Search
1000 results for “ST_Crow”
-
The May M.T Almanac
Pull up a chair, grab an ice-cream and hold onto your sunhats, because May is never quite as innocent as it looks!
It all starts on 1st with Beltane. Yes ‘Beltane’. Don’t come for me with your alternative spellings and pronunciations, I call it Beltane and I pronounce it “Bell-tane”. You may spell and pronounce it differently. That is your right. Many people do. We are, after all, human and we all have our own, slightly different takes on these things. That’s ok. We are inclusive here at Mysterious times. Anyway, I digress…
Beltane is an ancient fire festival which marks the beginning of summer in the Gaelic and Pagan calendar and has it’s own May Day customs of greenery, dancing, flowers and thresholds. May 1st this year (2026) falls on a Friday, while the May Day Bank holiday follows on Monday 4th
“But why?” I hear you ask,
“Why do we celebrate the Bank Holiday on Monday and not on the actual date?”
The answer to that is probably very simple.. but I can’t remember it at the moment. I’ll look into it and get back to you later. Stop interrupting. There will be time for questions like that in the comments. Moving on… Where were we?
Ah yes! Thresholds…
So, May is all about thresholds, and if you haven’t swept yours already, you’d better get to it. We will cover all the ins and outs of thresholds in another article, but for now let’s just say it’s believed by many to be most beneficial if you make sure yours are all in order before Beltane. So get your broom out.
In Christian calendars, it’s all about saints and workers (and probably spring cleaning). In the first few days of May we have St Joseph the Worker (Jesus’s dad), St Philip and St James (apostles)and St Athanasius (The Black Dwarf).
The Bahá’í Twelfth day of Ridván falls on the 2nd May, marking the close of one of the faiths holiest festivals.
Judaism brings Lag Ba’Omer in early May.
Meanwhile, the Christian calendar marches onwards toward Ascension Day on the 14th and Pentacost on the 24th.
May 25th offers another chance for Brits to descend on beer gardens and garden centres – It’s Spring Bank Holiday Monday!
Shavuot falls on 22-23rd May, the Declaration of the Báb is observed on the 24th, Hajj is listed from 24-29th, Eid al Adha from 26-30th, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’lláh also on the 29th and Vesak, or Buddah Day on the 31st May. Dates for lunar observances may vary slightly between community and sighting of the moon, but May 2026 is unusually crowded with sacred times.
This month is also, quite delightfully, the month that gives us National Paranormal Day on the 3rd May. It is a modern, unofficial observance rather than an ancient holy day, but it feels very at home here, tucked between Beltane fires and a month of apparitions, monsters and strange lights.
Talking of which – Cryptozoology! Yay!
May begins with one of the great monsters of modern folklore. On 2nd May 1933, the Inverness Courier published the report that helped launch the modern Loch Ness Monster legend, after Aldie Mackay claimed to have seen an enormous creature rolling and plunging in Loch Ness. The actual sighting was said to have occurred in April, but it was the May newspaper report that turned a Highland water mystery into an international monster. From there, Nessie became not only a cryptid, but a cultural force, part beast, part tourism icon, part stubborn ripple in the rational world.
But May’s strangeness doesn’t just stay in the water – and I, for one am very grateful for this because if it did we wouldn’t have any UFO reports like this one from McMinnville, Oregon.
On 11th May 1950, Paul and Evelyn Trent took two photographs near their home which showed what they described as a metallic, disc shaped object in the sky. the McMinnville photographs became some of the most famous UFO images of the twentieth century, debated by believers and sceptics alike. What keeps them interesting is not just the object in the frame, but the sheer ordinariness of the setting: A farm, evening light, rabbits to be fed, supper probably waiting. The uncanny often arrives without a soundtrack.
For May 13th, we have a case that could fit comfortably into both paranormal and religious history studies. on this date in 1917, three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal reported the first of a series of Marian apparitions. The Catholic church later approved the devotion and the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima is now observed on May 13th. To the faithful it is sacred history. To historians of the paranormal, it is also one of the twentieth centuries most influential apparition narratives, complete with prophecy, crowds, controversy and a final public miracle claim in October of the same year. Me? I’m on the fence. The story has a lot of similarities to the kind of Fae encounters you find in folklore or Alien encounters in UFOlogy. Talking of UFOlogy (again)…
On the 19th May 1986, one of UFOlogys strongest radar visual cases occurred. In Brazil’s ‘Official UFO Night’, no less than 21 unidentified objects were reportedly seen by civilian and military witnesses across Sáo Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiás. Brazilian Air Force radar detected the objects, and five fighter jets were scrambled to intercept them. Whatever you think of the case, it remains significant because this wasn’t just a lone witness in a field somewhere. It was radar, air traffic control, military pilots and an official archive all staring at the same impossible sky.
On 20th May 1967, industrial mechanic Stefen Michalak reported seeing two strange craft near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada, one of which landed nearby. He later sought medical help for burns and the Falcon Lake Incident became one of Canada’s most discussed UFO encounters. CBC called it Canada’s best documented UFO case, although sceptical questions remain around several details, but that’s often the way with the best cases. They refuse to behave for either side.
By the final week, the calendar has got it all going on. Shavuot, Pentacost, the Declaration of the Báb, Hajj, Eid al-Adha, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’ lláh and Vesack crowd together in a few, supercharged days. And that matters because folklore, faith, ghosts, UFOs and monsters all grow from the same human habit – we mark the year, we watch the skies, we tell each other what we saw and we argue about what it meant.
So May isn’t merely a month of Bank Holidays, blossom and bluebells. It’s Beltane smoke and Marian light. It’s Nessie breaking the surface of the public imagination. It’s flying discs over Oregon, radar ghosts over Brazil, burns and mystery beside a Canadian lake. It is saints days, sacred festivals, monster lore and strange skies all arriving under lengthening evenings when people are outside again and the world feels a little bigger, a little more… mysterious. That, perhaps is why May feels so magical. It opens the door and shows you the threshold.
References and Further Reading:
The UK Bank Holiday calendar, The University of Leeds 2025-2026 faith calendar, the Bahá’í calendar, the Catholic Liturgy calendar for May 2026, the Inverness Courier and later histories of the Loch Ness Monster, the McMinnville UFO Festival history, the Brazilian government archive on Official UFO Night, Library and Archives Canada material on Falcon Lake and reporting on the Fátima Apparitions.
#Beltane #Brazil #FalconLakeIncident #FátimaApparitions #LochNessMonster #MarianApparitions #MayDay #McMinville #MysteriousTimesAlmanac #OfficialUFONight #OurLadyOfFatima #Paranormal #UFO -
The May M.T Almanac
Pull up a chair, grab an ice-cream and hold onto your sunhats, because May is never quite as innocent as it looks!
