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JON MCCLURE PREACHES A LOUDER, PROUDER FUTURE FOR SHEFFIELD

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EXPOSED AWARDS 2026: THE NOMINEES // ETHAN LEMON // STONEY // NATASHA CLARKE // NUBIYAN TWIST // TOM ROWLEY

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18: THE SHEFFIELD GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JON

This month’s cover article sees Jon McClure back where he belongs – front and centre, preaching about all things Steel City. With album eight out this month, the Reverend and the Makers frontman reflects on growth, graft and belief, making the case for a prouder Sheffield that finally tells its story properly.

8: EXPOSED AWARDS: THE NOMINEES HAVE LANDED

After thousands of votes, Sheffield’s finest are locked in for this year’s Exposed Awards. From standout scran spots to grassroots culture, we run through the final fives, what happens next and how to get yourself down to Peddler Warehouse for what is always a tozzin’ do.

38:

CLUBBING TOGETHER

A Brand with deep roots in the city’s music scene gets a new chapter. As friends come together to honour founder Anthony Allen, Skull and Bones Boys Club returns with purpose while raising funds for a cause close to its heart.

62:

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

From Brussels to Warsaw, our resident artists are quietly leaving their mark across the globe. Sparked by a chance encounter with a familiar mural abroad, we explore how the city’s creative talent travels.

GAFFERS

Phil Turner (MD) phil@exposedmagazine.co.uk

Nick Hallam (Sales Director) nick@exposedmagazine.co.uk

FINANCE

Lis Ellis (Accounts) accounts@exposedmagazine.co.uk

GRAFTERS

Joe Food (Editor) joe@exposedmagazine.co.uk

Ash Birch (Online Editor) ash@exposedmagazine.co.uk

Lizzy Capps (Content Creator) lizzy@exposedmagazine.co.uk

Marc Barker (Design Dogsbody)

US A HAND PLZ

Lowri Rennick, Max Hayward, Heather Paterson

BAREBONED CHAOS Photo: Ollie Franklin Femur, mid-mayhem at Crookes Social Club last month – limbs flying, pints spilling, dignity optional. Get the full review (and a word on those some questionable shorts) on page 43.

AND YOUR NOMINEES ARE…

Bloomin’ eck, Sheff – you lot don’t mess about. We’ve sifted through literally thousands of votes for this year’s Exposed Awards and they’ve returned some seriously strong shortlists. With the big do just around the corner, here’s how it’s all going to play out.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Each category opposite features the top five nominees – listed alphabetically – who received the most votes. We’ll now hand the shortlist over to this year’s team of judges for their rankings. Their rankings will then be added to the public vote – it’s the Strictly method, if you’re familiar – and winners will be revealed at the big bash at Peddler Warehouse on 14 May.

COMING ON DOWN?

We’d love to have you – but be quick! We’ve got a limited number of tickets still available (£50 + VAT seated, £25 + VAT standing). Just scan the QR code on this page or email nick@exposedmagazine. co.uk to reserve yours.

MORE ABOUT THE NIGHT

Now a regular fixture at the awards, Chris Arnold will return on hosting duties and we’ll have some of Sheffield’s finest handing out awards throughout the night. Seated tickets cover entry to the event,

IN A NUTSHELL...

What? Exposed Awards 2026

When? Thursday 14 May

Where? Peddler Warehouse

'Ow Much? £50 seated // £25 standing*

Contact: nick@exposedmagazine. co.uk // 0114 2757709

*Tickets subject to VAT

drinks on arrival and food from a selection of Peddler-approved street food traders – as well as plenty of live entertainment to get you in the party mood.

ON A LATE’UN?

We got you. The fabled Exposed Awards afterparties will take place a brief stroll from the venue at Factory Floor and Palm. Top tip: book the next day off work if you’re planning to really get stuck in.

A VERY SPECIAL PERFORMANCE

Last year, Malah Palinka closed the night with a string of bangers, including a superb rendition of ‘When the Sun Goes Down’. A tough act to follow, for sure, but we’ve pulled out all the stops again. This time, bona fide local legend and the voice behind some of the 21st century’s biggest dance hits, Steve ‘Papa’ Edwards, takes to the mic. Nowt but floorfillers all neyt, guaranteed.

THE FINAL FIVES

BEST NEW CAFÉ

A BIG SHOUTOUT

TO OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS IPM GROUP AND VOTING PARTNER CUBANA

– WITHOUT WHOM NONE OF THESE SHENANIGANS WOULD HAPPEN.

MEET THE JUDGES

They’ve got 50% of the say… go easy on ‘em.

MELVILLE

Sheffield-born, Pritt Stick king and established artist. Thankfully due out on parole in time for the awards night.

FRANZ VON

Born in Jamaica and now embedded in Sheffield’s hip-hop, Afro and soundsystem culture, Franz is a MOBO-endorsed wordsmith, fusing rap, boom-bap, jazz and dancehall with spoken word.

KERRE CHEN

Kerre is the face behind @independentsheff and @theinsatiablefoodie, as well as a social media strategist and content creator helping brands grow while spotlighting Sheffield’s food, culture and independent scene.

STEVE EDWARDS

Steel City music royalty and bona fide house music legend, Steve has represented Sheffield around the globe and has worked with some of dance music’s biggest names – from Bob Sinclar to Cassius.

MORGAN CRAWFORD

Morgan is a social media creator sharing all things vegan, secondhand fashion, and, of course, Sheffield. She runs a 'meetup' community in her spare time, encouraging people to get out to meet new people and to try new things around the city.

A *BIG* SHOUTOUT

TO OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS IPM GROUP AND VOTING PARTNER CUBANA – WITHOUT WHOM NONE OF THESE SHENANIGANS WOULD HAPPEN.

Tenaya is a cosy, welcoming oasis on a winters day. Catch up with friends or chill with a book and a glass of delicious wine

Well worth the trip up to the top of the hill in Crookes to pick up a delicious bottle from our wide and interesting selection in the sho. And while you’re here... treat yourself to a drink and unwind.

SCIENCE ON TAP

Sheffield’s pubs are set to swap small talk for science this May, as the global Pint of Science festival returns with a packed programme of talks, demos and hands-on experiments.

PUB CHATS: WE ROUND UP SOME HIGHLIGHTS

Running from 18–20 May, the festival brings researchers

Where to next?

computing to explain how it

CSI: DNA – Tobi Firth uses powerful microscopy to show how radiotherapy damages DNA at a molecular level in cancer treatment.

everything from cosmic deepdives to edible experiments – all delivered in an informal, pubbe booked at pintofscience. co.uk

Get tickets anytime with the TravelMaster App.

Paul said: “It’s incredible to see how a conversation among friends has sparked such widespread curiosity and brought scientific research into the public eye.

Your ‘second brain’ – Nikolas Stefanidis dives into the gut’s hidden nervous system, blending biology, maths and

Any Bus, Any Tram, Any Train*. Anywhere in South Yorkshire

Turtle trouble – Alessia Lavigne investigates why some turtle eggs fail to hatch, and why the answers matter for endangered species.

Gaming and the mind –Eleanor Jackson challenges myths around video games, revealing their potential cognitive benefits.

Festival co-founder Praveen

“Everyone deserves the chance to explore and question the diverse research happening across the UK. None of this would be possible without our dedicated volunteers, who create inspiring events that ignite curiosity and connection. The toughest part is simply choosing which brilliant event to attend.”

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SHOWROOM ANNOUNCES INAGURAL WORKING CLASS FILM FESTIVAL

A new film festival at Showroom Cinema is set to spotlight working-class voices and challenge barriers in the UK screen industries.

Running from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May, the first Working Class Film Festival will screen more than 35 films, with over half of the programme showcasing stories rooted in working-class communities across the UK. International contributions from Canada, Ukraine, Greece and Palestine also feature, reflecting a broad and contemporary perspective on class and creativity.

The programme moves well beyond traditional social realism. Audiences can expect everything from experimental shorts and documentaries to imagined futures exploring life, death and labour. Highlights include If Not Now, a documentary on Bengali workers’ resistance to National Front marches in 1978, Ffasiwn, The Film, which transforms South Wales estates into a fashion runway, and Gan Canny, a dark comedy following siblings planning a final send-off for their nan.

The festival opens with Horace Ové’s Pressure, widely regarded as Britain’s first Black feature film, which examines racism and identity in London’s West Indian community. It closes with a screening of Kes, followed by a Q&A with lead actor David Bradley, revisiting one of the most enduring portrayals of Northern working-class life.

Alongside screenings, filmmaker Yorgo Glynatsis will host a session offering young people insight into the full filmmaking process.

Festival director Elle Short said the event aims to reshape perceptions of working-class cinema, bringing together audiences and industry figures to “find and celebrate excellence that is extremely present”.

Find full details for all films and events screening as part of Working Class Film Festival 2026 at showroomcinema.org

FUSE LIT

Sheffield’s Migration Matters Festival will return this summer with what organisers are calling an ‘unapologetically fierce’ lineup, celebrating the global communities that continue to shape the city.

Now in its 11th year, the city-wide event runs from 19–27 June and, for the first time, introduces a central theme – Forged By Migration. The programme reflects Sheffield’s long-standing identity as a City of Sanctuary, highlighting stories, cultures and creative voices from across the world.

Among the headline acts are MOBO Awardwinning Ghanaian-English artist Fuse ODG and Live At The Apollo comedian Desiree Burch. The programme also features Alaa Shehada’s critically acclaimed theatre production The Horse of Jenin, which explores the destruction of a symbol of Palestinian resistance, alongside a screening of the Oscar-nominated Bosnian war drama Quo Vadis, Aida?

Taking over as festival director from founder Sam Holland, John Rwothomack said the new theme is both a celebration and a reflection. “Forged By Migration is a way to celebrate the diversity of Sheffield today but also recognise the people who have been coming to and shaping the city for generations,” he said. “It’s a play on words, symbolising what Sheffield stands for and how it is now a City of Sanctuary for so many people.”

He added: “Our lineup this year is a carefully curated collection of unapologetically fierce and present headliners, as well as many fantastic Sheffield artists. Together we will dance, laugh, eat and celebrate, but we will also not forget the painful history and truths that have made the world what it is today.”

Other highlights include legendary dub producer Aba Shanti-I and a conversation with Afghan footballer and activist Khalida Popal, founder of Girl Power. The 2026 guest programmer is artist Nate Coltrane, whose work explores Caribbean sound system heritage and the Windrush generation.

New for 2026 is an outdoor stage at Kelham Island Museum, showcasing local talent through music, dance, workshops and food.

Founded in 2016, Migration Matters has grown into the UK’s largest Refugee Week festival of its kind, attracting more than 15,000 people annually while maintaining an ethical ticketing model with free access for those who need it.

For more information, head to migrationamattersfestival.co.uk

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Jon McClure on album eight, a chairman’s role at Sheffield FC and why the city needs to stop underselling itself and start shouting louder.

There’s been something of a mini league running across these pages over the past 20 years. In third place sits Jarvis Cocker, with a respectable four cover appearances. Just ahead is his old mucker Richard Hawley, who’s graced the front of Exposed five times. But leading the pack, with six in the bank, is Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure – and if you ask me, he might take some catching.

I’ll list a few reasons why. First and foremost, the Rev is always generous with his time – no need to navigate complicated PR schedules or book a phone slot months in advance; he’ll just ask you round for a brew. Secondly, he’s a Sheffield journalist’s dream: a walking pull quote, full of sharp one-liners, amusing anecdotes and passionate takes on all things South Yorkshire. And thirdly, the larger-than-life 44-year-old is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down, whether that’s in music or local affairs.

The singles from his latest album, Is This How Happiness Feels?, have seen

Words: Joseph Food Photo: Ed Cooke

him in sparkling form – from jiving with Vicky McClure on the soulful earworm ‘Haircut’ to reflective duets with a bloke called Robbie Williams on ‘Fucked Up’, via the brilliantly rousing Christmas anthem ‘Late Night Phone Call’. Album number eight has landed and the band are still reinventing, still adapting and still packing out live shows across the country.

He’s upped his game as Sheffield’s biggest cheerleader, too. Entering what he’s dubbed his “Elton John phase”, Jon was announced as Sheffield FC’s chairman in March and immediately embarked on a media drive to raise the profile of the world’s oldest football club. He’s also used that platform to champion the city itself – bigging up its arts, sports and culture while issuing a rallying cry to its denizens: enough with the modesty, it’s time to get loud and proud about what we’ve got.

That’s where we start, over coffee in his living room, chatting about where the Sheffield at – and how it gets to where it needs to be.

What’s the gameplan, then? COVER: JON MCCLURE

“We need to get better at telling our story,” he says, with a sigh. “Simple as. So instead of gobbing off from the sidelines, I’ve decided I’m going to be a bit more actively involved in trying to make things happen.”

Do we have a problem with selfdeprecation in Sheffield? Yeah, definitely. It almost feels like an 80s hangover. To be honest, I don’t even know where it comes from anymore. We’ve got this thing where we always downplay ourselves, like we’re trying to act chilled and humble. It’s like – who are you trying to be cool for? Nobody’s watching. So that needs to stop, and I’m now much more like, nah – Sheffield’s mega. And we should just say that from the start. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of where you’re from. I think sometimes people think if you say something positive about Sheffield you’re showing off, but you’re not. You’re just telling the truth.

