from Grouplove and K. Flay.

Set times are yet to be confirmed, with tickets currently priced from £41.58 (plus booking fee) – as presented by Live Nation UK. For direct gig details, including venue information and online ticket sales, click here.

It’s a busy time for Imagine Dragons. Following the release of their third studio album, Evolve, they announced a world tour in support – so a full diary for the Las Vegas alt/pop rockers, but sweet relief for their fans who had been waiting patiently for new material after the band announced a self-imposed hiatus for 2016.

Was it worth the wait? Despite going platinum in America, peaking at No2 on the Billboard 200 and No1 on the Top Rock charts, and hitting Top 10s across Europe – including No3 on the Official UK Charts, Evolve has received mixed reviews from critics on both sides of the pond.

But their new album title is rather fitting for the alternative rock band who first stormed to international success back in 2012. Their debut album Night Visions, was released and took over the rock charts across the world, sneaking it way into the Top 10s in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada to name a few.

Birthed from this album was the track ‘Radioactive’, which became the genre’s best selling track of 2013 and was coined by Rolling Stones magazine as ‘The biggest rock hit of the year’. After scooping the award for Billboard’s Best Breakout Band of 2013, it soon became clear that the only way was up for the dynamic Las Vegas quartet.

Evolve, whatever publication you’re reading, is the band’s third top five album stateside, and it’s not hard to see why Imagine Dragons have enjoyed such continued success. Their music is a tactical mix or rock and electronic production, wrapped up and presented with astounding live performances – grabbing and building an audience from a cross section of genres.

It’s heavy enough to please even the most hardcore of alternative rock fans, but can still be found playing in many more bars and clubs with a pop tinge that takes it comfortably into the mainstream. Drawing influences from bands such as Nirvana, Arcade Fire and Muse, Imagine Dragons are always a breath of fresh air.

‘Whatever It Takes’ – Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons come to the Genting Arena on Saturday 24^th February, with support from Grouplove and K Flay – as presented by Live Nation UK. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/imagine-dragons

For more on Imagine Dragons, visit www.imaginedragonsmusic.com

For more on Grouplove, visit www.grouplovemusic.com

For more on K. Flay, visit www.kflay.com

For more from Live Nation, visit www.livenation.co.uk

For more from the Genting Arena, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

January 8, 2018

BPREVIEW: Lady Gaga @ Arena Birmingham 31.01.18 / Genting Arena 01.02.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

After being forced to postpone the European leg of her tour due to a battle with fibromyalgia, Lady Gaga will be performing at Arena Birmingham on the 31^st of January and again at the Genting Arena on the 1^st February.

Tickets to both arena shows are priced at £48.50 (+ fees), as presented by Live Nation UK. For direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, for Lady Gaga at Arena Birmingham on 31^st January, click here. For Lady Gaga at the Genting Arena on 1^st February, click here.

**Tickets for the originally scheduled Lada Gaga shows at the Genting Arena (12^th Oct ’17) at Arena Birmingham (15^th Oct ’17) can be transferred to the new dates. According to the venues’ websites, ‘if you cannot make the new date, refunds can be obtained at your point of purchase for a limited period’.**

Touring the UK following the release of her fifth studio album, Joanne, Lady Gaga is hitting the ground running in 2018. And why wouldn’t she? As one of the best-selling music artists of all time, Lady Gaga is set to make even more waves this year having signed a residency to perform at the MGM Park Theater in Las Vegas, as well as staring as the female lead in Bradley Cooper’s remake of A Star Is Born.

A pop icon whose dramatic flair and provocative, outspoken performances have made her one of the most influential stars on the planet at the moment, Lady Gaga‘s numerous accolades include three Brit awards, six Grammy awards and more Guinness World Records than you could shake a stick at.

Unlike many current mainstream artists, Lady Gaga’s performances are about more than just music. Her penchant for unconventional shows that defy social norms have made her one of the most respected female pop stars on the circuit. Lady Gaga has not only managed to elevate music performance to a new level – but she has merged it with fine art to create not just a show but a spectacle.

Even off stage, she has no boundaries; from her meat dress which dominated headlines in 2010, right through to her David Bowie inspired ensemble donned for the 2016 Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga is consistently reinventing herself and her music.

Lady Gaga has come a long way from the electropop tracks she released on her debut album, The Fame. Although tracks such as ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Just Dance’ will always be seen as cult classics, the singer and songwriter has flirted with numerous genres over the years, including jazz, country and pop. And yet she still manages to incorporate her signature style into each track, distilling it down to a sound that is unmistakably Lady Gaga.

With her latest album receiving critical acclaim across the board, I can’t wait to see what Lady Gaga will bring to the stage as she kicks off the UK leg of her Joanne World Tour in Birmingham at the end of this month.

‘Joanne’ – Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga performs at Arena Birmingham on the 31^st of January and at the Genting Arena on the 1^st February. For direct gig info on the Arena Birmingham show click here – for direct info on the Genting Arena gig, click here.

For more on Lady Gaga, visit www.ladygaga.com

For more from Arena Birmingham including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.arenabham.co.uk

For more from the Genting Arena, including full event listings on online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

For more from Live Nation UK, including all national tours, events and online ticket sales, visit www.livenation.co.uk