It all starts on 1st with Beltane. Yes ‘Beltane’. Don’t come for me with your alternative spellings and pronunciations, I call it Beltane and I pronounce it “Bell-tane”. You may spell and pronounce it differently. That is your right. Many people do. We are, after all, human and we all have our own, slightly different takes on these things. That’s ok. We are inclusive here at Mysterious times. Anyway, I digress…
Beltane is an ancient fire festival which marks the beginning of summer in the Gaelic and Pagan calendar and has it’s own May Day customs of greenery, dancing, flowers and thresholds. May 1st this year (2026) falls on a Friday, while the May Day Bank holiday follows on Monday 4th
“But why?” I hear you ask,
“Why do we celebrate the Bank Holiday on Monday and not on the actual date?”
The answer to that is probably very simple.. but I can’t remember it at the moment. I’ll look into it and get back to you later. Stop interrupting. There will be time for questions like that in the comments. Moving on… Where were we?
Ah yes! Thresholds…
So, May is all about thresholds, and if you haven’t swept yours already, you’d better get to it. We will cover all the ins and outs of thresholds in another article, but for now let’s just say it’s believed by many to be most beneficial if you make sure yours are all in order before Beltane. So get your broom out.
In Christian calendars, it’s all about saints and workers (and probably spring cleaning). In the first few days of May we have St Joseph the Worker (Jesus’s dad), St Philip and St James (apostles)and St Athanasius (The Black Dwarf).
The Bahá’í Twelfth day of Ridván falls on the 2nd May, marking the close of one of the faiths holiest festivals.
Judaism brings Lag Ba’Omer in early May.
Meanwhile, the Christian calendar marches onwards toward Ascension Day on the 14th and Pentacost on the 24th.
May 25th offers another chance for Brits to descend on beer gardens and garden centres – It’s Spring Bank Holiday Monday!
Shavuot falls on 22-23rd May, the Declaration of the Báb is observed on the 24th, Hajj is listed from 24-29th, Eid al Adha from 26-30th, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’lláh also on the 29th and Vesak, or Buddah Day on the 31st May. Dates for lunar observances may vary slightly between community and sighting of the moon, but May 2026 is unusually crowded with sacred times.
This month is also, quite delightfully, the month that gives us National Paranormal Day on the 3rd May. It is a modern, unofficial observance rather than an ancient holy day, but it feels very at home here, tucked between Beltane fires and a month of apparitions, monsters and strange lights.
Talking of which – Cryptozoology! Yay!
May begins with one of the great monsters of modern folklore. On 2nd May 1933, the Inverness Courier published the report that helped launch the modern Loch Ness Monster legend, after Aldie Mackay claimed to have seen an enormous creature rolling and plunging in Loch Ness. The actual sighting was said to have occurred in April, but it was the May newspaper report that turned a Highland water mystery into an international monster. From there, Nessie became not only a cryptid, but a cultural force, part beast, part tourism icon, part stubborn ripple in the rational world.
But May’s strangeness doesn’t just stay in the water – and I, for one am very grateful for this because if it did we wouldn’t have any UFO reports like this one from McMinnville, Oregon.
On 11th May 1950, Paul and Evelyn Trent took two photographs near their home which showed what they described as a metallic, disc shaped object in the sky. the McMinnville photographs became some of the most famous UFO images of the twentieth century, debated by believers and sceptics alike. What keeps them interesting is not just the object in the frame, but the sheer ordinariness of the setting: A farm, evening light, rabbits to be fed, supper probably waiting. The uncanny often arrives without a soundtrack.
For May 13th, we have a case that could fit comfortably into both paranormal and religious history studies. on this date in 1917, three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal reported the first of a series of Marian apparitions. The Catholic church later approved the devotion and the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima is now observed on May 13th. To the faithful it is sacred history. To historians of the paranormal, it is also one of the twentieth centuries most influential apparition narratives, complete with prophecy, crowds, controversy and a final public miracle claim in October of the same year. Me? I’m on the fence. The story has a lot of similarities to the kind of Fae encounters you find in folklore or Alien encounters in UFOlogy. Talking of UFOlogy (again)…
On the 19th May 1986, one of UFOlogys strongest radar visual cases occurred. In Brazil’s ‘Official UFO Night’, no less than 21 unidentified objects were reportedly seen by civilian and military witnesses across Sáo Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiás. Brazilian Air Force radar detected the objects, and five fighter jets were scrambled to intercept them. Whatever you think of the case, it remains significant because this wasn’t just a lone witness in a field somewhere. It was radar, air traffic control, military pilots and an official archive all staring at the same impossible sky.
On 20th May 1967, industrial mechanic Stefen Michalak reported seeing two strange craft near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada, one of which landed nearby. He later sought medical help for burns and the Falcon Lake Incident became one of Canada’s most discussed UFO encounters. CBC called it Canada’s best documented UFO case, although sceptical questions remain around several details, but that’s often the way with the best cases. They refuse to behave for either side.
By the final week, the calendar has got it all going on. Shavuot, Pentacost, the Declaration of the Báb, Hajj, Eid al-Adha, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’ lláh and Vesack crowd together in a few, supercharged days. And that matters because folklore, faith, ghosts, UFOs and monsters all grow from the same human habit – we mark the year, we watch the skies, we tell each other what we saw and we argue about what it meant.
So May isn’t merely a month of Bank Holidays, blossom and bluebells. It’s Beltane smoke and Marian light. It’s Nessie breaking the surface of the public imagination. It’s flying discs over Oregon, radar ghosts over Brazil, burns and mystery beside a Canadian lake. It is saints days, sacred festivals, monster lore and strange skies all arriving under lengthening evenings when people are outside again and the world feels a little bigger, a little more… mysterious. That, perhaps is why May feels so magical. It opens the door and shows you the threshold.
References and Further Reading:
The UK Bank Holiday calendar, The University of Leeds 2025-2026 faith calendar, the Bahá’í calendar, the Catholic Liturgy calendar for May 2026, the Inverness Courier and later histories of the Loch Ness Monster, the McMinnville UFO Festival history, the Brazilian government archive on Official UFO Night, Library and Archives Canada material on Falcon Lake and reporting on the Fátima Apparitions.
#Beltane #Brazil #FalconLakeIncident #FátimaApparitions #LochNessMonster #MarianApparitions #MayDay #McMinville #MysteriousTimesAlmanac #OfficialUFONight #OurLadyOfFatima #Paranormal #UFO -
The May M.T Almanac
Pull up a chair, grab an ice-cream and hold onto your sunhats, because May is never quite as innocent as it looks!