206-210 Middlewood Road, Sheffield, United Kingdom 0114 249 0443 / antlersheffield@gmail.com / www.theantler.uk Instagram: @antler_sheffield Facebook: The Antler

We need outside investment. We need jobs. And if the way to do that is by amplifying our culture and our sporting legacy, for example, then let’s go and do it. I’m not saying let’s copy Manchester or Leeds. It’s not about that. It’s about backing what we’ve already got. We’ve got to stop doing that performative negativity where things tend to get dismissed or downplayed straight away.

Is that part of the reason it often gets overlooked nationally?

Yeah, I think so. Because if you don’t shout about yourself, someone else will shout louder. Look at when TV studios moved north – Sheffield was in the conversation, but Manchester got it. Channel 4 went to Leeds. We never really had a proper look in. And part of that is on us. For a creative city, we’re bad at storytelling. Robin Hood’s from here – he’s ended up in Nottingham. We invented football. We’ve got snooker. We birthed electronic music. But we don’t package it up and present it properly. We’ve got to be better at that, because the assets are there. It’s just about how you frame them.

That brings us nicely onto Sheffield FC. You’re a few weeks into the role now –how’s it been?

It’s been exhausting, to be honest. Absolutely full-on. But I knew it would be. There are very entrenched ways of doing things and structural issues – not buildings, but internal systems, how

decisions get made and how things move forward. You can’t just walk in and flip a switch. But we can change it, and we will. We’ve already generated huge amounts of press and record gates, which shows there’s interest there. And our connectivity outside the city is strong, which is important. It feels like we’ve got momentum now, which is just what you need at the start.

What’s your approach been to the role so far?

The biggest shift is how I’m working with others. In the past, when I’ve done things in Sheffield, I’ve often found myself butting heads with people. You’re in the same space, trying to do similar things, and it creates friction. This time I’ve deliberately gone the other way. I’ve built a team of people who are good at the things I’m not good at. We’ve set up a company called IAV, and the idea is to develop large-scale cultural projects in Sheffield in a proper, structured way. It’s about being a bit more grown-up about it, if I’m honest.

What do you mean by that – “grownup”?

I mean thinking about delivery, not just ideas. It’s easy to have ideas; I’ve got loads of ideas. But if you don’t have the structure and the people around you to actually make them happen, then they just stay as that – ideas. So this is about combining creativity with people who understand planning, finance and

delivery. Because otherwise you’re just talking.

Who else is involved in that setup? People who’ve all got experience in areas I don’t – business, property, strategy. And what I’ve realised is you can’t have ten blokes all trying to play centre forward. Some people have to do different roles. I’m probably the one up front, but I need people around me who can do the other stuff. To put it another way, I need some grown-ups around me holding me on a bit. It’s something I’ve learned from music as well.

How has your music shaped that way of thinking?

A few years back, someone asked me what I was bad at, and I realised my melodies were getting a bit repetitive. You can only do so many indie melodies before you start repeating yourself. So I worked with someone who’s brilliant at that, and it made my music better straight away. That’s when I thought –right, apply that to everything else. Focus on what you’re good at, and build a team around you for the rest.

What skills transfer from being the frontman of a band to chairman of a football club?

Storytelling, definitely. That’s the biggest one. As I mentioned, what Sheffield struggles with is storytelling. We’ve got incredible history, but we don’t present it properly. So whether it’s music,

PHOTO: PEDALO

football, arts or the city itself, it’s about telling a story that people connect with.

Almost 1,200 turned up to watch Sheffield FC play Tadcaster recently, so the appetite’s clearly there. In your opinion, what does non-league football offer punters that the professional game doesn’t?

It feels closer. You’re more connected to it. It’s cheaper, it’s more accessible and you genuinely feel part of something rather than just watching from a distance. But just as importantly, Sheffield FC offers a direct link to the invention of the game. That’s not something any other football club can say. We need to modernise how we present that – make it something people want to engage with now, not just look at in a museum. And then you’ve got Hallam [FC] with the oldest ground in the same city. The two go together – they need each other.

There’s also that neutral element of it – in a city strongly divided across football lines, it’s something people can come together on. Yeah, that’s a big part of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re Wednesday or United. You can come together and just enjoy football. It’s like the World Cup – one of the only times people from both sides celebrate the same thing. That’s powerful, and it’s something we can build on.

What would success look like for you in this role?

Full houses. That’s the starting point. Then profitability, and the next step is building something that contributes to the city – a proper tourist industry, events and engagement. It’s about creating value. If it’s not creating value, then what are you doing?

Switching chairman’s hat for musician’s hat for a second – we’ve got studio album number 8 out in May. Tell me about Is This How Happiness Feels? –it’s been a long process getting it out. There’s been a lot going on personally, so it took longer than planned. But now it’s almost out, I feel really good about it. We’ve sold a lot of copies already, so there’s a chance it could do well in the charts, but more than that, I’m proud of it. The title is what it says on the tin: it’s about how happiness works. You grow up thinking it’s simple – you’re either happy or you’re not. But life doesn’t work like that. You can be having a great time and not realise it until later, or think everything’s terrible and then look back and realise it wasn’t. So it’s about that inbetween space, that constant shift.

There’s definitely a lot of light and shade across the record.

Yeah, that’s deliberate to fit with the overall theme. There are upbeat tracks, more soulful stuff and reflective moments. I like mixing it up. But the key thing for me is consistency. I think people will be surprised that there isn’t really a drop-off. It’s not just a couple of singles – it’s a full album that stands up.

You mentioned it might surprise people – in what way?

Well, just that really. I think people expect a few good tunes and then filler from my stuff, but I don’t think there’s any filler on this. It feels mature. It feels consistent. And I’m at a point now where I’m 20 years in, still making new music that people care about. That’s something I’m really proud of.

You’ve also managed to get Robbie Williams on a Reverend and the

Makers album – which sounds a bit surreal to say out loud

It is surreal. But it came about naturally. He heard one of my songs, posted the lyrics, and we got introduced. Then I’m making a brew in my kitchen and he FaceTimes me – it was like, “Ay up, Robbie!” It just snowballed from there and next thing we’re hanging out in Switzerland. We’ve got similar personalities, me and Robbie – both ADHD central and love the creative chaos. We’ve also had similar experiences, albeit his on a much grander scale!

The track’s called ‘Fucked Up’. Tell us a bit about it.

It’s about the journey – chasing something big, getting on that rollercoaster, and what happens as a result. For every band that makes it, there are loads that don’t. And some people end up in a bad way because of it. So

it’s me acknowledging that, really, and saying I’m lucky to still be here.

You seem much a much more reflective person now. Has that changed how you write?

Yeah, definitely. I’ve looked back on things I’ve said and done and thought I could have handled that better. So I’ve apologised to people – not for them, but for me. It’s about trying to be a better person. I think that comes with getting older and understanding things a bit more, and that naturally feeds into the writing as well.

I was at the Rock N Roll Circus headline gig last year, and the atmosphere felt really special. What struck me is how much you were clearly loving every second of it, especially when playing the new material That’s right, because I know the songs are strong. When you’ve got songs that you believe in, it changes everything. You go on stage differently. People can feel it as well. They know when you’re backing what you’re doing and it’s infectious. This album means a lot to me – I genuinely think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

You’ve said there’s a song on the album you think is the best you’ve ever written?

I won’t hype it too much, but yeah –there’s one on there where I listen back and think, that’s it. That’s the best I’ve done. And as a songwriter, that’s what you’re always chasing, isn’t it? That

moment where you feel like you’ve nailed it.

It was recorded in Sheffield as well, back at your old stomping ground of Yellow Arch Studios. What was that process like?

Originally I was meant to go to Brussels, but my dad got ill, so I stayed in Sheffield and tried to record it quickly here. That didn’t really work, because my head wasn’t in the right place. So I ended up doing it again properly at Yellow Arch. And actually, that felt right. It’s where everything started for us. There’s history there.

Did that personal side of losing your dad feed into the record?

Definitely. You can’t go through something like that and it not come out in the music – the track ‘TwentySeven Past Midnight’ is the most direct example. But I don’t sit there thinking, right, I’m going to write a sad song now. It just comes out how it comes out. Sometimes you just need to get things out – that’s what songwriting is for me.

What does success look like for you now? Just being able to keep doing it. Taking ideas out of my head, putting them out there, and having people connect with them. That’s it, really. Going back to the album title, that’s what happiness actually feels like.

And finally – where do you think Sheffield is heading? It feels on the cusp of something at the minute. Do you agree?

I think we’re close. You can see it in different parts of the city – things are improving, changing, evolving. A lot of the people running the city now understand culture and its importance, which is a big shift. Steel was the old story. Now it’s culture and sport for me. We’ve just got to embrace that and push it forward properly.

Basically, we’ve got to tell a new story. So let’s stop talking about it and go and do it.

Is This How Happiness Feels is released 8 May. You can pre-order now from reverendandthemakers. co.uk.

WE NEED OUTSIDE INVESTMENT. WE NEED JOBS. AND IF THE WAY TO DO THAT IS BY AMPLIFYING OUR CULTURE AND OUR SPORTING LEGACY, FOR EXAMPLE, THEN LET’S GO AND DO IT.”

FOOD & DRINK SHEFFIELD FOOD FESTIVAL

As Sheffield Food Festival approaches its 15th year, Noemi Antonelli, managing director of Swans Events, explains how the event reflects a city reshaped by its independent food scene.

This May bank holiday weekend, Sheffield Food Festival celebrates 15 years at the heart of a city that has reinvented itself as one of Britain’s most vibrant food destinations.

Sheffield has long been defined by its industrial heritage, with a quarter of the city’s population employed in metal trades at its peak. Today, it is increasingly celebrated for something quite different: its thriving food and drink scene. Across the city, former industrial buildings have been reimagined as food and drink destinations. Old steelworks and factories have been converted into restaurants, bars and food halls. Cutlery Works, housed in a former cutlery factory, was named the UK’s best food hall in both 2022 and 2023.

Sheffield’s food scene has attracted significant national attention in recent years. In 2023, The Observer Food Monthly named Sheffield its UK foodie hotspot, and in the same year Time Out placed it as the second-best city break destination in Europe. Hospitality analysts Accor named Sheffield the UK’s food capital in 2024, awarding it a nearperfect 99 out of 100 based on Google reviews, Michelin ratings, social data and the strength of its food festival scene – with Sheffield Food Festival playing a significant role – notably stating: ‘This city distinguishes itself as a hub for food festivals and markets.’

What runs through all of this is a fiercely independent character. This

reputation has not been driven by national chains but built by the local community. That independence is reflected in this year’s Sheffield Food Festival line-up: Yee Kwan’s East Asian ice cream, The Taco Trailer from Kelham Island, Nam Song’s Vietnamese coffee, Paradiso’s artisan tiramisu and craft ales from Thornbridge Brewery. Alongside returning favourites, the festival is actively championing emerging artisans – giving new producers discounted spots to grow alongside the city that shaped them. The variety reflects a city with a genuinely diverse, locally rooted food culture.

When the festival first began fifteen years ago, it was a far smaller, more local affair – a reflection of a food scene still finding its identity. This year’s edition is also the biggest yet. For the first time, the festival will extend beyond its usual footprint in Peace Gardens, Town Hall Square, Fargate and Millennium Square, with Orchard Square and

Leah’s Yard joining the celebrations. As the city has shifted from industrial powerhouse to creative, independent food destination, the festival has evolved with it – expanding in scale, ambition and diversity. Over fifteen years, it has grown in step with Sheffield’s food scene, always reflecting what is happening in the city’s food culture more broadly. With Sheffield’s profile higher than ever, this feels like a natural milestone to mark.

Fifteen years in, Sheffield’s food story is still very much being written, and the festival remains one of its most exciting chapters.

@shefffoodfest

BITE-SIZED: IN A NUTSHELL

When: Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May 2026

Where: City centre – Peace Gardens, Town Hall Square, Fargate, Millennium Square, plus Orchard Square and Leah’s Yard

Time: 10am–7pm (Sat & Sun) | 10am–6pm (Mon)

Entry: Free

SHEFFIELD FOOD FESTIVAL AT 15

BIGGER, BROADER AND STILL PROUDLY INDEPENDENT

From street food favourites to new traders and city-wide takeovers, this year’s Sheffield Food Festival is set to be its most ambitious yet.

Running from 23–25 May, the freeto-attend festival will once again take over the city centre, with Peace Gardens, Town Hall Square, Fargate and Millennium Square joined by Orchard Square and Leah’s Yard. The expansion signals a shift towards something bigger than a single-site event – more a full city-centre celebration of Sheffield’s independent food culture.

As ever, the line-up leans heavily into local names and returning favourites. Caribbean Fusion is back with its everpopular Jamaican street food, while Yee Kwan brings its East Asian-inspired ice cream and sorbets. The Taco Trailer will be serving its signature birria tacos, and Paradiso returns with its tiramisu creations that have built a strong following in the city.

Elsewhere, Spud & Bros offers Canadian-style poutine, La Porketta

focuses on Italian barbecue, and Nam Song serves Vietnamese phin filter coffee. On the drinks side, expect rum punch from Reggae Rum Shack alongside craft beer from Thornbridge Brewery.

