By Darren Grayer. West Midlands duo Big Special arrived at the 1865 in Southampton on Tuesday night (25/2/26) well into their current UK tour having very quickly gained a reputation for producing live shows that have enthralled audiences up and down the country and beyond. Joe Hicklin (vocals/guitar) and...
Articles with the Tag Review
Review: Callous Daoboys with Knives and Love Rarely at The Joiners, Southampton
By Chris Taylor. Every few years I’ll catch a Southampton show that’s so intense and important that I’m literally left gasping for air. They’re the times when you can tell the whole crowd knows that this is the last time we’ll ever see this band in an intimate setting....
Review: Friends! The Musical Parody, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Melanie Adams. (AKA Ken Adams). It’s the one where they make a musical parody of arguably the most iconic show of the 90s. And I have to admit, as a huge fan of the series, I almost gave this a miss because surely it would be as disastrous as...
Review: Southampton Christmas Market
By Mabel Wellman. The Southampton Christmas Market is back for the Christmas season. A lot of the stalls and layout have remained the same this year compared to last. One major difference is the Ferris Wheel has changed located to be next to Bargate, rather than in the Guildhall...
Review: Pet Needs with support from Carsick & Samantics – The 1865, Southampton
By Chris Taylor. This is my second night in a row at the 1865 (4/12/25). The Joiners Live team have thrown down the gauntlet for those of us who feel like we’re getting too old by putting on a midweek double of Skinny Lister and Pet Needs – two...
Review: Divorce, Papillon, Southampton
By Dan O’Farrell. There’s an air of anticipation in the air at Southampton’s favourite de-sanctified church – Papillion – tonight (4/12/25). Nottingham’s hottest indie/alt-rock/Americana/country-philes Divorce are in town on tour and the place is suddenly heaving. Entering the temple as a neophyte, I have very little idea what to...
Review: Skinny Lister, The 1865, Southampton
By Laura McCarthy. Skinny Lister are an adrenaline shot to the chest – and I’m Mia Wallace, resuscitated and left reeling from the effects. I’ve seen them numerous times before, both as headliners and support acts, including when they supported Reel Big Fish in London a few years back....
Review: To Kill a King with support from Keston Cobblers’ Club – The Ivy House, Nunhead, London
By Sally Churchward. Photos: Ritta Boll. The final To Kill a King concert took fans, friends and those who inhabit the blurred space between the two, on an almost cinematic journey from honey and sepia toned nostalgia through mourning and a sense of the endless passing of time to...
Review: English National Ballet – The Sleeping Beauty, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Joy McKay. The Sleeping Beauty is a truly classical ballet in the Russian tradition. Based on the collaboration between composer Tchaikovsky with choreographer Marius Pepita from 1890, it is famously one of the hardest to perform. A traditional tale with it’s origins in German folklore, the ballet follows...
Review: Charlie Barnes – Aces & Eights, London
By Sally Churchward. It was a special evening. The last night of a three-date mini tour, that took Charlie Barnes to Bristol and Leeds before this triumphant sold out gig at London’s Aces & Eights (13/8/25). But it was more than that. Half the tickets for the evening had...