It all starts on 1st with Beltane. Yes ‘Beltane’. Don’t come for me with your alternative spellings and pronunciations, I call it Beltane and I pronounce it “Bell-tane”. You may spell and pronounce it differently. That is your right. Many people do. We are, after all, human and we all have our own, slightly different takes on these things. That’s ok. We are inclusive here at Mysterious times. Anyway, I digress…
Beltane is an ancient fire festival which marks the beginning of summer in the Gaelic and Pagan calendar and has it’s own May Day customs of greenery, dancing, flowers and thresholds. May 1st this year (2026) falls on a Friday, while the May Day Bank holiday follows on Monday 4th
“But why?” I hear you ask,
“Why do we celebrate the Bank Holiday on Monday and not on the actual date?”
The answer to that is probably very simple.. but I can’t remember it at the moment. I’ll look into it and get back to you later. Stop interrupting. There will be time for questions like that in the comments. Moving on… Where were we?
Ah yes! Thresholds…
So, May is all about thresholds, and if you haven’t swept yours already, you’d better get to it. We will cover all the ins and outs of thresholds in another article, but for now let’s just say it’s believed by many to be most beneficial if you make sure yours are all in order before Beltane. So get your broom out.
In Christian calendars, it’s all about saints and workers (and probably spring cleaning). In the first few days of May we have St Joseph the Worker (Jesus’s dad), St Philip and St James (apostles)and St Athanasius (The Black Dwarf).
The Bahá’í Twelfth day of Ridván falls on the 2nd May, marking the close of one of the faiths holiest festivals.
Judaism brings Lag Ba’Omer in early May.
Meanwhile, the Christian calendar marches onwards toward Ascension Day on the 14th and Pentacost on the 24th.
May 25th offers another chance for Brits to descend on beer gardens and garden centres – It’s Spring Bank Holiday Monday!
Shavuot falls on 22-23rd May, the Declaration of the Báb is observed on the 24th, Hajj is listed from 24-29th, Eid al Adha from 26-30th, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’lláh also on the 29th and Vesak, or Buddah Day on the 31st May. Dates for lunar observances may vary slightly between community and sighting of the moon, but May 2026 is unusually crowded with sacred times.
This month is also, quite delightfully, the month that gives us National Paranormal Day on the 3rd May. It is a modern, unofficial observance rather than an ancient holy day, but it feels very at home here, tucked between Beltane fires and a month of apparitions, monsters and strange lights.
Talking of which – Cryptozoology! Yay!
May begins with one of the great monsters of modern folklore. On 2nd May 1933, the Inverness Courier published the report that helped launch the modern Loch Ness Monster legend, after Aldie Mackay claimed to have seen an enormous creature rolling and plunging in Loch Ness. The actual sighting was said to have occurred in April, but it was the May newspaper report that turned a Highland water mystery into an international monster. From there, Nessie became not only a cryptid, but a cultural force, part beast, part tourism icon, part stubborn ripple in the rational world.
But May’s strangeness doesn’t just stay in the water – and I, for one am very grateful for this because if it did we wouldn’t have any UFO reports like this one from McMinnville, Oregon.
On 11th May 1950, Paul and Evelyn Trent took two photographs near their home which showed what they described as a metallic, disc shaped object in the sky. the McMinnville photographs became some of the most famous UFO images of the twentieth century, debated by believers and sceptics alike. What keeps them interesting is not just the object in the frame, but the sheer ordinariness of the setting: A farm, evening light, rabbits to be fed, supper probably waiting. The uncanny often arrives without a soundtrack.
For May 13th, we have a case that could fit comfortably into both paranormal and religious history studies. on this date in 1917, three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal reported the first of a series of Marian apparitions. The Catholic church later approved the devotion and the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima is now observed on May 13th. To the faithful it is sacred history. To historians of the paranormal, it is also one of the twentieth centuries most influential apparition narratives, complete with prophecy, crowds, controversy and a final public miracle claim in October of the same year. Me? I’m on the fence. The story has a lot of similarities to the kind of Fae encounters you find in folklore or Alien encounters in UFOlogy. Talking of UFOlogy (again)…
On the 19th May 1986, one of UFOlogys strongest radar visual cases occurred. In Brazil’s ‘Official UFO Night’, no less than 21 unidentified objects were reportedly seen by civilian and military witnesses across Sáo Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiás. Brazilian Air Force radar detected the objects, and five fighter jets were scrambled to intercept them. Whatever you think of the case, it remains significant because this wasn’t just a lone witness in a field somewhere. It was radar, air traffic control, military pilots and an official archive all staring at the same impossible sky.
On 20th May 1967, industrial mechanic Stefen Michalak reported seeing two strange craft near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada, one of which landed nearby. He later sought medical help for burns and the Falcon Lake Incident became one of Canada’s most discussed UFO encounters. CBC called it Canada’s best documented UFO case, although sceptical questions remain around several details, but that’s often the way with the best cases. They refuse to behave for either side.
By the final week, the calendar has got it all going on. Shavuot, Pentacost, the Declaration of the Báb, Hajj, Eid al-Adha, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’ lláh and Vesack crowd together in a few, supercharged days. And that matters because folklore, faith, ghosts, UFOs and monsters all grow from the same human habit – we mark the year, we watch the skies, we tell each other what we saw and we argue about what it meant.
So May isn’t merely a month of Bank Holidays, blossom and bluebells. It’s Beltane smoke and Marian light. It’s Nessie breaking the surface of the public imagination. It’s flying discs over Oregon, radar ghosts over Brazil, burns and mystery beside a Canadian lake. It is saints days, sacred festivals, monster lore and strange skies all arriving under lengthening evenings when people are outside again and the world feels a little bigger, a little more… mysterious. That, perhaps is why May feels so magical. It opens the door and shows you the threshold.
References and Further Reading:
The UK Bank Holiday calendar, The University of Leeds 2025-2026 faith calendar, the Bahá’í calendar, the Catholic Liturgy calendar for May 2026, the Inverness Courier and later histories of the Loch Ness Monster, the McMinnville UFO Festival history, the Brazilian government archive on Official UFO Night, Library and Archives Canada material on Falcon Lake and reporting on the Fátima Apparitions.
#Beltane #Brazil #FalconLakeIncident #FátimaApparitions #LochNessMonster #MarianApparitions #MayDay #McMinville #MysteriousTimesAlmanac #OfficialUFONight #OurLadyOfFatima #Paranormal #UFO -
The May M.T Almanac
Pull up a chair, grab an ice-cream and hold onto your sunhats, because May is never quite as innocent as it looks!