But it’s not just about eating. A second stage hosted by The Fargate pub adds more live music across the weekend, while Yard Ball brings 90s-inspired games for anyone looking to move after a few too many plates. Families are catered for too, with Lizzieland offering face painting, glitter tattoos and festival hair.

To mark its 15th year, the festival is also making space for new traders, with discounted pitches aimed at supporting emerging food businesses.

Free and open to all, Sheffield Food Festival is all about celebrating the independents across the region and soaking up some party vibes while doing so – loosen your belt and get stuck in!

@shefffoodfest

WINE WITHOUT THE WAFFLE

Virginia Myers, owner of Tenaya Wines, explains how wine doesn’t have to be complicated – from what ‘low intervention’ actually means to why trusting your own taste matters more than getting the terminology right.

For someone who finds wine culture a bit intimidating, how would you describe the Tenaya experience?

As you walk in, Tenaya doesn’t feel like a traditional wine shop – it’s a relaxed and welcoming place where there is always someone friendly to help you find something you’ll love, even if you don’t know where to begin. Wines range from £9 upwards. You can enjoy browsing the descriptive wine labels, which we update regularly, or tuck into a cosy corner and enjoy a peaceful moment with a glass of wine or a tasting flight.

You describe many of your wines as ‘low intervention’, which is a bit of buzz word in the industry these days. But what does it actually mean?

‘Low intervention’ is a term used to describe wine that has been very carefully made in both the vineyard and the winery, where as little as possible is added. For example, only minimal sulphur is used to stabilise the wine. Many supermarket wines are made by large companies where flavourings and sugar syrups are added, and the wine is adjusted to maintain a consistent taste at a low price point year on year, despite changes in the weather. It’s a way to describe wine made with intention and respect for the environment the grapes have been grown in. Ultimately, it’s wellmade wine produced with a great deal of care.

If someone says ‘I don’t know anything about tasting notes’, where should they start?

You don’t need to know anything about tasting notes – that’s our job. We’re here to help you find delicious wine to suit you without any particular lingo. We’ll talk through the kinds of flavours you’ve enjoyed in the past (which might involve a few samples), and from there we can explore wines that might suit you and help you discover new favourites. As we serve wine by the glass, there are always bottles open that can help us figure it out together.

There isn’t really a ‘wrong’ in wine. If you find something you like, that’s what matters most. Choosing wine for other people can feel more daunting, but we’re here to help you find the right bottle for any occasion.

If someone wants to broaden their palate, what’s the simplest way to start exploring wine a bit more?

THERE ISN’T REALLY A ‘WRONG’ IN WINE. IF YOU FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE, THAT’S WHAT MATTERS MOST

So what should people be paying attention to when they take a sip? Really, all you need to think about is whether or not you like it. Taste is subjective – we all enjoy different things – and unless you’re looking to study wine in depth, it’s simply about enjoying what you’re drinking. If there’s something you don’t like, let us know and we can help you find something that suits you better next time.

What would you say to someone who worries about ‘getting wine wrong’?

It starts with a conversation and some tasting. We offer a tasting flight, inspired by wineries in California, where this is a common way to explore a range of wines in smaller quantities. It’s a fun way to experience a broad spectrum of flavours and to help narrow down what you enjoy most. From there, we can guide you towards wines with similar qualities. Our by-the-glass menu changes weekly, so there’s always something new to discover. If you’re visiting just to shop, you can always ask for a taste of something on the by-the-glass board. Once you have a few reference points, it becomes easier to explore wines that suit your palate.

FOOD & DRINK NATIVE

What started as a simple idea – do seafood properly –has turned into one of the city’s most quietly influential kitchens. Five years on, Native is celebrating the only way it knows how: quality oysters, cocktails and a big bank holiday knees-up...

WORDS:JOSEPH FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY: MARC BARKER

In a city not exactly spoiled for seafood, Native has spent the last five years quietly proving a point.

Not with gimmicks, not by trying to please everyone with an overloaded offering – just by doing things properly. Fresh fish, a tight menu and a space that works whether you’re in for a quick bite or an evening-long special occasion.

This month, they’ll be marking the milestone with a distinctly fitting celebration. Oyster Fest, taking place on Sunday 24 May, offers a bank holiday setup built around £1.50 oysters, cocktails, music and a courtyard that comes into its own when the sun’s out.

“It’s an opportunity to bring together everything we offer and celebrate it,” says Emily, assistant manager at Native. “I think the main draw for us is the £1.50 oysters, because that’s incredibly cheap for quality oysters and it gives people a chance to try lots of different ones.”

There’ll be champagne on arrival, oyster flights paired with cocktails, DJs running through the day, and a ‘best dressed oyster’ competition thrown in for good measure. Expect plenty of bank holiday energy, all built around excellent produce.

While Native may be a relative youngster on Sheffield’s culinary scene, its roots run deep. The restaurant itself came out of J H Mann, the fishmongers that’s been part of the city for more than a century, with owner Christian Szurko taking over the reins in 2005.

“Sheffield needed this style of restaurant, because years ago there was barely anywhere doing fish properly, and we just wanted to do our own thing and not step on anybody else’s toes,” Christian tells Exposed.

That mindset of finding a niche and

excelling still holds. Native doesn’t try to cover all bases. There’s no fallback option if you don’t fancy fish, and that’s deliberate.

“You do get people coming in asking if there’s a meat option, and there isn’t, but that’s where the front of house comes in –getting people to try something different and changing their opinion,” he adds.

Five years ago, that might have been a harder sell. Sheffield’s not exactly known for oysters, and Christian explains that for a lot of people, the starting point wasn’t great.

“When we started doing oysters, a lot of people had had really bad experiences, so it was more about gaining people’s trust and showing them what a good one should actually be like. It’s all about that education, if you like.”

That shift is probably one of the clearest markers of Native’s influence. Coastal spots – and cities like London and Manchester – might naturally have had a head start, but Sheffield’s catching up fast with its seafood culture. Oysters have gone from something people originally swerved to one of the biggest draws on the menu.

“We get so many people coming in saying they’ve never had them before, and then they try them and they’re like, wow, they were amazing. We’ve never had anyone try them and say they wouldn’t have them again,” adds Emily.

A lot of that comes down to how they’re served. It’s not just about handing someone a natural oyster and hoping for the best. There are different ways in – Korean fried, sharper dressings, bigger flavours that make it feel less like a leap.

“We usually push people that aren’t too sure onto something like the Korean fried oyster first, because it’s a bit more of an

entry-level option before you go straight into a raw one,” says Emily.

It’s a small detail, but it sums up the wider approach: meet people where they are, then nudge them a bit further.

The space has evolved over the years, too. What began as a smaller, more contained restaurant has since opened out, quite literally, into something far more fluid. Next door, Stag & Eel was once a standalone micropub, but when it closed, Native took on the space and knocked through – creating a seamless run of bar, restaurant and, out back, a courtyard that’s become a real sun-trap when the weather plays ball.

Now, it all works as one. The spaces each have their own feel, but together they form a natural rhythm – whether that’s a quick cocktail after work, something predinner, or a post-meal round of drinks for the perfect nightcap.

“We needed to expand and become bigger, because people were waiting around and the space just wasn’t working, so evolving it has made a big difference to how people use it now. We can cater for all types of occasions – and you kind of have to these days,” Christian says.

To build on that point, Emily explains

that the growth of their offering reflects changing food cultures: less structure, more grazing and spontaneity. A few plates, another round, maybe a bit more food, maybe not.

“We’re not trying to put out a fine dining situation at all – that’s not us. It’s more about being relaxed so people can just come, have a drink, pick at a few things and stay as long as they want.”

Which is exactly what the Oyster Fest will lean into. It’s not a sit-down event –it’s something you can drift through. Turn up, grab a drink, order a few oysters, soak up the vibes and see where it goes.

“It’s more about showcasing what we do and celebrating it in a fun, social way, rather than making it into something too serious,” Emily says.

Five years in, Native isn’t trying to convince anyone anymore. It’s just doing what it does best, and letting people find their way into it.

And if you haven’t yet, a bank holiday afternoon with £1.50 oysters is probably as good a place to start as any.

@nativejhmann

167-169 Gibraltar Street S3 8UA

OYSTER FEST 2026

Sun 24 May | 3–10pm | £27.80

Includes a complimentary drink and oyster on arrival, £1.50 oysters all day and curated oyster & drink pairings.

SCAN THE QR CODE FOR TICKETS.

ABBEYDALE TAP IN

After 30 years in the brewing game, Abbeydale Brewery has found a home for its first dedicated taproom, just a short walk from the brewery itself.

The venue, named Abbeydale Beerworks, will take over the former Turner’s Bottle Shop unit at 298 Abbeydale Road.

Set to remain a destination for beer lovers, the taproom will showcase the brewery’s latest releases alongside small-batch specials and a dedicated guest keg line, with plans for regular tasting events.

Abbeydale Brewery said in a statement: “We really hope we can take the venue forward with the spirit of community that Rob and Alison so wonderfully instilled in Turner’s, and we can’t wait to play a new part in the neighbourhood that already means so much to us and that we’ve called home for 30 years.”

Like the brewery and its pub, the Rising Sun, the new venue will be 100% employee-owned. The decision, made in 2024, reflects the belief that the best long-term custodians of the business are the people who have helped build it.

The team have confirmed that the brewery will be open to the public from Thursday 7 May.

@abbeydalebeerworks

RASA SET FOR SHARROW VALE

From the founders of Chakra Lounge, brothers Sam and Sonny are set to open their latest venture this month.

Offering a modern take on Indian classics, RASA is the latest addition to Sharrow Vale Road’s vibrant and diverse trail of coffee shops, set to be situated between Eve’s Bakery and Pom Kitchen.

Sam, founder of RASA, said: “We went for a coffee at Porter’s, and there was a shop ‘to let’ on Sharrow Vale Road next to “Eve’s and Pom”. And it was just such a nice vibe, we just rang the person, he was around the corner, and suddenly it was meant to be – we just went for a coffee, and we actually ended up opening a shop.”

Conscious of the ever-growing and bustling coffee scene in Sheffield, Sam, added: “There will be a lot of different changes. We’re not keeping anything the same. Again, it’s Indian inspired with a modern twist. So there will be a few things which will make it different.”

The name, deriving from the Sanskrit meaning for nectar, represents not only the pair’s dedication and love for coffee, but also their love for their family.

Sam expanded: “RASA also represents my mom and dad’s names, RA for my dad, and SA for my mom. So we are quite connected and very emotionally invested in the idea. And the brand we’re creating.”

Providing refreshments that are blended with Indian spices, Rasa brings unique flavours and aromatic brews to the community.

Avid coffee shop hoppers can look forward to refreshments such as their in-house saffron cold brew and banana bread matcha.

Once up and running, the brothers are hoping to open two further locations in Sheffield over the next 18 months.

@rasakofee

FOOD & DRINK EXPOSED EATS

The MCR favourite lands in Sheffield with bold flavours, light-as-air crusts and plenty of hype. We went to find out if it delivers.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MARC BARKER

Sheffield has no shortage of good pizza restaurants, but the city’s latest dough-slinging arrival, Forbici, comes with plenty of acclaim – including a recommendation from none other than Marco Pierre White. The famed Yorkshire chef reportedly dubbed it the best pizza he has ever had in his life, no less. And this is a man whose word you take when it comes to matters of culinary importance.

So, with Marco’s words ringing in our ears, two members of Team Exposed took the short stroll from Kelham into town to see if they were really onto something special.

First of all, the venue itself. You’ll find Forbici on the Arundel Street-facing side of Millennium Square, in a new unit that has been sectioned off into its own two-floor restaurant. In keeping with the area’s aesthetic, the space is sleek and industrial – all exposed steel and floor-toceiling glazing – but softened with a few homely nods to its Neapolitan roots. A colourful mural showing a bustling Italian piazza overlooks proceedings, while tins of Campanian tomatoes are stacked alongside sacks of Molini Pizzuti pizza flour – a key component in their signature three-generation biga dough, a process they say elevates flavour and structure well beyond standard methods. More on

that later.

After being greeted warmly by our server Antonio, we took two window seats and settled in with a cold beer each, watching the large brick pizza oven roaring away on the other side. There’s an almost hypnotic rhythm to it all, pizzas constantly sliding in and being whipped back out on long oar-style paddles. Word has clearly spread about Forbici, and even on a Monday evening the place was bustling – something that not so long ago would have felt unheard of in Sheffield city centre. But times they are a-changing, and it proves the old adage: build it and they will come.

Right, so – the food. The snacks and sides section of the menu offers a tight, no-fuss run of Italian small plates that does exactly what you want from a carby pizza prelude: snackable and built for sharing. We kicked things off with some gordal olives, padrón peppers and a frittatina to share. The olives were plump and glossy, while the peppers arrived nicely blistered, finished with sea salt and a squeeze of lemon to brighten things up.

But the real standout here was the frittatina ragù. Even halved, it felt like a serious bit of comfort food – crisp on the outside, giving way to a rich, molten centre of slow-cooked beef ragù, mozzarella and béchamel-bound pasta. Sharing one was enough as we were wary of leaving room for the main event.

Now, let’s talk pizza. What’s their secret, you might ask? Well, they’re pretty open about it, actually. It all starts with the dough: a biga base, dialled in to a precise pH of 5.0 and left to prove for 12 hours at a steady 24°C. The result is that ultra-light, thin ‘risco’ crust – crisp, airy and built to hold its own. And, in true Neapolitan fashion, each pizza is snipped into four neat quarters with ‘forbici’ (Italiano for scissors), ready to be torn into and devoured straight away.

