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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
Latest Album Reviews
Latest Gig Reviews
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Gig review: BRAVE RIVAL – The Stables, Milton Keynes, 14 March 2026
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Gig review: A VERY SPECIAL EVENING OF MOTT THE HOOPLE – Riverside Studios, London, 27 February 2026
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Gig review: EMERALD MOON – Le Marquee, Peyrignac, Dordogne, SW France, 7 March 2026
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Gig review: MILKFEST, Indigo2, London, 1 March 2026
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Tag Archives: AOR
Album review : CHEZ KANE – Reckless
Frontiers Music [Release date : 27.3.26] We’re cranking the machine back to 1986. Yes, sounding like every Desmond Child Holly Knight/Diane Warren penned AOR hit 40 years ago, the album launches with the title track, ‘Restless’. Only this time with … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged AOR, Chez Kane, Crazy Lixx, Danny Rexon, Desmond Child, Dian Warren, eighties, Holly Knight, melodic rock, Reckless, review
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Album review: TYKETTO – Closer To The Sun
Silver Lining Music [Release Date 20.3.26] For so long one of rock’s best kept secrets, Tyketto’s mainstream exposure has grown over the past few years with well-received appearances at broader festivals outside their melodic rock genre and even a detailed … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, blues rock, Closer to the Sun, Danny Vaughn, Ged Rylands, Harry Scott Elliott, melodic rock, Tyketto
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News: RUSH, CRIMSON GLORY, VON GROOVE (March 2026)
Acacia Avenue release ‘Chapter V’ via Pride & Joy Music on May 29. Deko Entertainment release a 50th anniversary edition of Angel’s ‘Helluva Band’ on May 22. Robin Beck will release a new album ‘Living Proof’ on May 15 on Frontiers. Former Arch … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Exhibitions, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, Crimson Glory, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, Rush, special editions, tour dates, Von Groove
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Album review : TRANSATLANTIC RADIO – Midnight Transmission
Frontiers Music [Release date : 20.02.26] Swedish émigré and fully fledged Angeleno since the nineties, bass playing Victor Broden is a Grammy winning musician and producer. He moved to LA on a wing and prayer, with the echoes of the AOR … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged AOR, Chris Reeve, Filter, Frontiers, melodic rock, review, Ricky Martin, RJ Ronquillo, Santana, Transatlantic Radio, Victor Broden
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Album review: DENNIS CHURCHILL-DRIES – Crazy Is This Life
AOR Blvd Records [Release date 30.01.26] Former White Sister and Tattoo Rodeo vocalist Dennis Churchill-Dries is back with another album packed full of classy melodic rock. He’s joined by Steve Newman on guitar and keys, along with Newman drummer Rob … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, AOR Blvd Records, Dennis Churchill Dries, hard rock, melodic rock, review, rock, Steve Newman, Tattoo Rodeo, White Sister
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News: AEROSMITH, SAVATAGE, CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL (February 2026)
Acid Reign will release a new album ‘Daze Of The Week’ on May 15. Aerosmith release ‘Aerosmith (Legendary Edition)’ on March 20 as a limited-edition deluxe 5LP box, a 4LP slipcase, black and colour vinyl, 3CD, CD, and digital. Steven Tyler and Joe … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, Listening Post, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged Aerosmith, albums, AOR, blues, Cambridge Folk Festival, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, Savatage, special editions, tour dates
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Album review: PETRA – Hope
Girder Records [Release date 12.01.26] 2026 could well be the year of the comeback and one highly anticipated is this new album from Petra, their first studio album since 2003’s ‘Jekyll & Hyde’. Petra have been touring on and off … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, Bob Hartman, Christian rock, Hope, John Schlitt, melodic rock, Petra, review, rock
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News: DEMON, QUEEN, PETRA (January 2026)
The All-American Rejects release their first album since 2012. ‘Sandbox’ will be released in February via Too Lost. Alt Blk Era have announced a new EP, ‘Our World’, which will arrive on May 22 via LAB Records. Tori Amos releases … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, DEMON, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, Petra, Queen, re-issues, RIP, special editions, tour dates
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Album review: MIDNITE CITY- Bite The Bullet
Pride and Joy Music [Release Date 21.11.25] Unapologetically promoting themselves as ‘hair metal’ when other more self-conscious bands might balk at the description, Midnite City are impressively now onto their fifth album since 2017. Rob Wylde’s men are not about … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, hair metal, melodic rock, Midnite City, Miles Meakin, review, Rob Wylde, Shawn Charvette
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Gig review: STEVE OVERLAND AND JIM KIRKPATRICK- The Weir, Brentford, Middlesex, 9 December 2025
In all my years gig going, I don’t think I’ve ever been to one this close, just ten minutes walk from my house. That it should be by two members of FM, a band I’ve devotedly followed for 40 years … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged acoustic, AOR, FM, gig, Jim Kirkpatrick, Lara Brewer, melodic rock, Steve Overland
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News: BRYAN ADAMS, THE KARMA EFFECT, THE GEMS (December 2025)
Bryan Adams releases ‘Bryan Adams & Friends: A Great Big Holiday Jam’ on December 8 via Bad Records – the same day the Christmas special of the same name premieres on Citytv and streams on Citytv+ in Canada. Asia release … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, Bryan Adams, folk, gigs, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, special editions, The Gems, The Karma Effect, tour dates
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Gig review: KINGDOM OF MADNESS – The Carlisle, Hastings, 7 November 2025
Kingdom of Madness, formed by one-time Magnum keyboardist Mark Stanway and boasting four past band members or contributors, have even doing a great job recreating the classic Magnum years before the original band split up in the mid-nineties. Their touring … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 7 November 2025, Alan Bell, AOR, Brian Badhams, Chris Dando, gig, Hastings, Kingdom Of Madness, Magnum, Mark Stanway, melodic rock, Mickey Barker, Mo Birch, review, Richard Bailey, The Carlisle