It all starts on 1st with Beltane. Yes ‘Beltane’. Don’t come for me with your alternative spellings and pronunciations, I call it Beltane and I pronounce it “Bell-tane”. You may spell and pronounce it differently. That is your right. Many people do. We are, after all, human and we all have our own, slightly different takes on these things. That’s ok. We are inclusive here at Mysterious times. Anyway, I digress…
Beltane is an ancient fire festival which marks the beginning of summer in the Gaelic and Pagan calendar and has it’s own May Day customs of greenery, dancing, flowers and thresholds. May 1st this year (2026) falls on a Friday, while the May Day Bank holiday follows on Monday 4th
“But why?” I hear you ask,
“Why do we celebrate the Bank Holiday on Monday and not on the actual date?”
The answer to that is probably very simple.. but I can’t remember it at the moment. I’ll look into it and get back to you later. Stop interrupting. There will be time for questions like that in the comments. Moving on… Where were we?
Ah yes! Thresholds…
So, May is all about thresholds, and if you haven’t swept yours already, you’d better get to it. We will cover all the ins and outs of thresholds in another article, but for now let’s just say it’s believed by many to be most beneficial if you make sure yours are all in order before Beltane. So get your broom out.
In Christian calendars, it’s all about saints and workers (and probably spring cleaning). In the first few days of May we have St Joseph the Worker (Jesus’s dad), St Philip and St James (apostles)and St Athanasius (The Black Dwarf).
The Bahá’í Twelfth day of Ridván falls on the 2nd May, marking the close of one of the faiths holiest festivals.
Judaism brings Lag Ba’Omer in early May.
Meanwhile, the Christian calendar marches onwards toward Ascension Day on the 14th and Pentacost on the 24th.
May 25th offers another chance for Brits to descend on beer gardens and garden centres – It’s Spring Bank Holiday Monday!
Shavuot falls on 22-23rd May, the Declaration of the Báb is observed on the 24th, Hajj is listed from 24-29th, Eid al Adha from 26-30th, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’lláh also on the 29th and Vesak, or Buddah Day on the 31st May. Dates for lunar observances may vary slightly between community and sighting of the moon, but May 2026 is unusually crowded with sacred times.
This month is also, quite delightfully, the month that gives us National Paranormal Day on the 3rd May. It is a modern, unofficial observance rather than an ancient holy day, but it feels very at home here, tucked between Beltane fires and a month of apparitions, monsters and strange lights.
Talking of which – Cryptozoology! Yay!
May begins with one of the great monsters of modern folklore. On 2nd May 1933, the Inverness Courier published the report that helped launch the modern Loch Ness Monster legend, after Aldie Mackay claimed to have seen an enormous creature rolling and plunging in Loch Ness. The actual sighting was said to have occurred in April, but it was the May newspaper report that turned a Highland water mystery into an international monster. From there, Nessie became not only a cryptid, but a cultural force, part beast, part tourism icon, part stubborn ripple in the rational world.
But May’s strangeness doesn’t just stay in the water – and I, for one am very grateful for this because if it did we wouldn’t have any UFO reports like this one from McMinnville, Oregon.
On 11th May 1950, Paul and Evelyn Trent took two photographs near their home which showed what they described as a metallic, disc shaped object in the sky. the McMinnville photographs became some of the most famous UFO images of the twentieth century, debated by believers and sceptics alike. What keeps them interesting is not just the object in the frame, but the sheer ordinariness of the setting: A farm, evening light, rabbits to be fed, supper probably waiting. The uncanny often arrives without a soundtrack.
For May 13th, we have a case that could fit comfortably into both paranormal and religious history studies. on this date in 1917, three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal reported the first of a series of Marian apparitions. The Catholic church later approved the devotion and the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima is now observed on May 13th. To the faithful it is sacred history. To historians of the paranormal, it is also one of the twentieth centuries most influential apparition narratives, complete with prophecy, crowds, controversy and a final public miracle claim in October of the same year. Me? I’m on the fence. The story has a lot of similarities to the kind of Fae encounters you find in folklore or Alien encounters in UFOlogy. Talking of UFOlogy (again)…
On the 19th May 1986, one of UFOlogys strongest radar visual cases occurred. In Brazil’s ‘Official UFO Night’, no less than 21 unidentified objects were reportedly seen by civilian and military witnesses across Sáo Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiás. Brazilian Air Force radar detected the objects, and five fighter jets were scrambled to intercept them. Whatever you think of the case, it remains significant because this wasn’t just a lone witness in a field somewhere. It was radar, air traffic control, military pilots and an official archive all staring at the same impossible sky.
On 20th May 1967, industrial mechanic Stefen Michalak reported seeing two strange craft near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada, one of which landed nearby. He later sought medical help for burns and the Falcon Lake Incident became one of Canada’s most discussed UFO encounters. CBC called it Canada’s best documented UFO case, although sceptical questions remain around several details, but that’s often the way with the best cases. They refuse to behave for either side.
By the final week, the calendar has got it all going on. Shavuot, Pentacost, the Declaration of the Báb, Hajj, Eid al-Adha, the Ascension of Bahá’ u’ lláh and Vesack crowd together in a few, supercharged days. And that matters because folklore, faith, ghosts, UFOs and monsters all grow from the same human habit – we mark the year, we watch the skies, we tell each other what we saw and we argue about what it meant.
So May isn’t merely a month of Bank Holidays, blossom and bluebells. It’s Beltane smoke and Marian light. It’s Nessie breaking the surface of the public imagination. It’s flying discs over Oregon, radar ghosts over Brazil, burns and mystery beside a Canadian lake. It is saints days, sacred festivals, monster lore and strange skies all arriving under lengthening evenings when people are outside again and the world feels a little bigger, a little more… mysterious. That, perhaps is why May feels so magical. It opens the door and shows you the threshold.
References and Further Reading:
The UK Bank Holiday calendar, The University of Leeds 2025-2026 faith calendar, the Bahá’í calendar, the Catholic Liturgy calendar for May 2026, the Inverness Courier and later histories of the Loch Ness Monster, the McMinnville UFO Festival history, the Brazilian government archive on Official UFO Night, Library and Archives Canada material on Falcon Lake and reporting on the Fátima Apparitions.
#Beltane #Brazil #FalconLakeIncident #FátimaApparitions #LochNessMonster #MarianApparitions #MayDay #McMinville #MysteriousTimesAlmanac #OfficialUFONight #OurLadyOfFatima #Paranormal #UFO -
SCARLETS: Club welcomes WRU lifeline and signals new investment as season ticket sales surge
The Scarlets have welcomed the Welsh Rugby Union’s offer of a Professional Rugby Agreement, saying the development brings “increased stability, security and clearer governance” to professional rugby in west Wales.
The club confirmed it will undergo due diligence before signing the agreement, which was announced by the WRU this week as part of a wider U-turn that also saw the proposed sale of Cardiff Rugby to Y11 Sport & Media collapse. The Ospreys are expected to sign shortly too, bringing all four Welsh professional clubs onto the same contractual footing for the first time.