We went for the Capricciosa and the Napoletana, covering both sides of

the menu. The Capricciosa is a classic done right – a well-balanced mix of mushrooms, prosciutto cotto, artichokes and black olives over that rich San Marzano base, with the fior di latte bringing everything together perfectly. The Napoletana, on the other hand, leans a little bolder. Swapping tomato for a white base lets the smoked provola really come through, backed up by punchy Napoli sausage, bitter greens from the friarielli and a welcome kick from the ’nduja and chilli.

Even though it’s very much a Neapolitan affair, there are some nice nods to Sheffield and Yorkshire culture running through the menu. The rotating specials board featured the ‘Yorchetta’ – a playful spin on the classic pork sarnie, loaded with all the expected elements, amped up with crispy crackling and a

generous hit of Henderson’s Relish. We were far too full to tackle dessert, but the ‘Parkin Sticky Toffee’ dessert pizza was doing a very good job of turning heads – that’s one for next time. There’s even a Henderson’s mayo on the dip list. You’ve got to respect the commitment.

The verdict? Forbici is another cracking addition to Sheffield’s evergrowing pizza scene. If Manchester is anything to go by, expect this place to stay busy – and for good reason. No bookings needed; just swing by, grab your scissors and get royally stuck in.

FORBICI

3 Millennium Sq, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2JJ www.forbicirestaurant.com @forbicirestaurants

FOOD & DRINK WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

WATT BAR

In the heart of Sheffield’s Creative Industries Quarter, surrounded by the Hallam campus and some of the city’s best independents, a former substation has been given a new lease of life as Watt Bar, lighting up Sheffield with coffee, cocktails and Creole comfort food.

WORDS: ASHLEY BIRCH PHOTOGRAPHY: MARC BARKER

There’s something reassuring about walking into a new venue and finding it bustling with life.

On an early Thursday evening, Watt Bar is full of people perched with pints, the cocktails are flowing, and the bright yellow, industrial-leaning interior feels vibrant and inviting.

It already feels like part of the furniture, settling into this stretch of the city centre seamlessly – and maybe that’s because it’s been such a long road to get here.

“Andy [Grice – Watt Bar’s owner] applied for the building back in 2018, got it in 2019, started some work on it, and then Covid hit and stopped it completely,” explains bar manager Adam Webster. “It’s been a long time, but we’ve finally got it up and running this year.”

Long before Andy and the team became involved, the building was a substation powering Sheffield’s tram lines, and its current occupants have leaned fully into that heritage.

“The name itself comes from a play on wattage and we’re going for an electrical theme,” explains Adam. “You can see it running through all the details of the bar.”

The bold colour palette, subtle schematics and moth-to-light logo all play on that theme.

Just as important as the look is how it functions. By day, Watt Bar has paid close attention to its coffee offering, with a house blend created in collaboration with Cafeology, designed to hold its own among strong local competition.

“We’ve got our own blend, 50/50 Brazilian and Kenyan. It’s not too sweet, not too strong, and it goes great in an espresso martini.”

By night, it shifts gears. The cocktail menu mixes classics with a handful of signatures – The Power Cut, The Circuit and The Midnight Switch – all tying back to the venue’s identity.

Then there’s the food, which feels like

a genuine point of difference. Partnering with Goobers, the kitchen leans into Creole flavours, with a breakfast and brunch menu, subs, burgers and small plates.

“It’s Southern fried, New Orleans-style food, which is not really something you see in Sheffield.” Says Adam.

The loaded fries topped with vegan duck are convincingly rich and textured –so much so that a quick double-check was needed after the first bite. Elsewhere, the catfish is flaky, tender and well-seasoned, while the pineapple salsa served alongside the pork belly cuts cleanly through the richness. The steak sub does exactly what you want it to do, packed with flavour and finished with a properly indulgent, cheesy sauce.

It all feeds into a wider aim – to create a space that works for everyone.

“We want to make sure it’s a venue that everyone can come to,” Adam says. “Live events, quiz nights, the World Cup is

coming up – pretty much everything you can think of really.”

That means DJs, comedy, quizzes and, soon, screens for live sport. It also means something arguably more important –filling a gap in this part of the city.

“I think it’s been missing something like this around here. Somewhere everyone can come for a drink, come for a party, come for an event.”

Judging by the early crowds, that idea is already resonating.

“It’s been great so far. People are still discovering us, but it’s getting busier and busier.”

After eight years of stops and starts, Watt Bar feels like it’s arrived fully formed – and is well worth going slightly off the beaten track for a coffee, cocktail or bite to eat. But don’t just take our word for it – go and check them out on Charles Street.

@watt_bar

FASHION SKULL AND BONES BOYS CLUB

A Sheffield-born clothing brand rooted in the city’s grassroots music scene returns as friends come together to honour its founder and reshape its future.

There’s a particular kind of legacy that can only really be built in cities like Sheff – one forged in pubs, back rooms and venues, before being unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

Skull and Bones Boys Club was one of those projects. A brand born in familiar spaces, only to end up worn in far shinier green rooms. It may sound like a cliché, but it was more than just clothing – it was a thread running through a scene and a genuine reflection of the creativity behind it.

Much of that came down to cofounder Anthony Allen, a drummer, creative and a deeply embedded figure in Sheffield’s music scene. He played in bands like The Book Club alongside Milburn’s Joe Carnall, and Dead Harts, and helped build Skull and Bones Boys Club from the ground up with Dean Milwain.

“They used to meet at the Old Number Seven on a Monday night,” recalls Tom Clay, a close friend who witnessed it from the start. “That was kind of the birth for the brand, just a bunch of pals really. Ant taught himself screen printing, started buying T-shirts from Primark and printing them himself. Then it just grew.”

Grow it did. What started as DIY prints quickly became a fixture in Sheffield nightlife. If you were in places like DQ back in the day, chances are you saw it everywhere.

“That was basically a sales shop for Skull and Bones,” Tom says. “Most people in the room were wearing it.”

From there, it spread beyond the city. Musicians picked it up, magazines featured it, and the brand quietly became part of a wider cultural fabric.

“It started becoming more of an endorsing brand. Loads of fairly big musicians were wearing it,” he says, referencing artists from Disclosure to Don Broco and beyond.

But Skull and Bones was always more than just clothes. It was Ant’s energy, his

instinct for bringing people together, and his ability to turn ideas into something people wanted to be part of.

Ant sadly passed away in 2021 after struggling with anxiety, depression and addiction. In the years that followed, the brand largely fell quiet.

Until now.

“It’s been a really nice thing,” says Tom, one of a group of friends breathing life back into the brand. “We started it back up in December last year, but it’s something we’ve been working on in the background for quite a while.”

The revival hasn’t come from a boardroom or a business plan. It’s come from a group of mates asking a simple question – what would Ant have wanted?

“In our eyes, he’s still with us in terms of everything we’re trying to do,” Tom says. “It’s like – what would he do with it? What would he be proud of? What would he be happy to do with it?”

That mindset has shaped everything. Rather than simply reissuing old designs, the team are carefully balancing heritage with new energy.

“We’ve got all the archive, but we don’t want to just recycle it,” he explains. “We want younger people to discover Skull and Bones now, and then look back.

“It’s about taking what was there and making it work now.”

Still, the past matters.

One of the key pieces in the revival is a reworked version of an original design – the Skull and F***ing Bones tee, a shirt Ant himself had wanted to bring back.

“It was one of his favourites that he wanted to re-release back in 2019,” Tom says. “So we’ve done it, but in a new colourway. We’ve also got his name on the back as a tribute.”

That shirt now sits at the heart of something bigger.

All profits from the T-shirt are being donated to Music Minds Matter. Alongside the release, friends and supporters are also taking part in a Sheffield Round Walk in early May,

Founder of SABBC, Ant Allen.

raising further funds via a dedicated campaign.

“All the money’s going to charity,” Tom says. “It’s something that was really close to him.”

The campaign isn’t just symbolic. It’s practical support – and a way of turning grief into something constructive.

“It’s just about getting together, really,” he adds. “A bunch of pals who want to show the legacy.”

“We all have our own jobs but we’re making time for it, to do it justice,” Tom says. “It’s here for life now, as far as we’re concerned.”

And for those closest to Ant, that’s what matters most – not just bringing the brand back, but carrying something of him forward with it.

“He was a buzzing, crazy, beautiful light,” Tom says. “Covid was really hard for him, that separation from people, but everything we’re doing now is about what he’d have wanted. What he’d be proud of. We’re just trying to do it justice.”

MUSIC NUBIAN TWIST

15 years in the making, Nubiyan Twist are back with their fifth studio album, Chasing Shadows – a record that oozes the pulse, warmth and spontaneity of true human connection. Out now, it blends jazz, afrobeat, hip-hop and electronic elements into their trademark patchwork sound

Tom Excell, bandleader and Sheffield music veteran, can be found exploring the space between the organic and the digital in the studio, and between the Peaks and the city centre – driven by a belief that music is for humanity and positivity. I sat down with Tom to talk creation, the future and why the Steel City is home.

You’ve said you wanted to capture the “chemistry and chaos” of it all. How did you set about doing that in the studio?

I think Nubiyan Twist is always prioritising the live side of our music. Since day one, we’ve focused on the live aspect, and audiences often say it’s another level compared with the records.

But luckily, the answer this time round was an amazing studio in Sheffield called Crystal Ship – a worldclass space. It meant we could record ourselves playing together live as much as possible, which is really the goal. Obviously, you can now mimic that vibe artificially through AI and other means, but it doesn’t really matter. For us, we know we have to create it together.

So it’s primarily for us. We want to record as a collective as much as we can, and hopefully that comes through in the sound.

On that note, is the whole band on stage?

There are nine of us on stage, and there aren’t many bands of that size still touring as a collective. The smallest

FOR ME, IT’S THE IDEA THAT THE SUN HAS BEEN SHINING ON US FOREVER – EVERY HUMAN CASTS THE SAME SHADOW. WE’RE ALL EQUAL IN THAT SENSE.

we ever got to was seven. It’s a raw, live experience without any backing tracks.

The project is called Chasing Shadows, but what does that title mean to you? We were toying with loads of names. I’ve got a kind of awareness of AI –maybe even an anti-AI leaning behind the record – tied to the fact that we are a band of live musicians. Chasing Shadows felt like a nice way of leaving space for interpretation.

For me, it’s the idea that the sun has been shining on us forever – every human casts the same shadow. We’re all equal in that sense. But the ‘chasing’ part is about following the shadows of past generations and ancestors, and a way of life before digital control took over.

It’s about trying to preserve the best of the past – the teachings that are being lost – and chasing those who came before us.

You’ve introduced a new band member, Eniola Idowu, as lead vocalist. How does she fit into the group?

She’s a fantastic writer with a really fresh style and energy, which fits perfectly with the direction of the new material. There’s a great blend of soul, jazz and contemporary R&B.

She always catches my ear, and the material I was writing fit nicely with her style. We linked up in the studio and cowrote a lot of the vocals together, which was a great process.

She’s also brought a younger energy into the band. We’ve been doing this for 15 years, so it’s refreshing to have new perspectives.

After 15 years together, how do you feel about being so ingrained in that community?

It’s a huge blessing. I feel over the moon that I’ve managed to keep making music with my closest friends, and new ones along the way.

It’s not an easy industry – the live sector is tough and facing plenty of challenges. Unless you’re incredibly lucky, it’s hard to make a living from your own music. The fact we’re still touring and writing as a large ensemble is something I’m really proud of.

You said it’s been tough. Have there been any lows?

There have been times when I’ve wanted to give it up. There’s so much work, and people don’t always understand the challenges of being in a band –especially as a bandleader.

But something keeps me going, and that’s the connection with the audience. Hearing how the music has helped people through hard times, or been part

of their good times, is really special.

You’re touring over the year and stopping at Foundry this month. Are you excited to be back on the road?

Absolutely. Yorkshire feels like a spiritual home for the band. I’ve lived in Sheffield for six years now, raising my family here, and it’s influenced the music a lot – the city, the people, the Peaks, the nature.

It’ll be really special to play this new material to a home crowd.

How has Sheffield shaped your creativity?

It’s enabled me to keep doing this. I lived in London before, and there’s no way I could be raising children and making music in the same way there.

Sheffield offers community and affordability. I’ve always loved the creative energy in the north and felt it’s a shame people think they need to move to London.

There’s more breathing space here – to create, to be present. It’s made it possible to balance family life with running a large, complicated band.

Which track best represents Nubiyan Twist in 2026? It changes daily. Music is fluid – it depends on your mood.

Today I’d say ‘Mlonje: Voices Joined’ (ft The Zawose Queens). It feels fresh and unique. Their harmonies, the scales they use – there’s something deeply connected to nature in it.

It’s also the first time we’ve had a bass solo on a record, which I’ve been pushing for years. Tomorrow, it might be a different track.

The album has been described as ‘defiantly human’. Were there any mistakes that made the final cut? Loads. Mistakes often become the most interesting parts.

A lot starts with a demo, but once the band gets involved, ideas evolve. Sometimes something unexpected happens and you realise it’s actually great – and that becomes the direction. That’s part of the art.

