Five Standout Shows at Bristol's O2 Academy
Posted on: 22 Nov 2016The cavernous expanse of our very own O2 Academy has played host to some of the biggest names in music across the years, and their forthcoming run of shows doesn't threaten to deviate too far from this path. Check out our favourite bookings below.
Laura Mvula - 26.11
It’s fair to say that Laura Mvula, unlike the rest of us, has had a pretty good 2016. With the release of her second consecutive Mercury-nominated LP, The Dream Room, reinforced by the triumphant festival run which included a major slot on the Pyramid Stage. With such momentum behind it, it is hardly likely that this bandwagon is set to falter now, so this Bristol instalment of her journey is one not to miss.
Dr John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell - 30.11
While this year has acted as a Night of the Long Knives for reams of music’s elder statesmen, the wily, wiry pair of Dr John Cooper Clarke and boon companion Hugh Cornwell (from the original line-up of the Stranglers) are opening up a new lease of life. On this tour the punk poet laureate is recalibrating his larynx, and will actually be adding some tune to hisgiving the singing lark a go. And get this: he’s actually quite good at it. Check out the doctor’s manc croon at the end of this month.
Kate Tempest - 08.12
Kate Tempest has whipped up a storm in recent years with the release of two albums of incendiary material which always teeters between rap and poetry. Sophomore effort Let Them Eat Chaos, unfurled this year, is a savage piece of social criticism, taking aim squarely at the injustices and discrepancies latent in 21st century London. Add to these the improvised rants with which she intersperses her poems and you have an enthralling live proposal, which is definitely worth catching at her O2 gig.
Glass Animals - 15.03
Dave Bayley, singer of Oxford-born Glass Animals, has a voice as delicate as his band’s name. Melting together hip-hop beats with synths and an indie sensibility, their two albums to date have earnt them both critical acclaim and fans aplenty. Their biggest UK tour to date will come in support of How To Be A Human Being on which they adopted themes more socially aware than their playful 2014 debut ZABA - and boy does it work well. Hear it for yourself as they stop over in Bristol in March of next year.
Sampha - 28.03
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The time it has taken Sampha to step out from under the shadows of his collaborators is testament to the size of the artists who have thrown them. And when those in question are the likes of Drake, Jessie Ware and Solange, this is in turn a testament to the vocal talents of the South London man whom they evidently value so greatly. The release (and subsequent success) of recent singles ‘Timmy’s Prayer’ and ‘Blood On Me’ indicate that he is about to break out into the sunlight. There will be tears at this show, which represents a much bigger proposal than his previous Bristol visit to the Marble Factory.
For more information about, or to buy tickets for any of these shows, go to the O2 Academy's website.
Article by:
An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