The deal offers what the club described as “a more equitable framework for the professional game” and the Scarlets said they would continue to engage constructively with the WRU on its future strategy.
The announcement comes alongside confirmation of significant new investment into the club from its funding group. In a statement, the Scarlets described it as “a clear vote of confidence in Llanelli, in our heritage, and in the future of professional rugby in West Wales.”
That investment followed a period of acknowledged financial difficulty at the club. Earlier this month, the Scarlets confirmed significant new funding from within their existing funding group in a carefully worded statement that thanked supporters for their “loyalty and patience during a difficult period” — language that resonated widely with fans who had watched months of uncertainty unfold. The club declined at the time to detail the scale of the difficulties or the level of investment secured.
The club also reported strong early uptake on season ticket sales this week, alongside renewed commitments from key sponsors and partners — a sign, the club said, of renewed momentum and positivity around the region.
Last weekend’s Welsh derby at Parc y Scarlets provided further evidence of the club’s pulling power, with more than 1,000 hospitality places sold out and a crowd of over 9,000 in attendance. A community festival involving more than 500 junior players from grassroots clubs across the region also took place on the day.
The Scarlets said they would be making a series of rugby recruitment and retention announcements in the coming weeks, with a new performance programme in place aimed at returning the club to top-tier play-off contention.
The wider political reaction to the WRU’s announcement has been strongly positive, with Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart — who launched legal action against the WRU during the campaign to protect the Ospreys — calling the outcome “a major win,” and MP Torsten Bell describing it as “a massive victory” for fans and campaigners.
The development has also been welcomed by Senedd candidates in Sir Gaerfyrddin, where earlier this week Labour, Plaid Cymru and independent candidates united to demand scrutiny of the WRU’s west Wales merger plans — arguing that the loss of the Scarlets would be devastating for the Carmarthenshire economy and culture.
The Ospreys have also responded positively. The region’s chief executive has spoken of his optimism for the future following confirmation that the club will also be offered the agreement and that plans for a redeveloped St Helens stadium in Swansea are proceeding.
The WRU has been clear, however, that its ambition to move to three professional clubs by the end of the 2027/28 season remains unchanged. CEO Abi Tierney said the union was “undeterred” from that goal, with a decision on how to implement the strategy expected by June. The agreement provides near-term stability — but the longer-term picture for all four regions remains unresolved.
Nonetheless, the Scarlets expressed confidence in the club’s direction, saying the hard work, energy and forward focus at the club on and off the field “continues at full pace” — with further announcements on the playing squad and recruitment to follow in the coming weeks.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
WRU: Cardiff Y11 ownership bid collapses
The full story of the WRU’s announcement and the collapse of the Cardiff sale.WRU: ‘A massive victory’ — reaction as Ospreys and Scarlets handed lifeline
Political reaction including Rob Stewart’s exclusive video response.Ospreys: Jones positive for region’s future after Y11 Cardiff collapse
The Ospreys’ response to the same announcement.Scarlets: Club confirms ‘significant’ new investment after difficult period amid financial rumours
Our earlier coverage of the funding announcement that preceded this week’s news.WRU — all our coverage
#Llanelli #Ospreys #PRA25 #Rugby #Scarlets #WRU
Full archive of Swansea Bay News reporting on the Welsh rugby crisis. -
All Time Low, Mayday Parade & Taylor Acorn – Sporthall, Hamburg Germany
For this review we traveled to Hamburg in Germany for the first time to see Pop Punk band All Time Low, on their tour with support from Taylor Acorn and Mayday Parade, to promote their new album Everyone’s Talking.
We drove down to London Heathrow Airport and caught our flight Friday night where we arrived at a snowy Hamburg. After a good night’s rest we got up and explored Hamburg visiting the Speicherstadt which is the world’s largest warehouse complex and a UNESCO site, followed by a trip to Miniatur Wunderland which holds the largest model railway system in the world.
After a day of exploring it was time to hop onto the metro and make our way to the Sporthall for the gig. We got off the metro and followed the crowd to the venue, once inside we headed to the merch where they had a great selection for each band, Rex bought herself an All Time Low sweatshirt, we were a little disappointed their wernt any signed vinyl to add to our collection. We made our way to the bar to get drinks and a currywurst, we got served very fast and the drinks were served in All Time Low cups which was a nice touch.
We made our way to the arena to see the first support of the night Taylor Acorn, a pop punk artist from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, who replaced The Paradox and Four Year Strong on the line up. We last saw her play when she supported Noahfinnce in Birmingham 2 years ago, you can read about that show here.
Taylor AcornTaylor opened up with ‘Poster Child’ and ‘I Think I’m In Love’ in front of a big crowd, she sounded amazing and a lot better than the last time we saw her when she was ill.
Taylor put on a great show with her high energy performance as she dances around and rocks out a lot which really gets the crowd warmed up. She played 8 songs during her set finishing with our favourites ‘Shapeshifting’ and ‘Psycho’, we really hope to see her play live again.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2u3HTlrmGMP9jQv17o6UCz?si=ysfreiUbRmezhPuXKmGjnQ
Mayday Parade
Once her set was finished we managed to grab a drink and another currywurst very easily and got down in time for the start of Mayday Parade a pop punk band from Tallahassee, Florida.Mayday parade opened up with ‘Under My Seater’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘I’d Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About’ which got the crowd bouncing and continued the energy left by Taylor Acorn.
The pace slowed down a little bit when Derek Sanders (Lead Vocalist) brought out an acoustic guitar and performed ‘Piece of Your Heart’ he then went onto say, “With the world being fucked up, just a reminder to be nice to each other regardless of race, religion, gender etc” which got a massive cheer from the crowd.They finished their 10 song set performing ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Jamie All Over’ which got the biggest reaction from the crowd as everyone was bouncing and moshing too.
https://open.spotify.com/track/05qCCJQJiOwvPQBb7akf1R?si=53tvp0aWSHmBfr-gAvxouQ
After another short break it was time for the headliners All Time Low who are a pop punk band from Towson, Maryland, we last saw these play at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas which you can read about here.
All Time LowBefore they came out, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra played on the speakers which got everyone singing and dancing, once All Time Low got onto stage they received a massive cheer from the crowd as they opened up with big hits ‘SUCKERPUNCH’ and the classic ‘Weightless’ where we had our first crowd surfer.
They played ‘PMA’ and one of our favourites ‘Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t), this was followed by Alex (Vocals & Guitar) & Jack (Lead Guitar), joking and messing around which continued throughout the show.
All Time Low performed ‘Remembering Sunday’ where Taylor Acorn came out to perform with them, which was a nice surprise, this followed by a live debut of ‘Everyone’s Taking’ which we thoroughly enjoyed.