Nubiyan Twist play Foundry Sheffield on 21 May. Tickets are available now from foundrysu.com.

friday 1 may 2026

just radiohead

£17.50, Doors 7:30pm

saturday 2 may 2026 the smiths ltd

£20.00, Doors 7:00pm

saturday 2 may 2026 reverend & the makers

album launch show

£20.00, Doors 7:00pm

saturday 9 may 2026 fleetwood bac

£20.00, Doors 7:00pm

friday 15 MAY 2026

LIVEWIRE AC/DC SHOW

£20.00, Doors 7:00pm

tHURSDAY 21 MAY 2026

la rumba x foundry present

NUBIYAN TWIST

£22.50, Doors 7:30pm

saturday 23 may 2026 timi dakolo

£30.00, Doors 6:00pm

wednesday 27 may 2026 ana carla maza

£25.00, Doors 7:00pm

thursday 4 june 2026

marmozets

£20.00, Doors 7:30pm

tuesday 16 june 2026

mc hammersmith

£17.50, Doors 7:00pm

friday 25 SEPT 2026

CELYA AB

£19.00, Doors 7:00pm

saturday 26 SEPT 2026

jazz emu

£22.00, Doors 6:30pm

friday 2 OCT 2026

MICHAEL SPICER

£22.00, Doors 7:00pm

tHURSDAY 25 june 2026 migration matters festival present fuse odg

£22.00 / £16.50 / £5.50, Doors 7:30pm

friday 26 june 2026

electric six

£21.50, Doors 7:00pm

sunday 5 jul 2026

pup

£25.00, Doors 7:00pm

thursday 9 july 2026 nik kershaw

£32.50, Doors 7:30pm

Friday 4 sept 2026

the bootleg beatles

£28.50, Doors 7:30pm saturday 12 sept 2026

THE molotovs

£15.00, Doors 7:30pm saturday 3 oct 2026

matilda shakes

£10.50, Doors 7:30pm

Wednesday 7 oct 2026

madra salach

£17.50, Doors 7:30pm

friday 9 oct 2026

antarctic monkeys

£20.00, Doors 7:00pm

thursday 15 oct 2026

the wanted 2.0

£27.00, Doors 7:00pm friday 16 oct & saturday 17 oct 2026

grace petrie

£21.00 / £18.00, Doors 7:30pm

TUESDAY 20 OCT 2026

CHRISTOPHER HALL-PIZAZZ

£23.00, Doors 7:00pm FRIDAY 23 OCT 2026

MORGAN REES

£21.00, Doors 7:30pm SATURDAY 7 NOV 2026

HANNAH EAST

£24.00, Doors 2:00PM / 7:00PM

sATURDAY 7 NOV 2026

amy matthews

£14.00, Doors 6:30PM

friday 23 OCT 2026

THE UNDERTONES

£32.50, Doors 7:30pm

friday 30 OCT 2026

COLDPLACE

THE WORLD’S LEADING TRIBUTE TO COLDPLAY

£24.00, Doors 7:30pm

friday 13 NOV 2026

THE TUMBLING PADDIES

£25.00, Doors 7:30pm

saturday 21 NOV 2026

the smyths

£20.00, Doors 7:30pm saturday 28 nov 2026

the bracknall

£20.00, Doors 7:00pm

sunday 6 dec 2026

bleech 9:3

£17.00, Doors 7:30pm

friday 11 dec 2026

connor mclain

£22.50, Doors 7:30pm saturday 12 dec 2026

indiepalooza

indie tribute festival

£32.00, Doors 5:30pm

friday 18 dec 2026

rob lamberti: perfectly george

£31.00, Doors 7:30pm

saturday 20 mar 2027 erasured

£19.50, Doors 7:30pm

THE DARK ROOM

£20.00, Doors 6:30pm friday 20 NOV 2026 ginger johnson

£28.00, Doors 7:00pm wednesday 25 NOV 2026 mark simmons

£20.00, Doors 6:30pm

all shows open to the public (14+ unless stated otherwise) tickets available from foundrysu.com box office: 0114 222 8777

foundry, sheffield students’ union western bank, s10 2tg foundrysu.com - foundry@sheffield.ac.uk @foundrysheffield scan for tickets

WORDS: ASH BIRCH PHOTOGRAPHY: OLLIE FRANKLIN

FEMUR @ CROOKES SOCIAL CLUB

I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve seen (and reviewed) Femur since I barged my way into a sweaty upstairs room at Shakespeare’s at the end of Tramlines in 2021.

That night, Femur laid down a blistering set, and each gig since has lived up to the hype, so I was slightly concerned I might have run out of nice things to say about them this time. With that in mind, I’ve instead decided to begin this review with some frank criticism: Pressingly, Eddie’s Under Armour shorts.

Sweaty, topless and rocking football shorts, the guitarist is giving changing room after the cup final – it’s deffo a look. Seriously though, fashion advice aside (who are we to weigh in on matters of sartorial faux pas?), over the last couple of years Femur have been sharply tailored into a mature, razor-sharp, venuepounding experience that isn’t just a passing fad.

More on Femur later, though, as tonight they’re not the only band jumping out on the bill.

It’s a crisp spring evening as we arrive at Crookes Social Club, and with apologies to opening act Junk – who I only caught the final track of – it’s The Pearl River band who have piqued our interest.

You might recognise a few familiar faces here: chiefly Luke Thompson, who fronts Sheffield band Any Old Iron, and drummer Benji Wilson, better known as @jamburrito – photographer and allround class act.

What’s immediately striking, before they even hit a note, is that they all look

the part. Without getting back on the fashion critique (what is this, Vogue?), they’re probably the best-dressed band in the city – not a pair of footy shorts in sight.

Anyway, the look reflects the sound. Both are unashamedly ‘70s rock and psych-influenced. There’s also a fairly obvious (read: lazy) comparison, but I’m going to make it anyway, to Fleetwood Mac.

That comparison mostly stems from the vocal talent of Margo Osbaldiston, whose powerful voice commands attention above deep, fuzzy guitar riffs and driving beats, knitting the band’s malevolent, stomping hooks together.

Next up are cheeky pop-punksters April Tapes. It’s a bit of a genre leap: gone are the ‘70s, making way for grungeinflected pop punk from the Sheffield/ Chesterfield four-piece. Once the initial whiplash settled, the band seemed to

settle too.

The dual male/female lead vocals – shared between the impossibly freshfaced guitarist and bassist – interchange neatly, and there’s even a brief nod to Folsom Prison along the way. Ones to watch.

And onto our main attraction this evening: the irrepressible Femur.

As ever, tonight they are as tight as your da when it’s his round, and as much fun as your ma when she’s had a few.

Although, aside from the crowd response to our football-short-wearing guitarist’s cajoling – hands in the air, fingers wiggling like some unhinged nursery rhyme – I initially thought the crowd felt a little subdued.

It turned out I was just so far forward I’d missed the circle pit forming behind me. Eventually it engulfed us, and by the time we reached 2022 banger I Don’t Like, we were right in the thick of it.

Shout-out, too, to latest single One Last Dance, which taps into that same driving fuzz bass, dancey beats and Balkan-tinged riffs – another ready-made mosh-pit stomper.

The cherry on top, for me, was an encore of Comeback Kid, absent from more recent sets I’d seen and a very welcome return – a fitting way to leave the pints and pits behind and spill out into the cool spring night.

@femurband_

SAT MAY‘26

THE CHARLATANS

7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

We’re thrilled to welcome The Charlatans back to the Octagon for a sold out night celebrating the release of their new album ‘We Are Love’. Plus support from The Cords.

FRI AUG‘26

MAN IN THE MIRROR

7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

Join us for a Thriller of an evening, as we celebrate the legendary music of the King of pop!

TAYLORMANIA

SUN SEPT‘26

Katy Ellis, a self-confessed ‘Swiftie’ with an incredible live band and dancers will deliver the most authentic recreation of a Taylor Swift Eras experience. 7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

7 SPELL SONGS

MON SEP‘26

7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

Renowned for their enthralling live performances that expertly blend musical and linguistic influences spanning from Orkney to Senegal.

TUE SEP‘26

DON BROCO

7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

Be part of the first audiences to hear the new album Nightmare Tripping on this round of live shows.

THE WONDER STUFF

7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE 3 SAT OCT‘26

Join The Wonder Stuff as they celebrate their 40th anniversary! Plus very special guests Inspiral Carpets.

EDDI READER

18 SUN OCT‘26

HEAVEN 17 7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

SAT OCT‘26 7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE 25

7PM | OCTAGON CENTRE

WED NOV‘26

Lambchop return to Europe and the UK for a new series of intimate piano performances. Frontman Kurt Wagner will be joing by his close collaborator on the recent Lambchop albums The Bible and Showtunes, Andrew Broder.

Bongo’s Bingo is THE definitive bingo experience. It’s a wild shared social extravaganza.

Expect big cash prizes, dance-offs, rave intervals and more all here at the Octagon Centre! UPCOMING DATES 9 SAT MAY‘26 23 SAT MAY‘26 6PM doors | 7:30PM last entry FRI JUN‘26 19 6PM doors | 7:30PM last entry

7PM doors | 8:30PM last entry

MUSIC TOM ROWLEY

I COULD PROBABLY WRITE A WHOLE ALBUM ABOUT HANGOVERS –NOT THAT IT WOULD BE ANY GOOD.”

Tom Rowley is stepping out on his own for the first time with debut album Moses and the Drones – a transatlantic effort recorded between Los Angeles and New York with acclaimed producer Loren Humphrey (Tame Impala, Lana Del Rey, Cameron Winter). Not shabby for a bloke who’s spent the last two decades quietly becoming one of Sheffield’s most in-demand musicians, often making things tick behind the scenes. In fact, his CV reads like a tour of local indie royalty – from founding Milburn at just 14 to leading Dead Sons and working with Reverend & The Makers, and most recently holding down a key role in a fairly well-known outfit called Arctic Monkeys. The Ecclesfield-born musician has co-writing credits on both Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino and The Car, and has clocked up two world tours as a longtime touring member of the band. Now, he’s stepping into the spotlight himself.

With the album out now, we caught up with Tom to talk through five key tracks from Moses and the Drones –covering inspirations, intentions and the occasional US rockstar spotted mid-dip.

VEGAS IN THE SNOW

A song with no chorus – it was always going to be the opening track. It wasn’t going to have a guitar solo, but everyone forced me to do one, so I ripped a bad boy out for the lads.

MOR

I wrote the words when we were staying at the Sunset Marquis and I saw Chad Kroeger doing the breaststroke in the pool. Nickelback swimming around like a stickleback? Only in LA.

TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT

One of the first I wrote for this record. The chorus really opened a door. The words were very nearly ‘we are so full of shit’, but again I was talked out of that. I still think it’s a better line, but I’m always open to suggestions.

SOMETHING STRANGE

We tried this one the first time round in LA, but it didn’t quite work out, so we did a more stripped-back version with just me, Alex [Turner] and Loren in New York and, annoyingly, it was much better.

THE NIGHT

The outro is my favourite part of the whole album. It’s about being very, very hungover at La Frette in France during the recording of The Car with Arctic Monkeys. I could probably write a whole album about hangovers – not that it would be any good.

Moses and the Drones is out now. Scan the QR code to purchase the album.

MUSIC NEWLAND

SYMPHONIC POP

Big pop hooks, bigger arrangements – Newland Symphonic Pop bring Dua Lipa’s catalogue to life as a full-blown spectacle, with orchestra, band and dancers all in the mix. We spoke to conductor Matthew Moore to find out more about what to expect from the innovative ensemble.

Let’s rewind a bit – how did Newland Symphonic Pop actually start?

It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, ever since performing in a similar concert with my youth orchestra. One of my first jobs after moving to Sheffield was conducting one of the orchestras at the university, and I was able to do a couple of trial-run concerts there to test the format. Then, over the Covid lockdown, I teamed up with some of the singers to see if we could start putting on concerts of our own. Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to perform Symphonic Pop tributes to a range of artists, including Michael Bublé, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, with our Muse shows in Sheffield and Huddersfield being the most ambitious of all.

Out of all the pop stars you could’ve gone for, why Dua Lipa? Who made that call?

Having just come off our second Muse tribute concert, we wanted to do something a bit different that would appeal to a new audience. If you listen to Dua Lipa’s songs, they’re full of interesting string parts that hark back to that classic 70s disco sound, so performing her tracks with an orchestra just made sense. Plus, there’s a reason she can sell out Wembley – the tunes are genuinely great.

How do you even begin turning that into something symphonic without losing the ‘dancefloor after a few too many shandies’ energy?

You’d be surprised how much ‘too many shandies’ energy an orchestra can bring to the party. First, it’s important to choose a setlist of songs that suit the orchestral treatment – sorry purists,

but ‘New Rules’ just didn’t work. Once the setlist is sorted, I listen to the songs a lot to pick out any pre-existing orchestral lines or interesting parts in the arrangement that can be adapted for live instruments.

If Dua herself walked in halfway through the set, which track would you most want her to hear?

Although the orchestra sounds epic on songs like ‘Love Again’ and ‘Dance the Night’, those tracks are already known for their string parts, so I think she’d enjoy hearing how we’ve reinvented some of the lesser-known songs from her first album, like ‘Garden’ or ‘Bad Together’.

