The Travelling Band Stream Special Gig For Fans Who Backed New Album

On Monday 20th May, The Travelling Band are performing an exclusive and intimate gig at Manchester’s Castle Hotel for a selection of lucky fans.

And it’ll be live online too! Having recently fallen in love with live-streaming gigs, the band are pulling out all the stops with a multi-camera, professionally shot, exclusively hosted by tastemaking music site The 405.

The gig will take place at 8pm on Monday 20th May and is being broadcast via a professional-quality stream delivered by PlayConcert at thefourohfive.com/tv – and the mastered audio of the gig will be available to download the following week. 

The gig coincides with the  release of their truly gorgeous new single, Hands Up, (Stream here: https://soundcloud.com/ask-me/the-travelling-band-hands-up-acoustic), which precedes their forthcoming crowdfunded third album.

http://www.thetravellingband.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/thetravellingband
http://thetravellingband.bandcamp.com

Peter Hook Is BIMM Manchester’s Next Special Guest

hookybimm4It’s an amazing coup for BIMM Manchester!

Peter Hook, bassist from not one, but two legendary bands in Joy Division and New Order, will be the special guest at BIMM Manchester’s next Open Day on Saturday May 25th at 11am!

Hooky will be discussing his career on stage and sharing his incredible experience with potential BIMM Manchester students.

After the enormous success of the previous BIMM Manchester Open Days, this event continues the tradition of securing amazing speakers – in previous events, Mike Joyce (The Smiths), Richard Jupp (Elbow), Ben Thompson (Two Door Cinema Club) and Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets) have all spoken about their life and careers.

The final BIMM Manchester Open Day until September begins at 11am on Saturday 25th May.

www.bimm.co.uk/manchester/open-days

Straw Bear Live Session On BBC 6 Music

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Straw Bear were hugely excited to be asked to perform a live session for hugely respected BBC 6 Music DJ Tom Robinson on his 6 Music show, and they were – as radio listeners are used to by now – fabulous!

 

Tom loves the band and has supported them since before Christmas 2012 – so he was just as pleased that they did the session as the band themselves were!

Momentum is picking up for the band – Straw Bear are also appearing at The Great Escape on Friday 17th May on the BBC Introducing Stage.

The Travelling Band Release Glorious Acoustic Version & Stream Surprise Gigs Online

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The Travelling Band are not ones for standing still.

So despite just returning from a huge, fabulously-received 24-date UK tour, they got itchy feet and recorded a gorgeous alternative acoustic version of their brilliant new single, Hands Up, which showcases the song in a whole new glorious light. Hands Up is out on 20th April, and will coincide with yet another suprise live event you’ll not want to miss…we will keep you updated. 

And then co-singer Jo – missing the feeling of performing live after only a week at home – hit on the canny idea of performing off-the-cuff, spur-of-the-moment gigs from his flat and streaming them online.

Advertising the gig on Facebook only a few minutes before it began, he quickly built up an enthusiastic and vocal virtual crowd commenting furiously as he played new songs and old requests.

Below is the archived footage of that show – and keep your eyes on The Travelling Band’s Facebook page for forthcoming surprise online gigs!

 

Straw Bear Picked For BBC Introducing Showcase At The Great Escape 2013

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Straw Bear have been chosen alongside some of the UK’s most hotly-tipped new bands to perform at the BBC Introducing Stage at Europe’s most prestigious new music festival, The Great Escape.

Selected by hugely-respected BBC DJs Tom Robinson, Huw Stephens, Jen Long and Ally McCrae, Straw Bear will be performing with Childhood, Iyes, and Lauren Aquilina; and live recordings of their show will be played over the various BBC networks the following week.

Read more on the BBC Introducing blog here!

The Travelling Band – Hands Up EP and new video

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Impact Date: 20th May 2013 

Label: Sideways Saloon

 

 

The Travelling Band return with a new EP, ‘Hands Up’ and it serves up a taste of what’s to come. Original ingredients are maintained, intricate guitar lines and infectious rhythms interact with expansive chord structures and subtle tempo changes.

The EP is available on a ‘pay what you want’ basis here: http://thetravellingband.bandcamp.com

Having spent the first half of 2012 writing followed by a summer of UK and European festival dates, the group successfully crowd-funded their new album  ‘The Big Defreeze’ via Pledge Music, and quickly hit their target thanks to their enthusiastic fan-base. The new album, was produced by multi platinum selling producer Iestyn Polson (David Gray, Patti Smith, David Bowie, Simple Kid), recorded at the turn of the year at The Church Studios in Crouch End, London.