All Time Low and Taylor AcornThey spoke about how grateful they were for everyone coming out to see them play as they had to upgrade the venue numerous times due to ticket demand which surprised them and thanked everyone for the support. They continued the show performing ‘Hate This Song’ which is a song they did with I Prevail and finished with ‘Monsters’ before leaving the stage.
For their encore they performed ‘The Weather’ with Derek Sanders, followed by two of their biggest hits ‘Lost in Stereo’ and ‘Dear Maria Count Me In’ where confetti cannons went off and completed their 22 song set with a bang!
We really enjoyed the show as we got treated to 40 songs throughout the night even though we would’ve loved to have heard ‘Kids In The Dark’. We followed the crowd out and got the metro back to the hotel, where we got a good night’s sleep so we could explore more of Hamburg the next day before we flew home. The next day we climbed the tower of St Michael’s Church to see amazing views on a snowy Hamburg,l followed by a chocolate experience at Chocoversum which we highly recommend.
https://open.spotify.com/track/0JJP0IS4w0fJx01EcrfkDe?si=M0fTr-y7QwSBGHyNNp76Ww
All rights to the songs in this review are retained by the relevant artists and this site claims no rights over them.
St. Jimmy and Rex 🖤☠️
#AllTimeLow #Blog #Blogging #liveMusic #MaydayParade #MusicReview #Photography #rock #TaylorAcorn #Writing -
All Time Low, Mayday Parade & Taylor Acorn – Sporthall, Hamburg Germany
For this review we traveled to Hamburg in Germany for the first time to see Pop Punk band All Time Low, on their tour with support from Taylor Acorn and Mayday Parade, to promote their new album Everyone’s Talking.
We drove down to London Heathrow Airport and caught our flight Friday night where we arrived at a snowy Hamburg. After a good night’s rest we got up and explored Hamburg visiting the Speicherstadt which is the world’s largest warehouse complex and a UNESCO site, followed by a trip to Miniatur Wunderland which holds the largest model railway system in the world.
After a day of exploring it was time to hop onto the metro and make our way to the Sporthall for the gig. We got off the metro and followed the crowd to the venue, once inside we headed to the merch where they had a great selection for each band, Rex bought herself an All Time Low sweatshirt, we were a little disappointed their wernt any signed vinyl to add to our collection. We made our way to the bar to get drinks and a currywurst, we got served very fast and the drinks were served in All Time Low cups which was a nice touch.
We made our way to the arena to see the first support of the night Taylor Acorn, a pop punk artist from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, who replaced The Paradox and Four Year Strong on the line up. We last saw her play when she supported Noahfinnce in Birmingham 2 years ago, you can read about that show here.
Taylor AcornTaylor opened up with ‘Poster Child’ and ‘I Think I’m In Love’ in front of a big crowd, she sounded amazing and a lot better than the last time we saw her when she was ill.
Taylor put on a great show with her high energy performance as she dances around and rocks out a lot which really gets the crowd warmed up. She played 8 songs during her set finishing with our favourites ‘Shapeshifting’ and ‘Psycho’, we really hope to see her play live again.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2u3HTlrmGMP9jQv17o6UCz?si=ysfreiUbRmezhPuXKmGjnQ
Mayday Parade
Once her set was finished we managed to grab a drink and another currywurst very easily and got down in time for the start of Mayday Parade a pop punk band from Tallahassee, Florida.Mayday parade opened up with ‘Under My Seater’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘I’d Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About’ which got the crowd bouncing and continued the energy left by Taylor Acorn.
The pace slowed down a little bit when Derek Sanders (Lead Vocalist) brought out an acoustic guitar and performed ‘Piece of Your Heart’ he then went onto say, “With the world being fucked up, just a reminder to be nice to each other regardless of race, religion, gender etc” which got a massive cheer from the crowd.They finished their 10 song set performing ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Jamie All Over’ which got the biggest reaction from the crowd as everyone was bouncing and moshing too.
https://open.spotify.com/track/05qCCJQJiOwvPQBb7akf1R?si=53tvp0aWSHmBfr-gAvxouQ
After another short break it was time for the headliners All Time Low who are a pop punk band from Towson, Maryland, we last saw these play at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas which you can read about here.
All Time LowBefore they came out, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra played on the speakers which got everyone singing and dancing, once All Time Low got onto stage they received a massive cheer from the crowd as they opened up with big hits ‘SUCKERPUNCH’ and the classic ‘Weightless’ where we had our first crowd surfer.
They played ‘PMA’ and one of our favourites ‘Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t), this was followed by Alex (Vocals & Guitar) & Jack (Lead Guitar), joking and messing around which continued throughout the show.
All Time Low performed ‘Remembering Sunday’ where Taylor Acorn came out to perform with them, which was a nice surprise, this followed by a live debut of ‘Everyone’s Taking’ which we thoroughly enjoyed.
All Time Low and Taylor AcornThey spoke about how grateful they were for everyone coming out to see them play as they had to upgrade the venue numerous times due to ticket demand which surprised them and thanked everyone for the support. They continued the show performing ‘Hate This Song’ which is a song they did with I Prevail and finished with ‘Monsters’ before leaving the stage.
For their encore they performed ‘The Weather’ with Derek Sanders, followed by two of their biggest hits ‘Lost in Stereo’ and ‘Dear Maria Count Me In’ where confetti cannons went off and completed their 22 song set with a bang!
We really enjoyed the show as we got treated to 40 songs throughout the night even though we would’ve loved to have heard ‘Kids In The Dark’. We followed the crowd out and got the metro back to the hotel, where we got a good night’s sleep so we could explore more of Hamburg the next day before we flew home. The next day we climbed the tower of St Michael’s Church to see amazing views on a snowy Hamburg,l followed by a chocolate experience at Chocoversum which we highly recommend.
https://open.spotify.com/track/0JJP0IS4w0fJx01EcrfkDe?si=M0fTr-y7QwSBGHyNNp76Ww
All rights to the songs in this review are retained by the relevant artists and this site claims no rights over them.
St. Jimmy and Rex 🖤☠️
#AllTimeLow #Blog #Blogging #liveMusic #MaydayParade #MusicReview #Photography #rock #TaylorAcorn #Writing -
All Time Low, Mayday Parade & Taylor Acorn – Sporthall, Hamburg Germany
For this review we traveled to Hamburg in Germany for the first time to see Pop Punk band All Time Low, on their tour with support from Taylor Acorn and Mayday Parade, to promote their new album Everyone’s Talking.
We drove down to London Heathrow Airport and caught our flight Friday night where we arrived at a snowy Hamburg. After a good night’s rest we got up and explored Hamburg visiting the Speicherstadt which is the world’s largest warehouse complex and a UNESCO site, followed by a trip to Miniatur Wunderland which holds the largest model railway system in the world.