For anyone who’s never seen Newland Symphonic Pop before, what actually happens when you put a band, singers, a 20-piece string orchestra and dancers in one room?

You get the true live experience of 20 or so string players, a top-notch band and superb singers all performing together in front of you. Everything in the show is completely live – no backing tracks, loops or pre-recorded vocals of any

kind. The dancers are a new addition this time, so I’m just as excited as the audience to see what Georgia and the team have come up with.

You’ve tackled Muse at venues like Sheffield City Hall – how does this compare in terms of scale, drama and sheer musical ambition?

Although the musical style is obviously very different, the process of putting the concert together is much the same. The big difference this time is the added visual element. Our Muse tribute is very much a straight-up concert, where the focus is entirely on those epic Matt Bellamy songs and showcasing the talents of our musicians. We felt the high-energy disco vibe of Dua’s songs needed more of a show, hence the addition of our dance troupe for the first time.

WE FELT THE HIGH-ENERGY DISCO VIBE OF DUA’S SONGS NEEDED MORE OF A SHOW”

What’s the biggest challenge when blending pop music with orchestral arrangements? Is it about respecting the original or completely reinventing it?

You can go either way, but we’ve always preferred to honour the original songs, with the orchestra there to enhance the experience rather than change it.

As mentioned before, a lot of these songs already feature orchestral string parts, so we use those as a basis for the arrangements and aim to create the most accurate interpretation possible. We don’t tend to go down the ‘classical reimagining’ route – Dua Lipa fans will get the songs they know and love, we just happen to bring a 20-piece orchestra along for the ride.

And finally – who’s next? Or is that already a closely guarded secret?

Our Muse tribute remains one of our most popular shows, so we’ll be giving it its third outing in January, this time in Leeds. As for who’s next, there are conversations happening – so watch this space.

Newland Symphonic Pop presents Dua Lipa: A Symphonic Tribute at Sheffield University Drama Studios on 24 May – tickets available from the SU box office or by scanning the QR code on this page.

TOM A SMITH @ HALLAMSHIRE HOTEL

WORDS/PHOTOGRAPHY: HAMISH YEWDALL

These days we are sold anything and everything to improve our appearance – marketers and racketeers, the lot of them. Here’s the secret to selfconfidence: pick up your headphones and spend five minutes with Tom A Smith.

You can try this trick anywhere –waiting for a tram, walking down Glossop Road in the rain. Let the music take control of your body. Let your head start to groove. Let your feet start to strut.

“Let’s go dancing and pretend that we are in love,” Tom instructs the Hallamshire Hotel in his opening song. The singer is true to his word, pulling shapes with the energy of Mick Jagger, David Byrne and – dare I say it – Harry Styles. It draws you in. It’s no surprise that a Tom A Smith gig is referred to as ‘joining Tom’s dance class’.

Tom may look like a young whippersnapper dancing around in a polka dot shirt, but this is an artist of experience. He has been gigging since the age of eight, when he supported northeast cult rockers Detroit Social Club. He has already built up an extensive back catalogue. Tonight he is showcasing many songs from an upcoming EP.

“This is our first headline tour in two years. The look may have changed, the music may have changed, but the love of

doing this stays the same,” he says.

‘Fashion’, ‘SFX’ and ‘I Don’t Want You’ are standout moments in the set. These songs could be mixed alongside ‘Love Is the Drug’, ‘Just Dance’ or ‘Relax’ – probably on a sweaty dancefloor at 1am. The bass just swaggers into your ears, while Tom’s voice cries out lines like: “I don’t blame you looking at me – I would be looking at me too.” The giant mirrorball at the Hally Hotel has never felt more at home.

Music can make you feel the whole range of emotions, but there is something to be said for a song that just makes you feel cool. Tom A Smith’s music makes you feel effortlessly cool. Try it whenever you are next in need of confidence.

REVEREND AND THE MAKERS

8 MAY // FOUNDRY // £17.50

To mark the release of Is This How Happiness Feels, Reverend and the Makers play a special launch show at Foundry Sheffield on 8 May, celebrating their latest album with a hometown performance sure to contain some old favourites as well as new bangers.

FOUNDRYSU.COM

GET TOGETHER FESTIVAL

16 MAY // KELHAM ISLAND + NEEPSEND // £54.25

Sheffield’s Get Together returns on 16 May with over 70 artists across Kelham Island and Neepsend. Co-headliners include Fat Dog, The Horrors and Erol Alkan, alongside Gwenno and Lynks. Expanded stages, late-night sets and new creative spaces cement its place as a vital showcase of emerging and established talent.

GETTOGETHERFESTIVAL.COM

PINS

22 MAY // YELLOW ARCH // £14

A Manchester post-punk outfit blending danceable rhythms with sharp, melodic edge. Now signed to Clue Records, they enter a new chapter with recent single ‘I’ll Be Yours’ and upcoming releases. Known for explosive live shows, PINS continue to champion female creativity while evolving their analogue-driven, genre-spanning sound.

YELLOWARCH.COM

KRAFTWERK: MULTIMEDIA TOUR

29 MAY // CITY HALL // £51-£103

Following a global tour and standout festival appearances, Ralf Hütter brings Kraftwerk back to the UK for their first tour since 2017, including a Sheffield date. Spanning 17 shows, the tour celebrates their pioneering sound, still hailed as futuristic decades into a career that continues to shape electronic music.

SHEFFIELDCITYHALL.CO.UK

FRANZ VON

29 MAY // YELLOW ARCH // £12

Born in Jamaica and rooted in Sheffield’s hip-hop and soundsystem culture, Franz Von blends rap, dancehall and spoken word with sharp social commentary. Formerly of TC & The Groove Family and K.O.G. & The Zongo Brigade, he returns solo with his debut album Take What You Want

YELLOWARCH.COM

SHEFFIELD’S EXCITING LIVE MUSIC COLLAB POWERED BY EXPOSED AND JOE GREEN

EACH MONTH, WE INVITE ARTISTS TO GREENY’S REHEARSAL SPACE TO LAY DOWN A STRIPPED-BACK LIVE SESSION. ONE TAKE. NO DO-OVERS. THIS MONTH FEATURES STONEY, AN HONORARY SHEFFIELDER WHOSE LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY’S MUSIC SCENE CONTINUES TO SHIFT, EVOLVE AND CIRCLE BACK ON ITSELF IN UNEXPECTED WAYS.

STONEY

WORDS: ASHLEY BIRCH

The session itself is a typically loose, collaborative affair. Stoney is joined by a mix of familiar faces, including Lauren Housley, Mos from Baba Naga and Jono from Bromheads Jacket.

“I’ve known Jono for years,” says Stoney, “but we’ve never played together in any context, as far as I’m aware.”

In fact, their first Sheffield encounter was a little less conventional.

“Jono told me that the first time I came to Sheffield I woke up in his bed. He wasn’t there at the time, just to clarify.”

Sticking to the shared rehearsal space rather than sleeping arrangements, there’s a combined energy to the session that Stoney clearly relishes after years of working in a more solitary way.

“Much of music creating these days is on my own and quite isolating. Having other people’s interpretations and the connection that you get was just a real pleasure. It was like I was allowed out to play with my friends.”

The session centres around two tracks – one from the back catalogue and one cover. The first, Soap in the Bathtub, reaches right back to the mid2000s, a track that still carries weight (and a chorus laced with backing vocals that live rent free in my head), even if it feels like it belongs to a different version of himself.

“It’s weird doing something from 20 years ago… it’s like trying to put on the old skin again.”

“I was like, what the hell was I singing about?”

Still, there’s something in it that endures. A metaphor for something just out of grasp.

“That metaphor is still valid in many areas of my life.” he (sorta) jokes.

The second track takes things in a different direction. A cover of ‘Evil’ by Shovels & Rope, performed as a duet with Lauren Housley, came together almost by accident.

“It was literally because I was driving along and it came on. It’s a band I like, even though I don’t know too much about them, and I just thought, that’s quite a cool song.”

What started as a spontaneous choice became a highlight of the session.

“It turned out to be a reason to sing with

Despite stints living in the States, Stoney tends to gravitate back to Sheffield and has done since first arriving in the city in the early 2000s without much in the way of a plan.

“I came here when I was 19 or 20 and just improvised.

“Back home, I worked at pawnbrokers and a local market, and they didn’t really get my vibe… here I could find people who did.”

“I’ve actually lived in Sheffield longer than anywhere else in my life. It’s always been the place that’s felt the most like home, but I get itchy feet.”

Stoney’s story slightly predates the explosion of the Sheffield music scene. While bands like Arctic Monkeys were breaking through, he was moving along a different path, already releasing music and navigating record deals.

“I was a massive fan of all these bands, but my experiences were different. My sound was different.”

“I remember, like, Alex Turner dropping me a text – I really like that song. And he handed it to someone. It got played on the radio, and I remember people raving about it.”

“And I remember John and Alex once asking me for some advice, but that seems so absurd now.”

There’s no sense of regret in that reflection, just a recognition that things unfolded the way they did.

There’s no sense of Stoney stepping back from songwriting and performing, either.

“I don’t put albums out very often, but when I do, it almost seems to precede a big shift in my life, and then it’s kind of behind me.”

Now, with new material on the way and a 20year anniversary pressing in motion, there’s a sense of things coming full circle.

“I’ve written the best record since my first record, so I’m going to pull it all together and link the two.”

If anything, this Red Light Session feels like a moment in between those chapters.

Catch Stoney and special guests for a 20-year anniversary show at Yellow Arch on 10 July.

Watch the full interview on the Red Light Podcast.

Lauren.”

I’VE ACTUALLY LIVED IN SHEFFIELD LONGER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN MY LIFE. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN THE PLACE THAT’S FELT THE MOST LIKE HOME, BUT I GET ITCHY FEET.”

Backstage Pass

There’s nothing more jarring than starting your Saturday morning with inflatable dinosaur costumes, but April is always a chaotic time at Corp. We kicked things off with Resistanz Festival – three full days of non-stop industrial, alt and electronic music, bringing people from all over the world into our building for one weekend.

Cassyette returned for a club night takeover – and there’s nothing better than spending the night shouting along to the best of rock, alt and metal (classic Corp behaviour). She even brought Harpy along, closing the night by pouring Pepto-Bismol on each other. Why? Because it was pink.

We got a surprise call from the Yungblud team and were lucky enough to host one of only four official afterparties on his arena tour, welcoming some of the biggest YB fans and making sure his return to Sheffield was as iconic as possible.

The full line-up for this year’s Metal 2 the Masses final is now here. Five local bands will compete alongside three special guest openers and two headliners, including last year’s winners ThunarWülf and the return of Sheffield’s own Northern Oak. If you want to find out who takes the crown, head down for the final.

We’ve also been making the most of the good weather, with a run of freeentry shows in our outdoor venue, the Greenhouse. If you fancy catching live bands in the sun, keep your eyes peeled for upcoming dates.

Love!

GIGS GALORE

CORP DOESN’T SLOW DOWN FOR SUMMER – NOT ON YOUR NELLY. FROM BURLESQUE CHAOS TO RISING ALT-ROCK AND BONECRUSHING DEATH METAL, THIS MONTH’S LINE-UP IS MEGA. BIG NAMES, BIGGER ENERGY AND NIGHTS YOU WON’T FORGET – IF YOU CAN KEEP UP.

BURNING HELL BURLESQUE

2 MAY // £22

Burning Hell Burlesque returns to the Big Room with a riot of rock’n’roll striptease, tassels and chaos. Produced by Bella Muse, expect a wild, alternative showcase – hosted by Corp TV’s Phoebe, who’ll also perform. Grab tickets now for a night of pure sin before it sells out.

DEAD PONY

31 MAY // £14

Glasgow’s Dead Pony bring ferocious alt-rock, punk and nu-metal energy to Corp. Fronted by Anna Shields, their anthemic sound has marked them as one of the UK’s most live acts. Fresh from playing the final Leadmill show with Twin Atlantic, expect chaos, hooks and pure adrenaline.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: IMPERICON FESTIVAL PRESENT DEATH DOMINION TOUR 2026: DESPISED ICON, CARNIFEX, SUFFOCATION

6 NOV // £30

Despised Icon, Carnifex and Suffocation bring a crushing co-headline tour to town – and the online reaction has been nothing short of insane. Expect relentless deathcore and death metal, from blistering speed to punishing grooves, as three heavyweights deliver one of the most brutal line-ups of the year.

JOIN THE CLUB

Get the lozenges out – this month’s gonna be rough on the vocal cords. On 9 May – Twenty One Pilots Appreciation Party takes over with a four-hour fanfuelled singalong from 6.30pm-10.30pm, before the evening runs into a Glee Takeover: Dirty Deeds, bringing guilty-pleasure chaos and big vocal moments to the dancefloor. Then on 22 May – Nu Metal vs New Metal (Friday Corp), expect a full-throttle mix of classics and rising stars, as DJ David Roman delivers mosh-ready bangers. Big tunes, bigger energy and three rooms in full swing –whether you’re screaming every lyric or diving into the pit, there’s no doing this one quietly.

PS: all club nights are strictly 18+, obvs.

GET TICKETS FOR ALL EVENTS AND FULL LISTINGS AT CORPORATION.ORG.UK

ABBEYDALE COMES A-LIVE!

