MUSIC

Foo do you think you are?

While The Foo Fighters struggle to comprehend the tragic loss of their drummer, the inimitable character and monster talent that was Taylor Hawkins, the UK Foo Fighters will be on stage at The Roadmender (June 11) playing tribute to the man, and to the music that has enthralled music fans for the past 25 years.

This date is part of the No Son of Mine tour by the tribute mob who have now tucked away 15 years of playing for their own congregation.

In that time, Mr Grohl has checked them out for himself and declared them to be ‘England’s PREMIER Foo Fighters Tribute Band,’ which is quite the endorsement.

And in case anyone wants to accuse the boys of cashing in on tragedy (which some crass types have done), these dates are annual shows and were announced before that most awful of news.

Pretty sure it will be an emotional set with a tribute to The Hawk, though.

DJ and radio broadcaster David Rodigan (June 17) has spent more than four decades as ‘the top dog in the ganja-scented, bassheavy atmosphere of Britain’s reggae dance halls,’ says the press biog, ‘The key to his success has been an unsinkable passion for reggae music,’ which grabbed hold him while he was a youngster. And that was back in the sixties.

Since then he has developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of Jamaican music, and become the radio go-to for anyone with a penchant for the sounds – he’s spent nigh on 45 years spreading the musical love on platforms including BBC1 Xtra and Radio 2.

He has been inducted into the Sony Radio Academy Hall of Fame, and also boasts four Sony Gold awards for his efforts.

David Rodigan

He has hit up nearly every cool festival stage you could mention and when he issued his autobiography a few years back, Rodigan My Life in Reggae became an Amazon No1 bestseller.

There are more than a few tasty moments from a wonderful career there, and yet we’ve barely scratched the surface.

We haven’t even mentioned the MBE for Services to Broadcasting, for example.

David’s contribution to the form is unparalleled. A special night is guaranteed.

To book tickets for either show click to theroadmender.com

First it went all Pete Tong, but now it’s game on!

Pete Tong - all set for the gig at Franklin’s Gardens with The Heritage Orchestra Over the last couple of decades, Pete Tong has become the leading tastemaker of the electronic generation, and this month he follows in the footsteps of artists including Lionel Richie when he comes to Franklin’s Gardens.

If you’ve got a ticket you are in for a big night of hedonistic nostalgia – your favourite club tracks and the freshest hits reimagined, coupled with incredible visual effects and the latest in music technology.

Franklin’s Gardens might be the usual place for a scrum, but on Friday, June 24 it will be transformed into the sun-soaked White Isle when Pete presents Ibiza Classics.

He’ll not be alone though; The Heritage Orchestra - conducted by Jules Buckley - will be with him.

This really will be quite the spectacle; the 65-piece orchestra have been rehearsing for weeks to make sure of a flawless show.

The date was originally set for 2021, but a not insignificant issue called Covid scuppered that.

“Myself and Jules are so excited to be bringing the Orchestra and Ibiza Classics to Franklin’s Gardens,” Pete said, “The past year has been so unpredictable, but we continue... and I guarantee this will be a night to remember, so dust off your raving shoes!”

Ticket prices start at £47. To book, visit northamptonsaints.co.uk/news/pete-tong

Pete Tong and The Heritage Orchestra

Anyone for a threeway sax attack?!

If you are in the market for a slice of blistering rhythm & blues meets psych rock ‘n’ roll, meet the acquaintance of the Jim Jones All Stars who swagger into The Black Prince.

‘Born out of necessity, born out of wedlock and simply born to boogie, The Jim Jones All Stars are an unholy trinity of birth,’ is the official blurb.

In the past Jim has delivered the goods with Thee Hypnotics, Black Moses, The Jim Jones Revue and Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind, and this new caboodle of sound will see him pluck from their style and his own influences, but he’s also cracking open a spicy gumbo of hot, new sounds.

This new band brings with them the devils horn section - a three-way sax attack.

“It’s a pleasure to have that much horn going on, as it allows me to plunge into the succulent, dark meat of the low-down, greasy, chitlin’ groove – that’s where all the flavour is!” Jim said, “There’s a whole new planet of killer songs and I’m landing on it now, and preparing to plant my freak flag. And on top of that, we’re going to be deep-frying a la carte from my entire back catalogue.”

That’s a meal of sounds to kill off any diet.

Support will come from garage and mod types The Hurricanes who play ‘like it’s 1966 all over again.’

They think it’s all over...it will be on June 10. Where we can exhale. And it feels really good when we are able to facilitate that.” If you want to see a love song turned into a psychedelic, transcendent epic more than once, you’ve got it with this gang of four. Support comes from Pavilion and Skyflood. The Black Doldrums (June 17) continue the musical mind-bending with their dark psych, contemporary take on gothic post-punk – and you can hear plenty of that on their current album, Dead Awake which was issued in March. Support comes from Psychic Lemon The Black Doldrums and Tval. Former Spitfires frontman Billy Sullivan gets his solo career off the ground on June 18, before We Are Not Devo (June 25) will perform choice cuts of gonzo mutato classics aplenty. Support comes from our town’s own delicious dark wave aces, The Venus Fly Trap. Get those tickets by tapping to sbdpromotions.com

The venue staff will have time to sweep the floor and dry down the walls after Mr Jones raises the temperature to scorchio and then The 2 Tones will rock up (June 11) with their set list of floor-filling tracks originally delivered by artists including The Specials, The Beat, Madness, Desmond Dekker and many others.

Wanna stomp? This lot and their 2Tone, Reggae, Stax Soul and Mod Revival will take you all the way.

It’s from Oregon to the ‘fampton for The Shivas (June 16) with their bombastic, explosive and communal rock and roll experience.

They’ve been hitting up stages since 2006, and have smashed the 1000 show barrier and when they plug in and sound out, they have a simple aim: “We want them to forget they have work tomorrow,”drummer Kristin Leonard explains of their audience, “We’re creating this safe place where we can all let go.

Jim Jones All Stars

We Are Not Devo