After a day of exploring it was time to hop onto the metro and make our way to the Sporthall for the gig. We got off the metro and followed the crowd to the venue, once inside we headed to the merch where they had a great selection for each band, Rex bought herself an All Time Low sweatshirt, we were a little disappointed their wernt any signed vinyl to add to our collection. We made our way to the bar to get drinks and a currywurst, we got served very fast and the drinks were served in All Time Low cups which was a nice touch.
We made our way to the arena to see the first support of the night Taylor Acorn, a pop punk artist from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, who replaced The Paradox and Four Year Strong on the line up. We last saw her play when she supported Noahfinnce in Birmingham 2 years ago, you can read about that show here.
Taylor AcornTaylor opened up with ‘Poster Child’ and ‘I Think I’m In Love’ in front of a big crowd, she sounded amazing and a lot better than the last time we saw her when she was ill.
Taylor put on a great show with her high energy performance as she dances around and rocks out a lot which really gets the crowd warmed up. She played 8 songs during her set finishing with our favourites ‘Shapeshifting’ and ‘Psycho’, we really hope to see her play live again.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2u3HTlrmGMP9jQv17o6UCz?si=ysfreiUbRmezhPuXKmGjnQ
Mayday Parade
Once her set was finished we managed to grab a drink and another currywurst very easily and got down in time for the start of Mayday Parade a pop punk band from Tallahassee, Florida.Mayday parade opened up with ‘Under My Seater’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘I’d Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About’ which got the crowd bouncing and continued the energy left by Taylor Acorn.
The pace slowed down a little bit when Derek Sanders (Lead Vocalist) brought out an acoustic guitar and performed ‘Piece of Your Heart’ he then went onto say, “With the world being fucked up, just a reminder to be nice to each other regardless of race, religion, gender etc” which got a massive cheer from the crowd.They finished their 10 song set performing ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Jamie All Over’ which got the biggest reaction from the crowd as everyone was bouncing and moshing too.
https://open.spotify.com/track/05qCCJQJiOwvPQBb7akf1R?si=53tvp0aWSHmBfr-gAvxouQ
After another short break it was time for the headliners All Time Low who are a pop punk band from Towson, Maryland, we last saw these play at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas which you can read about here.
All Time LowBefore they came out, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra played on the speakers which got everyone singing and dancing, once All Time Low got onto stage they received a massive cheer from the crowd as they opened up with big hits ‘SUCKERPUNCH’ and the classic ‘Weightless’ where we had our first crowd surfer.
They played ‘PMA’ and one of our favourites ‘Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t), this was followed by Alex (Vocals & Guitar) & Jack (Lead Guitar), joking and messing around which continued throughout the show.
All Time Low performed ‘Remembering Sunday’ where Taylor Acorn came out to perform with them, which was a nice surprise, this followed by a live debut of ‘Everyone’s Taking’ which we thoroughly enjoyed.
All Time Low and Taylor AcornThey spoke about how grateful they were for everyone coming out to see them play as they had to upgrade the venue numerous times due to ticket demand which surprised them and thanked everyone for the support. They continued the show performing ‘Hate This Song’ which is a song they did with I Prevail and finished with ‘Monsters’ before leaving the stage.
For their encore they performed ‘The Weather’ with Derek Sanders, followed by two of their biggest hits ‘Lost in Stereo’ and ‘Dear Maria Count Me In’ where confetti cannons went off and completed their 22 song set with a bang!
We really enjoyed the show as we got treated to 40 songs throughout the night even though we would’ve loved to have heard ‘Kids In The Dark’. We followed the crowd out and got the metro back to the hotel, where we got a good night’s sleep so we could explore more of Hamburg the next day before we flew home. The next day we climbed the tower of St Michael’s Church to see amazing views on a snowy Hamburg,l followed by a chocolate experience at Chocoversum which we highly recommend.
https://open.spotify.com/track/0JJP0IS4w0fJx01EcrfkDe?si=M0fTr-y7QwSBGHyNNp76Ww
All rights to the songs in this review are retained by the relevant artists and this site claims no rights over them.
St. Jimmy and Rex 🖤☠️
#AllTimeLow #Blog #Blogging #liveMusic #MaydayParade #MusicReview #Photography #rock #TaylorAcorn #Writing -
All Time Low, Mayday Parade & Taylor Acorn – Sporthall, Hamburg Germany
For this review we traveled to Hamburg in Germany for the first time to see Pop Punk band All Time Low, on their tour with support from Taylor Acorn and Mayday Parade, to promote their new album Everyone’s Talking.
We drove down to London Heathrow Airport and caught our flight Friday night where we arrived at a snowy Hamburg. After a good night’s rest we got up and explored Hamburg visiting the Speicherstadt which is the world’s largest warehouse complex and a UNESCO site, followed by a trip to Miniatur Wunderland which holds the largest model railway system in the world.
After a day of exploring it was time to hop onto the metro and make our way to the Sporthall for the gig. We got off the metro and followed the crowd to the venue, once inside we headed to the merch where they had a great selection for each band, Rex bought herself an All Time Low sweatshirt, we were a little disappointed their wernt any signed vinyl to add to our collection. We made our way to the bar to get drinks and a currywurst, we got served very fast and the drinks were served in All Time Low cups which was a nice touch.
We made our way to the arena to see the first support of the night Taylor Acorn, a pop punk artist from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, who replaced The Paradox and Four Year Strong on the line up. We last saw her play when she supported Noahfinnce in Birmingham 2 years ago, you can read about that show here.
Taylor AcornTaylor opened up with ‘Poster Child’ and ‘I Think I’m In Love’ in front of a big crowd, she sounded amazing and a lot better than the last time we saw her when she was ill.
Taylor put on a great show with her high energy performance as she dances around and rocks out a lot which really gets the crowd warmed up. She played 8 songs during her set finishing with our favourites ‘Shapeshifting’ and ‘Psycho’, we really hope to see her play live again.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2u3HTlrmGMP9jQv17o6UCz?si=ysfreiUbRmezhPuXKmGjnQ
Mayday Parade
Once her set was finished we managed to grab a drink and another currywurst very easily and got down in time for the start of Mayday Parade a pop punk band from Tallahassee, Florida.Mayday parade opened up with ‘Under My Seater’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘I’d Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About’ which got the crowd bouncing and continued the energy left by Taylor Acorn.