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Gig review: ROMEO’S DAUGHTER – Pizza Express, Holborn, London, 2 November 2025
2025 has seen Romeo’s Daughter explore a side to themselves that they have never previously pursued in their career with shows in an acoustic format. At the start of the year they recorded a live album in Barnoldswick, Yorkshire and … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 2 November 2025, acoustic, Andy Welsford, AOR, Craig Joiner, gig, Leigh Matty, London, melodic rock, Pizza Express Holborn, Romeo's Daughter, Steve Drennan
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Album review: SMITH & LIDDLE – Songs For The Desert
Legere Recordings [Release date 31.10.25] There must be something in the air at the moment, or at least this year. We’ve had excellent albums from Morganway, First Time Flyers, and now Smith & Liddle. The connecting theme is melodic classic pop … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, classic rock, pop rock, review, singer songwriter, Smith & Little, Songs For The Desert
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News: THE DAMNED, SAMMY HAGAR, MAID OF STONE (November 2025)
Black Swan release their new album ‘Paralyzed’ on February 13 on Frontiers. Blackwater Drowning will release their new album ‘Obscure Sorrows’ on February 27. Brother Cane will release its first new album in 27 years, ‘Magnolia Medicine’, on April 17 on … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged albums, AOR, blues, folk, gigs, Maid of Stone festival, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, Sammy Hagar, special editions, The Damned, tour dates
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EP review: ELLIOT PORTER – I Choose the Moon
Website [Release date 30.10.25] Elliot Porter is a Cambridge based singer songwriter who has been building up a following, through gigging and a series of releases, including a cover of Frank Turner’s ‘Be More Kind’, which raised over £2,000 for … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged AOR, Elliot Porter, EP, I Choose the Moon, indie, indie pop, melodic, pop, review
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Album review: PAVLOV’S DOG – Essential Recordings 1974-2018 (5-CD box set)
Ruf Records [Release date 27.09.24] What are we to make of a fairly basic box set from a band that have been described as “legendary” but who – this side of the pond – have largely gone unnoticed? ‘Essential Recordings’ … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Box sets
Tagged album, AOR, box set, David Surkamp, Essential Recordings 1974-2018, melodic rock, Pavlov's Dog, prog, prog pop, progressive, review
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News: KING KING, ACCEPT, JULIAN LENNON (October 2025)
Jan Akkerman releases ‘My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow’ on December 12 via Artone/Music Theories Recordings. Black Label Society plan to release their new album early next year via MNRK Heavy/Spinefarm Records. Buzzcocks release their latest album ‘Attitude Adjustment’ through Cherry Red … Continue reading
Posted in Album News, ALL POSTS, Band Entrees & Exits, Books, Festivals & Large Events, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, PledgeMusic/Kickstarter Campaigns, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Re-issues/special editions, RIP
Tagged Accept, albums, AOR, blues, folk, gigs, Julian Lennon, King King, melodic rock, metal, news, re-issues, RIP, special editions, tour dates
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Gig review: FM – Islington Academy, London, 18 September 2025
FM are on the road so constantly that it is hard to divine where one tour begins and another ends. However the release of their excellent latest album ‘Brotherhood’ marks the start of a long tour, with the set list … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged AOR, Brave Rival, FM, gig, Jem Davis, Jim Kirkpatrick, melodic rock, Merv Goldsworthy, Pete Jupp, Steve Overland
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
Compiled by Jason Ritchie Please check artist and venue websites for latest information. Your tour not listed? Contact us! To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on … Continue reading
Posted in Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News
Tagged 2025, AOR, gigs, Ireland, melodic rock, metal, pop, progressive, rock, tour dates, tours, uk
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
Compiled by Jason Ritchie Please check artist and venue websites for latest information. Your tour not listed? Contact us! To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, Upcoming (Tours & Releases)
Tagged 2026, AOR, gigs, Ireland, melodic rock, metal, pop, progressive, rock, tour dates, tours, uk
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Upcoming: Festivals UK & Europe (2026)
Please check artist and festival websites for latest information. Your festival not listed? Contact us! Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio Upcoming sessions: … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Festivals & Large Events, NEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/News, Upcoming (Tours & Releases)
Tagged 2026, AOR, classic rock, European, festivals, folk, indie, melodic rock, metal, rock, uk
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
Compiled by Jason Ritchie Please check with venue and/or relevant website(s) to confirm availability. Updated 29.12.2025 To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on a Mac) on … Continue reading
Posted in Festivals & Large Events, Gigs and Tour News
Tagged 2025, AOR, dates, Europe, gigs, melodic rock, metal, our, pop, progressive, rock, ROW, USA
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
Compiled by Jason Ritchie Please check with venue and/or relevant website(s) to confirm availability. Updated 21.03.2026 UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026) To search quickly within this page (“Find In Page”): Press Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Gigs and Tour News, NEWS, Upcoming (Tours & Releases)
Tagged 2026, AOR, dates, Europe, gigs, melodic rock, metal, pop, progressive, rock, ROW, Tour, USA
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Album review: LIGHTSPEED – Delta
Website [Release date 15.09.25] Back in 2006 Canadian prog rockers Lightspeed released their third album ‘Waves’ and now we have their fourth album, ‘Delta’, which has had a challenging creation which including the passing of the band’s guitarist Gene Murray … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged album, AOR, classic rock, Delta, Gene Murray, Lightspeed, pomp rock, prog rock, review, rock, Rod Chappell
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