Jordan Worland, from local music website Slate the Disco, gives his top live music picks for the month ahead
Happy New Year! 2020 is shaping up to be a stellar year for live music in Cambridge, with a host of great acts scheduled to play over the next 12 months. We can expect some of the finest emerging acts, as well as more established names, and we can’t wait! January is always a quieter month in the music calendar, but we have put together a list of shows that are well worth your time. Our first pick is the seductively off-kilter pop sounds of Rozi Plain, who plays The Portland Arms on the 28th. Rozi, who doubles as the bass player in This Is The Kit, has also released four solo albums. Her latest album, What a Boost, was released last spring and is arguably her finest offering to date, a collection of classy yet abstract pop.
One of the biggest comebacks of 2020 will surely be Bombay Bicycle Club, who return with new album Everything Else Has Gone Wrong on the 17th of this month; their first LP in six years. Bombay Bicycle Club have continued to grow, develop and evolve since the release of their debut album, I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose back in 2009. Rarely in recent years has there been a British guitar band who have the craft and ability to avoid categorisation while uniting hundreds of thousands of fans across the globe. To coincide with the album’s release, they play a string of UK dates, starting in Cambridge on 20 January.
Staying at the Corn Exchange, Parisian electronic alchemists Caravan Palace play here on Saturday 25th. Expect a fusion of hedonistic house and old school jazz from the instrumentalists and studio wizards.
A very busy month at the Cambridge Junction includes two of the UK’s biggest hip-hop artists, Mitch and Skeamer, appearing at the venue on 24 January. The event is being hosted by DJ Tukka and features sets from rap duo Dreadz x SG’, as well as rappers Rocco and Pronto. Della Mae, meanwhile, bring their charismatic take on Bluegrass and Americana to the J2 on the 22nd. Redefining the modern folk genre with pop hooks, deep acoustic groove, trance-like trad breakdowns and three-part harmonies are The East Pointers, who play the J2 on the 21st.
Possibly the biggest folk name gracing us this month is husband-and-wife duo and four-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominated Megson. Expect an infectious mix of heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars. Join us next month when we preview Sorry, Dry Cleaning, PINS and Nada Surf’s February shows.