The video is directed by Rudy Riveron Sanchez from AlmostFilm Productions. He said “The character is interacting with the natural elements each, fire, air, water and responding to the song…visually poetic and atmospheric”

The guys are in the middle of a successful 24-date UK tour, which was preceded by a live session on Marc Riley’s BBC 6 Music show on Monday February 25th.

 

The Travelling Band are:
Jo Dudderidge (Vocals, Guitars, Keys)
Adam Gorman (Vocals, Guitars, Keys)
Steve Mullen (Lead Guitar, Vocals)
Chris Spencer (Bass)
Nick Vaal (Drums)

TOUR DATES – MARCH 2013

Wed 20: Oxford, Jericho Tavern
Thurs 21: Southampton, Cellar
Fri 22: Brighton, Green Door Store
Sat 23: Guildford, Boileroom
Sun 24: Tunbridge Wells, Forum
Tue 26: London, Lexington
Wed 27: Norwich, Arts Centre
Thurs 28: Cambridge, Portland Arms
Fri 29: Crewe, Box*
Sat 30: Hull, Adelphi

Support from Ellen & The Escapades except where indicated.
*THE TRAVELLING BAND ONLY

thetravellingband.co.uk
facebook.com/thetravellingband
twitter.com/travellingband

BIMM MANCHESTER OFFERS £120,000 WORTH OF FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY AT THEIR BRAND NEW CONTEMPORARY MUSIC COLLEGE

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‘OFFERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF TALENTED MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS STATE OF THE ART EDUCATION’

BIMM Manchester is offering budding musicians and music industry professionals a life-changing opportunity to pursue their musical ambitions.

As the newest college in the award winning BIMM Group, BIMM Manchester is offering £120,000 worth of Foundation Scholarships when it opens its building in the heart of the city centre in September 2013.

BIMM Manchester will be offering one full Foundation Scholarship (valued at £18,000) for each of its seven BA (Hons) courses – meaning prospective students can study a degree level course in Guitar, Bass, Drums, Songwriting, Vocals, Music Business and Music Event Management, to cover all tuition fees.

BIMM Manchester Principal Vaseema Hamilton adds, “Since we launched BIMM Manchester earlier this year, we have been thrilled by the number of  applicants to all our courses and astonished by the level of talent and dedication that has been presented to our assessment and audition teams.

‘We also recognise that the current financial climate is immensely  challenging for many families and we have created these Foundation Scholarships in order to support members of the next generation of Manchester Music Industry creatives  who might otherwise not have been able to gain a BA (Hons).”

All BIMM Manchester BA (Hons) degrees are validated by the University of Sussex (currently ranked 21st in the UK) and studied on a full time basis, for three years.

BIMM Manchester is open for applications now, and due to continued demand is hosting its fourth Open Day on Saturday 16th March, starting at 12 noon at the Gorilla music bar.

More Open Days are planned for April and May.

Talking at the last BIMM Manchester Open Day in January, Mike Joyce said, “I wish we had something like [BIMM Manchester] when The Smiths were starting out. Nobody told us about the pitfalls of the music business. We might have avoided the problems we encountered.”

After visiting the BIMM Brighton college, Roger Daltrey CBE said, “Really impressed with what you have here, you’re very lucky.”

Today it was announced that Roger Daltrey is to be a Patron for BIMM.

For more information on the courses available, click here.

Straw Bear Continue To Pick Up Rave Reviews

As if recieving plays from BBC Radio 2‘s Whispering Bob Harris, Dermot O’Leary, and 6 Music‘s Tom Robinson, Absolute Radio’s Geoff Lloyd, Xfm’s John Kennedy…  wasn’t enough, Straw Bear continue to attract breathless praise.

This time, it’s from the respected Rock ‘n’ Reel magazine, who gave their new album, Black Bank, a five star review:

R2 review

The first single from the album, “Kitty,” is released on March 11th 2013. 

The Travelling Band Play BBC 6 Music Marc Riley Session

TravBandMarcRiley

The Travelling Band marked their return by performing three new tracks from their forthcoming new album on Marc Riley’s BBC 6 Music show last night, showcasing their evolved sound.

Marc, inevitably, shouted “Judas!”, in reference to the infamous response to Bob Dylan‘s switch from acoustic to electric guitars.

The Travelling Band are about to embark on a huge UK tour.

Their new EP, also titled Hands Up, is available now: http://thetravellingband.bandcamp.com

City Reign Curate Exclusive Q Magazine Playlist

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City Reign are no strangers to making albums in odd places – having just recorded their new album Another Step in Salford’s Sacred Trinity Church.

Q Magazine asked them to put together a playlist of their favourite tracks that were recorded in odd places – and they picked a varied bunch, including Johnny Cash, Doves, Bon Iver, U2 and My Morning Jacket.

 

Hear their new single ‘Making Plans’ here  - it’s released on Car Boot Records on March 11th.