The best festivals have their own unique atmosphere, and their individuality that sets them apart from the now overly-cluttered diary of festie options. The Larmer Tree Festival certainly has its own charm; it’s an amazingly well organised event which makes it easy for first-timers, or anyone who doesn’t want to struggle to make the most ...

With this year’s Larmer Tree Festival just over two weeks away, we thought we’d follow up our feature with Steve Perry of Disco’s Out (Murder’s In) by having a natter with Alex Beds. Alex is the songwriter and frontman of Fearne, who (as with DoMi last year) gained a slot at this year’s Festival through ...

Last year the wonderful Larmer Tree Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary. The first festival was a one-day affair, held on Saturday in July 1990 and called ‘The First Larmer Tree Jazz, Blues & Folk Roots Festival’. With Dick Heckstall Smith headlining, it ran from midday ’til midnight with an audience of around 150 people. Apart ...

There are some people who simply don’t like the notion of bands ‘battling’. “That’s not what music is about”… “Music isn’t a competition” etc… Well, we agree to an extent with both of these statements, but we could also argue that local music is about playing great gigs in front loads of people, developing a ...

Year on year the Dorset Music Awards has grown to the point where now, it would appear the Bournemouth O2 Academy is required as the venue for the final. The 500 capacity Royal Bath Hotel reached its limit in no time this year, so next year’s event will see its climax held in the grand, ...