Summer concerts return to Thetford Forest this weekend with headline appearances from Westlife and Bryan Ferry. Meanwhile in Norwich, hardcore pioneers Agnostic Front are banjo-totting teenager Sarah Jarosz are both at the Arts Centre (though not together!).
WESTLIFE
Thetford Forest, July 15
This summer's concerts at High Lodge in Thetford Forest resume tonight with this headlining spot from mega-selling combo Westlife.
During their 12-year career the Irish boy-band have notched up an incredible 14 chart-topping singles and more than 43 million sales. In the UK alone they have scored 10 multi-platinum albums and 14 No.1 hits, making them the top-selling group of the past decade.
This prolific chart domination is attributed to hits like Swear It Again, Flying Without Wings, What Makes A Man, Uptown Girl, Queen Of My Heart, World Of Our Own, Unbreakable, You Raise Me Up and The Rose.
Critical acclaim for the group has come via numerous awards including two Brits, an MTV Europe Music Award and being the only artists to win the prestigious Record of the Year an incredible four times.
Special guests for this show will be Wonderland. The part-Irish, part English quintet – Sharon Condon, Corinna Durran, Jodi Albert, Kasey Smith and Leigh Learmont – released their debut self-titled album. Opening act for the evening will be Glenn Cal who supported Westlife on their Gravity tour.
t Further listening: www.westlife.com
AGNOSTIC FRONT
Norwich Arts Centre, July 17
New York's hardcore metal-punk scene-starters — they formed way back in 1980 — make a rare return to the UK to play from their sizeable back catalogue.
This tattooed bunch straddle the hardcore and 1980s thrash metal scenes and have outlived their now-legendary contemporaries like Minor Threat, SSD, Dead Kennedys and Black Flag.
As one of the original hardcore bands, they were one of the meanest-sounding bands to emerge in the punk genre, helping to initiate the term 'hardcore,' and placing an entire uproar on the New York map by association.
From the start, they released a catalogue of fast and violent punk tunes consisting of distinctive and aggressive drumming, bass work, and a non-stop barrage of chaotic shouting.
The title of their latest album, My Life, My Way, pretty much sums it up and goes some way to reaffirming the band's position as trailblazers — a band that every thrash and punk outfit since owe some debt to.
Now with a line-up of guitarists Joseph James and Vinnie Stigma, drummer Jimmy Mo, bassist Mike Gallo and vocalist Roger Miret, this is a must see if this type of music is your thing.
t Further listening: www.agnosticfront.com
SARAH JAROSZ
Norwich Arts Centre, July 19
Banjo-toting, Texan singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz emerged on the acoustic music scene as a mandolin wunderkind in her young teens and as she arrives in Norwich as part of her latest tour showcasing material from her new album she is still only 19.
Right from the outset, jamming onstage with bluegrass icons David Grisman and Ricky Skaggs, she played with a sure touch and real joy that belied her years. She quickly picked up the guitar and banjo.
While her instrumental talents are formidable, Sarah is an equally gifted vocalist and songwriter, talents which led then-16-year-old Jarosz to a record deal with legendary roots label Sugar Hill Records and a major in contemporary improvisation in voice at the prestigious New England Conservatory.
And what her acclaimed debut, Song Up In Her Head, suggested, her follow up album, Follow Me Down, confirms: she is constitutionally incapable of getting stuck in a rut. Her approach to acoustic music is expansive; she sees no need to choose between old-timey and modern material; between picking, singing and writing; between experimenting and reviving tradition. She does all of it, and pushes it all further.
t Further listening: www.sarahjarosz.com
SOUNDS IN THE CITY
Tonight
Throb (glam rock) — Brickmakers
Dying Breeds + more (pop/punk) — B2
Hotwired (punk) — Blueberry
Flying South (rock'n'roll/blues) — Wild Man
The Life Crisis (rock) — King Edward VII
Dave Thomas & James Goodwin (blues) — Brewery Tap
Johnny Jump Band (R&B) — Silver Road Cottage
Coupe De Ville (rock/pop) — The Woolpack
Leopard Trio (rock'n'roll) — Walnut Tree Shades
Claude Bourbon (Latin/blues) — Olives
Danny Reno — Perseverance
Joe Bloggs — Lakenham Cock
Ronnie Del Rio — Trowel & Hammer
Vikki H — Fiveways
Open Mic — Mustard Pot
Tomorrow
Bryan Ferry (pop) — Thetford Forest
Hidden Talent: feat. Ain't Misbehavin + more (local/charity) — Dragon Hall
Metal Lust: feat. 100% Pantera (metal) — Waterfront
Pure Passion + more (rock/pop) — Brickmakers
Money Shot (rock/pop) — Blueberry
Red Hot Rockers (rockabilly) — Boundary
The Yarebeats (60s) — Arkwights
Outhablues (blues) — The Stanley
Rum Brothers (Irish) — Angel Gardens
Mister Pink — The Heartsease
Steve Moyes — Trowel & Hammer
Johnny Valentine — Heath House
Alan Ley — The Windmill
Jeanette — The Marlpit
Micky Spanton — Quebec Tavern
July 17
No More Millie (3pm/acoustic) — Blueberry
Greenpeace Charity Gig (local) — B2
Outhablues (blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Dr Misfit (4pm/rock) — Boundary
Paul Francis Le Troubadour (2pm) — Brewery Tap
Lee Vasey Big Band (12pm) — Brickmakers
Scott Wright (acoustic) — Tao
Dog Days of Summer (4.30pm) — Silver Road Cottage
Pete Allan (4pm) — Lakenham Cock
July 18
Def Core + more (punk) — King Edward VII
Jazz N Jam: feat. Lee Vasey + more — Blueberry
Brickie Sessions (open mic) — Brickmakers
Stookey Blue (folk) — Micawbers Tavern
July 19
Blind Tiger (rock) — Brickmakers
Track 3 Promo (indie/punk) — B2
Live & Direct (acoustic) — Rumsey Wells
Sarah Pitchard (jazz) — Rackheath Green Man
July 20
The AMPC + more (punk) — B2
Live Lounge — The Langtry
Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers
July 21
Thin Ice (rock/pop) — Brickmakers
Cuttooth + more (rock) — B2
Ghostriders Western Club: feat. Brushwood (country) — Royal British Legion
Born With A Tail (country/folk) — Rumsey Wells
Rum Brothers (Irish) — The Rose
Egypt (rock/blues) — Walnut Tree Shades
Open Jam — King Edward VII
Open Mic — Wild Man
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