These area-celebrating roadside parties are all the rage, aren’t they? Hot on the heels of the hugely successful Woodseats Live came Abbeydale Live – now firmly established as the city’s biggest street festival – returning for its second year over the weekend 18 and 19 April. Exposed’s Hamish Yewdall was on hand to snap away and soak it all in.

Abbeydale Live takes place across 20 venues, with hundreds of artists performing. For me, the best way to explore the festival was to go with the wind.

The first band to catch my ear were Poison Dart, delivering a strong mix of covers and original material, which drew a big crowd outside The Abbeydale Tap. The band will play their own headline gig at Alder Bar on Monday 25 May, so check them out if you can.

Another spot that’s used to dealing with busy crowds is Best Boys. But this time the punters were looking for beats not bagels. The place was more stuffed than one of their sarnies, while the drum and bass provided by USB DJs and friends was hotter than their jalapeño special. (That’s enough food metaphors for now – ed).

At the other end of the musical spectrum, Abbeydale Ballroom was hosting swing dances, with live performances from Niamh Kavanagh and the High Fives, and Louis Louis Louis – impressive sets matched by equally impressive dancing. Outside in the car park, Sheffield icon Steve Edwards was entertaining the gathered masses.

Wherever you walked, you saw people smiling, enjoying the sunshine

and loving the music. A crowd danced outside Smashed and Pulled takeaway, and from there someone told me to check out their mate DJing at Amici and Bici. That’s the way these events go – you follow the flow, take the recommendation, discover something new. It paid off, as Steel City Drum and Bass had turned the beer garden into a full-blown party.

Walking back up the road, I heard fiddle music and headed into The Dead Donkey to explore further. A folk session was in full swing, with the crowd joining in on the Pogues classic ‘The Leaving of Liverpool’.

My evening ended at Cole’s Corner, where DJ Papa Al celebrated his 79th birthday by delivering one of the biggest sets of the night, playing fresh dance tunes to a packed-out record shop. Later, his son Alex joined to celebrate his 43rd birthday, spinning a strictly vinyl jungle set with friends from Junglist Alliance and Raze DJs.

Abbeydale Live started as a way to support local businesses, and it’s quickly becoming a key date in Sheffield’s events calendar – a proper celebration of music, creativity and community. Long may it continue. @abbeydalelive

WORDS & PHOTOS HAMISH YEWDALL

MADE IN SHEFFIELD

This

summer, 300 life-sized lion, lioness and cub sculptures will prowl the streets of South Yorkshire as Pride of Yorkshire arrives in Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster.

Artist Matt Cockayne is bringing a bold, unmistakably Steel CITY feel to the trail with his two sculptures, Roarsome Dennis and Roarsome Flo, a personal tribute to his grandparents and the city that shaped him.

What inspired your design?

They’re quite striking, black and gold, really bold, with loads of detail when you get up close.

They’re packed with references to Sheffield, from the steel industry to the 0114 area code and football, all the things that make the city what it is.

They’re a love letter to my home city, but also to my grandparents, who encouraged me to draw and believed I’d make it as an artist. I’ve been a professional artist for about 13 years now, but my grandad passed away 20 years ago, so he never got to see any of this.

So this is my way of doing something for them, as a thank you.

And the lions directly reference them too?

Yes, the lion is called Dennis, after my grandad. He was a steel worker and crane driver at Forgemasters, so it felt right to build something around that. It’s a tribute to him. He’d have absolutely loved it.

The lioness is named after my

grandma, Florence, or Flo.

She was a strong woman and a bit fiery. In the wild it’s always the females that lead, so that felt fitting. If my grandad was ever out of order, he soon got put back in line by my grandma. It was important she had her own lion as well.

Your painting setup sounds… interesting?

Ha, yes. I’ve got a little shop in Chesterfield with a studio, but there was no chance I could paint both lions in there, so I ended up buying a safari tent for the lion. I turned it into my very own lion’s den. Apart from the condensation it was perfect.

The lioness has been living in my kitchen, which is a bit unusual. Each morning when I come downstairs, I find my cat Ronnie just sat staring at her. He still thinks he’s the boss, though.

What are you most excited about for the trail?

Seeing everything come together. I’ve done a few trails before, but it never gets old seeing your work out in the wild.

There are loads of artists involved who I really respect, and loads I’ve never met before. It’ll be great to see all the different ideas out on the trail and chat to other artists.

And what makes you proud to be from Yorkshire?

Everything. I travel quite a bit, but it’s always nice coming back home. The people are just the best. We look after each other, and we don’t muck about. I live in Derbyshire now, but I’ve got the Yorkshire rose tattooed on my wrist, because Yorkshire’s my home and it always will be.

The Pride of Yorkshire runs from June to September 2026. The lions will be auctioned off after the trail in October.

For more information, visit prideofyorkshire.org or follow Pride of Yorkshire on social media.

ARCNIGHT

Arcnight lands at Don Valley on Bonfire Night –a brand-new large-scale fireworks spectacular where, the tagline informs us, ‘Sheffield steel meets the sky’. We grabbed a sparkler and went to find out what’s in store.

5 NOVEMBER // DON VALLEY // CHECK WEBSITE FOR TICKETS

There’s a certain point in the Sheffield calendar when the nights draw in, the big coats come out and attention turns to Bonfire Night plans. For years, thousands flocked to Illuminate the Gardens for their annual fix. Now, the team behind it are back with something bigger, bolder and built for scale: Arcnight.

Set to take over Don Valley Bowl on Thursday 5 November, Arcnight is being pitched as Sheffield’s only large-scale fireworks show – and if managing director Bob Worm has anything to do with it, it won’t just be another night of bangs and sparklers.

“This is a family-based firework and lighting celebration show,” he tells Exposed. “We’re bringing together everything that makes Bonfire Night special, but elevating it into something much bigger, much more immersive.”

At its core, Arcnight blends spectacle with Sheffield identity. The name itself nods to the city’s industrial past – the arc of a firework mirroring the spray of steel. It’s a deliberate move to root the event in place rather than parachuting in a generic format.

“The theme is about melding the heritage of Sheffield with its culture and creativity,” Bob says. “It’s a green city, it’s got that welcoming feel, and we want the event to reflect that.”

Moving from the Botanical Gardens to Don Valley

Bowl opens up a completely different level of ambition. Where Illuminate was capped by capacity and residential constraints, Arcnight has room to breathe – and scale.

“We used to do 5,000 people a night across three nights,” Bob explains. “Here, we can bring 15,000 people together in one space and create something properly spectacular.”

That scale allows for a stacked programme. Expect two fireworks displays – an earlier ‘low bangs’ show for younger audiences, followed by a full-scale finale choreographed to music. Add in laser shows, live performers, DJs, walkabout acts, fairground rides, a curated selection of street food and bars, and the result is less a traditional bonfire night and more a full evening experience.

Crucially, the venue also solves some long-standing logistical headaches.

“It’s easier to get to, easier to move around, and we can design the experience properly,” explains Bob. “You come along like you would to the arena –you’re part of something big.”

For Bob, who has over 30 years of experiencing in organising some of the city’s biggest events, a successful Bonfire Night event isn’t just about the display. It’s about pacing, surprise and leaving people wanting more.

“The first rule is give people what they want,” he says. “Then give them something they

didn’t know they wanted. And finally, leave them wanting more.”

That philosophy runs through the entire Arcnight setup. The fireworks may be the headline, but the surrounding experience is what turns it into a full night out. Bob tells us that there’s a clear push towards making the event feel inclusive and multi-generational.

“It’s not like going to see a band that’s just for one audience. This is something the whole family can enjoy together.”

That extends to pricing, too. With the cost of family outings rising, the team are keen to keep things accessible.

“We’ve worked hard to make sure it’s affordable. There’ll be different ticket tiers, family options, and a range of food and drink so people can choose what suits them.”

Launching a Bonfire Night event months in advance might seem ambitious, but the team know the market. Early ticket

ARCNIGHT 2026 – AT A GLANCE

A brand new event for Sheffield. From the creators of Illuminate the Gardens, a major new Bonfire Night celebration lands in the city.

WHEN: Thursday 5 November 2026

WHERE: Don Valley Bowl

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Low-bangs fireworks display (family-friendly)

• Main fireworks spectacular set to music

• Laser light show

• Live music and DJs

• Bars and local street food

• Walkabout performances

• Children’s activities

• Plus more to be announced

TICKETS:

• Super early bird prices run until 30 June (or while stocks last)

• Adult (18+) – £12

• Children (4–17) – £6

• Under 3s – Free

• Family ticket – £30

tiers – including super early bird offers – are a key part of the strategy.

“Historically we’ve sold thousands of tickets before summer,” Bob says. “People like to plan ahead, especially when there’s value there.”

There’s also a wider context working in Arcnight’s favour. With several long-running local displays no longer taking place, demand could outweigh supply this year.

“We’re the only large-scale show in the city,” Bob notes. “There were around 30,000 tickets across different events before. Now there’s far fewer options.”

Archnight also lands at a time when Sheffield’s events scene feels revitalised. From festivals to grassroots gigs, there’s a growing sense of momentum across the city.

“I’ve seen the flow of culture change over the years,” Bob reflects. “Right now, there’s a huge amount going on – music, hospitality, events. It’s growing

fast.”

In that context, Arcnight is designed as a seasonal marker – a moment that bridges summer’s festival buzz and the run-up to Christmas.

Beyond logistics, line-ups and ticketing tiers, there’s something more fundamental driving the project. In an age of constant noise, Arcnight is about offering simple, shared experience.

“It’s about bringing light into the dark,” Bob says. “Stepping away from everything else and just enjoying something together.”

That might sound straightforward, but it’s exactly what gives events like this their staying power. Whether you’re there for the fireworks, the food or just the atmosphere, the appeal cuts across generations.

And in a city that prides itself on community, that really matters.

arcnight.com // @ arcnightsheffield

May is shaping up to be a vibrant and powerful month for Sheffield’s LGBTQ+ scene, with everything from sweaty club nights to reflective theatre, community chats and drag shows that don’t hold back.

Rainbow Minds (every Wed) keeps things grounded with its welcoming weekly LGBTQ+ cafe at the Wellbeing Centre. It’s a warm, inclusive hangout for over-18s who might be feeling isolated or just fancy a cuppa and a bit of a natter.

The month kicks off at full throttle with Girls, Gays & Theys (Fri 1 May) at Corporation – a genre-hopping alt club night with a special DJ set from Hannah Hermione and Jason GGT. Expect emo, metal and punk classics with a queer twist, spread across multiple rooms with drink deals and full-on chaos.

The Rainbow Owls Matchday Social (Sat 2 May) takes place at The Pangolin before and after the Sheffield Wednesday v West Brom match, bringing fans together for pre- and post-game community vibes. This edition features visiting LGBTQ+ fan group Proud Baggies. Later that evening, chipp3d cyb3r (Sat 2 May) lands at Gut Level for a debut residency with Manchester’s Chipped Polish, delivering high-energy punk-infused techno, hyperpop and a wild roster of queer DJs and performers including Arty Baby and Poor Spice.

Offering something completely different, resonance: What Remains (Sun 3 May) comes to Gut Level – an atmospheric, immersive sound and light performance built around John Haycock’s new album, blending kora, electronics and acoustics with live visuals shaped by the space.

Then comes the return of the Reyt Queer Extravaganza (Fri 8 May) at Forge Warehouse, celebrating 10 years of Andro & Eve. Hosted by Sam Buttery and Rhys’ Pieces, it’s an evening of drag kings, queer dance and pageantry, featuring Ghetto Fabulous dancers, Tito Bone, Unknown Amazon and Mark Anthony. Sat 9 May offers two contrasting options. Gut Level presents a night of transgressive club chaos with Sister Punch (Sat 9 May), Smiley Maxx’s jungleacid set, plus Peppa and Zaron Mizmeras across live and DJ performances. Meanwhile, The Broomhall Centre stages At The Rainbow’s End (Sat 9 & Sun 10 May) – a verbatim play exploring the experiences of older LGBTQ+ people facing discrimination in care. Each performance is followed by a Q&A and is

free to attend.

Working with LGBTQ+ Young People Forum (Wed 13 May), hosted by SAYiT, takes place online as a drop-in for professionals to share challenges and strategies. The following day, Over 50s LGBTQ+ Group (Thu 14 May) meets at Weston Park Museum – a supportive, neurodivergent-friendly meetup run by the community.

That evening, Gut Level is transformed by Nappy Rash Vol 2 (Thu 14 May), headlined by Beau Wanzer, with support from Erosion Control and debut act Extispicy – a night of distorted noise, ritual drone and body-moving chaos.

Eurovision pre-party (Fri 15 May) sees Kweer Sheffield take over The Victoria with classic tracks, dancing and a camp-as-anything quiz.

Forge Warehouse hosts Cryptid Queers #12 (Sat 16 May), a monster drag fundraiser headlined by Psyclone Jack with support from King Confuza. Expect alternative market stalls, immersive stage shows and two rooms of metal, industrial and goth club music, running until 3am.

The Winter Garden hosts Sheffield’s annual IDAHOBIT (Sun 17 May) – the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia – bringing the community together for a public celebration of visibility, resilience and solidarity, with guest speakers, performances and stalls.

Benidorm Drag Queen Bingo (Fri 22 May) at the Malin Bridge Inn is hosted by Electric Blue and comedy act Our Trace. Expect rude jokes, wild games, questionable prizes and a karaoke-fuelled afterparty – fancy dress encouraged.

Back at Gut Level, Devon Rexi (Tue 26 May) joins Bombstrap for a night of experimental sound. Amsterdam-based Devon Rexi brings dub-psychedelic textures, while Bombstrap delivers politically charged hardcore punk, with support from Rochdale’s Prangers.

The Lughole returns with Trash Haus Volume 4: Deadtime Stories (Sat 30 May) – an alt-drag horror cabaret hosted by Binbag, where fairytales melt and cartoons decay. The venue is members-only, so membership is required in advance.

Rounding out the month, Rainbow Gamers (Sun 31 May) at Treehouse Cafe offers a relaxed LGBTQ+ board game social – an easy way to meet new faces and wind things down.

With alt-drag monsters, queer footy socials, radical noise nights and celebratory theatre, May has something for everyone. For updates, check www. facebook.com/sheffieldlgbtevents.

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Sheffield’s artists have made their mark far beyond South Yorkshire – and sometimes, you stumble across them when you least expect it.

WORDS: JOE FOOD

Recently, I took a trip to Belgium with my wife. While exploring Brussels, we wandered amongst the crowds gathering around the Mont des Arts – a striking landscaped garden offering panoramic views of Place d'Espagne and the town hall tower in Grand Place.

There were the usual sensations that come with traversing an unknown major city for the first time: a slight overwhelm, a feeling of discombobulation, the urge to revert to Google Maps once more and a craving for that in-built human compass that serves you so well back home.

Dodging selfie sticks and clusters of walking tours, we negotiated our way down the steps and, on the left, glanced at the Royal Library of Belgium. Instantly, there was a rush of familiarity. There in all its surrealist, chaotic, long-limbed glory, was a gigantic Phlegm mural stretching vertically across the building’s façade (see picture inset).

It was a nice feeling – a little piece of home in unfamiliar surroundings. There’s something special about seeing the art that frequently features in your daily mise-en-scène come to life in another country. It’s a bit like being in on a small, private joke.

Of course, Phlegm isn’t the only one to have work adorning walls in distant places. So we thought we’d pay homage and asked local artists to send us examples of their work on tour. Because, as it turns out, Sheffield travels pretty well.

JO PEEL YORK

NECK OF THE WOOD (PIZZA BOY COLLAB) GLASGOW

TRIK09 HONG KONG

MARCUS METHOD GRIMSBY

ROB LEE BREMEN

PEACHEZZ MONTESILVANO

PAINTING POWER

From painting Olympians to reshaping how women are seen in public art, South Yorkshire muralist Natasha Clarke is making work that stops people in their tracks – whether that’s a lion with a local nod or a mural overlooking the banks of the River Don.

We caught up with her to talk identity, representation and why her subjects so often refuse to meet your gaze.

We love the Jessica Ennis-Hill design for the Pride of Sheffield – how did that come about?

Sheffield Children’s Hospital approached me to do a portrait for one of their designs. I went on their website and noticed that Jessica Ennis-Hill is one of the patrons. She’s of a similar mixed heritage to me and in my portrait work that’s what I

tend to focus on – my identity, my heritage and women. I only paint women.

A recurring motif in your work is women looking away from the audience, like your recent ‘Guardian’ on the River Don banks. Why is this?

With Jessica, I wanted it to look like she was flying. I wanted

her to mirror the lioness. Her top is the same colour as the background so there’s a blending between them, representing strength and connection. I wanted the whole piece to have life, movement and energy.

In my work I like to play around with the history of art, particularly how women are depicted in classical oil

paintings. I’m more interested in giving that power back to the subject. Turning them away so they’re not looking at the viewer is one way of doing that.

There’s a new series I’m working on around a term I learned recently called a worm’seye view – the view from the ground looking up. It’s about perspective and placing the woman in a position of strength, looking down at the viewer.

Can you tell me about your new mural duo Unfurl?

Every project we take on includes a mentee who is female or female-identifying. As a mural artist it’s still quite a maledominated space, so any work we can do to hold the door open for other artists, we will.

Unfurl came about through my friend and fellow artist Rebecca Fennely, who approached me last April. She comes from a fashion illustration background and has an incredible eye for colour. I

bring composition. Together the work we make is quite hyperfeminine and ethereal. We were nervous about that at first – is it too girly? How will people respond? The reaction has been so positive though and I think

IT’S ABOUT PERSPECTIVE AND PLACING THE WOMAN IN A POSITION OF STRENGTH, LOOKING DOWN AT THE VIEWER.”

that’s where its strength lies.

Your work feels very personal – how much is shaped by your own experiences?

It’s all rooted in my life experiences, with some historical context. I’m mixed race Jamaican and white British and I grew up in a small mining village on the outskirts of Doncaster with virtually no diversity. I was one of only a couple of people who weren’t white and I also grew up in an all-white household. My mum is white, my half siblings are white, so a lot of the time I felt like an alien.

I was having very specific experiences – racial slurs at school or not knowing what to do with my hair – and I’d go home upset and my mum just didn’t know what to say. It left me wondering whether something was wrong with me.

During my masters in curation practices at Leeds Arts University, I curated a show

called It’s Not Just Black and White, where I invited biracial and mixed race artists to exhibit work about their experiences. It was reassuring to realise that feeling caught between two cultures is a shared experience –not feeling black enough but not feeling white enough either.

What else have you got going on at the moment?

I should be in a gallery in York

this year, where people can view and buy the paintings. There are more murals for Unfurl in the pipeline too – the next one is in a few weeks at Thrybergh Park, and then the Lions go out in June. We’re still deciding where Jessica’s piece will go, but we’re thinking Weston Park – a green space would really suit it.

@natashaclarkeart

For our latest conversation with a Steel City creative, Maisie Ellis sits down with Sheffield muralist Ethan Lemon to talk about carving out a name on the city’s walls and the ideas behind his recent exhibition Beginnings.

Can you tell us a bit about your mural work?

A lot of it has been self-initiated around Sheffield. I’ve been developing this new style and I’ve just spied spots that I thought ‘oh, that’s abandoned’ or ‘that’s got graffiti on already’, and then I’ve sort of rocked up and done what I wanted to. It’s nice to have a practice in a way, you know, to try my new ideas out.

I’ve only been in Sheffield for about two years, so I’ve been trying to get my name out there, doing as many murals as I can really, and doing my little character face as much as I can. I’m glad people have started to recognise it, and I like it when people mention it to me. So yeah, it’s definitely working – definitely a staple.

How did you learn to paint and how has your art developed?

I’m self-taught, really. I didn’t go to uni or anything. I did art at school, but I mostly learnt at home, every night after school and every weekend.

When I got to about 14, I started to

meet other people who did graffiti as well – that was my first time meeting people who were actually doing it. That’s when I learned how to spray paint properly. Still, a lot of it was just me using spray paint all the time and practising – kind of trial and error.

How have your methods or style evolved throughout your time as an artist, going between street art and canvas?

I’ve been doing street art with spray paint forever – for the past 15 years or something. Then a couple of years ago, I felt like I’d got to a point where I was

decent at it, and I wanted to try other things as well.

I got my first studio at Kelham Island Arts Collective and started using different mediums, painting more with a brush on canvas. That developed into what it is now for my recent show, Beginnings, which is a bit of a mixture.

There’s spray paint, airbrush, acrylic with brushes, and I use crayon and oil pastels as well. It’s kind of an amalgamation of everything I’ve learned up until now.

What are your creative influences?

Usually my travels are the biggest inspiration for my art. I like to combine everyday life with more exotic places.

I had two different series on the go –one based on references from travelling and photos I’ve taken around the world, and the other focused on home. I’d normally reference foreign buildings and scenery and paint that.

My recent project, Beginnings, is still related to that, but it’s sort of the opposite. After all the places I’ve been, I started thinking about the place where I’ve spent most of my life. It’s very different – quite mundane and ordinary.

But people say that when they travel a lot, they start thinking about home again, where it all began.

Can you tell us more about pulling together Beginnings as an exhibition?

The key themes are home and beginnings. There are a lot of the big paintings I’m used to, but also lots of smaller works that aren’t just paintings on canvas – some have more sculptural 3D elements.

Another theme is the contrast between permanence and change, with the simple forms of houses acting as constants alongside trees, gardens and parked cars that shift over time. Through this, I wanted to reflect the passage of time as well as the persistence of memory.

There are aspects you’ve not seen from me before.

What does the rest of 2026 hold for you?

Now Beginnings is done, the rest of my year will be spent developing the next concept and making work for my next exhibition. I’d like to have one big solo show each year.

I’ll also have pieces in group shows later this year and will be working on some exciting mural projects. In the summer, I’m doing a short painting residency in France with Sheffield artist Kieran Flynn. So there’s loads of exciting stuff going on.

@ethan_lemon_art

OPERATION MINCEMEAT @ THE LYCEUM

This much-hyped musical about a World War II plan to misdirect Nazi forces from one Italian island to another is one of the funniest and most joyful things you’ll watch this year.

WORDS: PHIL TURNER PHOTOGRAPHY: MATT CROCKETT

There’s always a flicker of scepticism when a show arrives trailing a blizzard of five-star reviews. In the case of Operation Mincemeat, that scepticism lasts about ten seconds. From the opening beat, it becomes clear the accolades are well earned. This is a relentlessly inventive, laugh out loud musical that combines razor sharp comic timing with astonishing performances from its exemplary cast of five, who play multiple characters of both sexes.

Based on the true World War II deception operation designed to convince the Nazis that Allied forces would invade Sardinia rather than Sicily, the show follows the improbable plan dreamed up by eccentric intelligence officer Charles Cholmondeley (Sean Carey) and championed by the supremely confident Etonian Ewen Montagu (Holly Sumpton). Whether the operation succeeds – and whether the team are actually all pulling in the same direction – provides the narrative spine, but the plot is secondary to the incredible feats the cast pull off in delivering rapid-fire lyrical precision, pinpoint comic timing and about a zillion costume changes.

All five performers juggle multiple roles, often switching characters in seconds with nothing more than a hat, a posture change or a quick turn of the body. It’s theatrical sleight of hand, executed with such precision that the audience begins to watch for the mechanics as much as the payoff.

The script is packed with throwaway lines

that land perfectly. Montagu’s swaggering confidence, declaring to the more reserved Cholmondeley, “You bring the brains, I’ll bring literally everything else,” had me laughing out loud, while Christian Andrews as MI5 secretary Hester Leggatt regularly drew belly laughs from as little as a turn of the head or a wry smile, so skilful was his understanding of her character.

Musically, the show nods to wartime swing and revue styles, but also throws in fast paced, word heavy sections that feel almost Hamiltonesque, but delivered with a plum in the mouth.

Amid the relentless comic action, there’s also a moment of genuine stillness. The song Dear Bill, delivered by Andrews as Leggatt, lands as the emotional heart of the evening. Framed as a letter to a fictional fiancé, it quietly reveals an unspoken past love and loss, offering a poignant contrast to the surrounding chaos. In a show that races along at breakneck speed, it’s a rare pause that gives the audience space to reflect.

Operation Mincemeat is clever, fast and genuinely funny, but more than that, it’s a masterclass in what can be achieved with minimal staging and maximum creativity. Five performers, a handful of props and an abundance of imagination combine to produce one of the most entertaining nights currently on stage. The five star hype, it turns out, isn’t hype at all.

PT 5/5

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD

5-9 MAY // LYCEUM // £15-£70

The spy novel that changed everything comes to the stage. John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold stars Ralf Little as Alec Leamas, drawn into one last Cold War mission by George Smiley. This adaptation explores deception, loyalty and love, following acclaimed runs in Chichester and the West End, now arriving for a limited Lyceum engagement.

SHEFFIELDTHEATRES.CO.UK

SILENT LANGUAGE

14-19 MAY // PERSISTENCE WORKS // FREE

Silent Language brings together multiple voices to explore what it means to be a woman today, translating lived experience into material form. Supported by the British Council, this international collaboration spans the UK and China, presenting jewellery shaped through workshops in Sheffield and Wuhan, where making becomes a shared language of connection, storytelling and exchange YAS.ART

NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS

18 MAY // CRUCIBLE // £26-£33

A Night at the Musicals returns for 2026, hosted by Wilf Scolding and featuring Carley Stenson, Sam Buttery and Sally Frith. This vibrant showcase of musical theatre favourites supports Roundabout, raising vital funds to help vulnerable young people build brighter futures through an unforgettable evening of live performance.

SHEFFIELDTHEATRES.CO.UK

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES

19-23 MAY // LYCEUM // £15-47.50

Sephy and Callum sit together on a beach, in love, but it is forbidden. In a segregated society divided between Crosses and Noughts, violence rises as their relationship deepens. Adapted from Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses, this gripping Romeo and Juliet–inspired drama explores race, revolution and growing up in a world on the brink of conflict and fragile hope today.

SHEFFIELDTHEATRES.CO.UK

COME BEAUTIFY THE NIGHT – OTIS MENSAH

22 MAY // MILLENNIUM GALLERY // £12 (OR PAY WHAT YOU CAN)

A special evening of live music and poetry curated by Otis Mensah, featuring a screening of Come Beautify the Night and an in-person conversation with the artists.

SHEFFIELDMUSEUMS.ORG.UK