The pace slowed down a little bit when Derek Sanders (Lead Vocalist) brought out an acoustic guitar and performed ‘Piece of Your Heart’ he then went onto say, “With the world being fucked up, just a reminder to be nice to each other regardless of race, religion, gender etc” which got a massive cheer from the crowd.They finished their 10 song set performing ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Jamie All Over’ which got the biggest reaction from the crowd as everyone was bouncing and moshing too.
https://open.spotify.com/track/05qCCJQJiOwvPQBb7akf1R?si=53tvp0aWSHmBfr-gAvxouQ
After another short break it was time for the headliners All Time Low who are a pop punk band from Towson, Maryland, we last saw these play at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas which you can read about here.
All Time LowBefore they came out, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra played on the speakers which got everyone singing and dancing, once All Time Low got onto stage they received a massive cheer from the crowd as they opened up with big hits ‘SUCKERPUNCH’ and the classic ‘Weightless’ where we had our first crowd surfer.
They played ‘PMA’ and one of our favourites ‘Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t), this was followed by Alex (Vocals & Guitar) & Jack (Lead Guitar), joking and messing around which continued throughout the show.
All Time Low performed ‘Remembering Sunday’ where Taylor Acorn came out to perform with them, which was a nice surprise, this followed by a live debut of ‘Everyone’s Taking’ which we thoroughly enjoyed.
All Time Low and Taylor AcornThey spoke about how grateful they were for everyone coming out to see them play as they had to upgrade the venue numerous times due to ticket demand which surprised them and thanked everyone for the support. They continued the show performing ‘Hate This Song’ which is a song they did with I Prevail and finished with ‘Monsters’ before leaving the stage.
For their encore they performed ‘The Weather’ with Derek Sanders, followed by two of their biggest hits ‘Lost in Stereo’ and ‘Dear Maria Count Me In’ where confetti cannons went off and completed their 22 song set with a bang!
We really enjoyed the show as we got treated to 40 songs throughout the night even though we would’ve loved to have heard ‘Kids In The Dark’. We followed the crowd out and got the metro back to the hotel, where we got a good night’s sleep so we could explore more of Hamburg the next day before we flew home. The next day we climbed the tower of St Michael’s Church to see amazing views on a snowy Hamburg,l followed by a chocolate experience at Chocoversum which we highly recommend.
https://open.spotify.com/track/0JJP0IS4w0fJx01EcrfkDe?si=M0fTr-y7QwSBGHyNNp76Ww
All rights to the songs in this review are retained by the relevant artists and this site claims no rights over them.
St. Jimmy and Rex 🖤☠️
#AllTimeLow #Blog #Blogging #liveMusic #MaydayParade #MusicReview #Photography #rock #TaylorAcorn #Writing -
All Time Low, Mayday Parade & Taylor Acorn – Sporthall, Hamburg Germany
For this review we traveled to Hamburg in Germany for the first time to see Pop Punk band All Time Low, on their tour with support from Taylor Acorn and Mayday Parade, to promote their new album Everyone’s Talking.
We drove down to London Heathrow Airport and caught our flight Friday night where we arrived at a snowy Hamburg. After a good night’s rest we got up and explored Hamburg visiting the Speicherstadt which is the world’s largest warehouse complex and a UNESCO site, followed by a trip to Miniatur Wunderland which holds the largest model railway system in the world.
After a day of exploring it was time to hop onto the metro and make our way to the Sporthall for the gig. We got off the metro and followed the crowd to the venue, once inside we headed to the merch where they had a great selection for each band, Rex bought herself an All Time Low sweatshirt, we were a little disappointed their wernt any signed vinyl to add to our collection. We made our way to the bar to get drinks and a currywurst, we got served very fast and the drinks were served in All Time Low cups which was a nice touch.
We made our way to the arena to see the first support of the night Taylor Acorn, a pop punk artist from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, who replaced The Paradox and Four Year Strong on the line up. We last saw her play when she supported Noahfinnce in Birmingham 2 years ago, you can read about that show here.
Taylor AcornTaylor opened up with ‘Poster Child’ and ‘I Think I’m In Love’ in front of a big crowd, she sounded amazing and a lot better than the last time we saw her when she was ill.
Taylor put on a great show with her high energy performance as she dances around and rocks out a lot which really gets the crowd warmed up. She played 8 songs during her set finishing with our favourites ‘Shapeshifting’ and ‘Psycho’, we really hope to see her play live again.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2u3HTlrmGMP9jQv17o6UCz?si=ysfreiUbRmezhPuXKmGjnQ
Mayday Parade
Once her set was finished we managed to grab a drink and another currywurst very easily and got down in time for the start of Mayday Parade a pop punk band from Tallahassee, Florida.Mayday parade opened up with ‘Under My Seater’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘I’d Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About’ which got the crowd bouncing and continued the energy left by Taylor Acorn.
The pace slowed down a little bit when Derek Sanders (Lead Vocalist) brought out an acoustic guitar and performed ‘Piece of Your Heart’ he then went onto say, “With the world being fucked up, just a reminder to be nice to each other regardless of race, religion, gender etc” which got a massive cheer from the crowd.They finished their 10 song set performing ‘Black Cat’ and ‘Jamie All Over’ which got the biggest reaction from the crowd as everyone was bouncing and moshing too.
https://open.spotify.com/track/05qCCJQJiOwvPQBb7akf1R?si=53tvp0aWSHmBfr-gAvxouQ
After another short break it was time for the headliners All Time Low who are a pop punk band from Towson, Maryland, we last saw these play at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas which you can read about here.
All Time LowBefore they came out, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra played on the speakers which got everyone singing and dancing, once All Time Low got onto stage they received a massive cheer from the crowd as they opened up with big hits ‘SUCKERPUNCH’ and the classic ‘Weightless’ where we had our first crowd surfer.
They played ‘PMA’ and one of our favourites ‘Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t), this was followed by Alex (Vocals & Guitar) & Jack (Lead Guitar), joking and messing around which continued throughout the show.
All Time Low performed ‘Remembering Sunday’ where Taylor Acorn came out to perform with them, which was a nice surprise, this followed by a live debut of ‘Everyone’s Taking’ which we thoroughly enjoyed.
All Time Low and Taylor AcornThey spoke about how grateful they were for everyone coming out to see them play as they had to upgrade the venue numerous times due to ticket demand which surprised them and thanked everyone for the support. They continued the show performing ‘Hate This Song’ which is a song they did with I Prevail and finished with ‘Monsters’ before leaving the stage.
For their encore they performed ‘The Weather’ with Derek Sanders, followed by two of their biggest hits ‘Lost in Stereo’ and ‘Dear Maria Count Me In’ where confetti cannons went off and completed their 22 song set with a bang!
We really enjoyed the show as we got treated to 40 songs throughout the night even though we would’ve loved to have heard ‘Kids In The Dark’. We followed the crowd out and got the metro back to the hotel, where we got a good night’s sleep so we could explore more of Hamburg the next day before we flew home. The next day we climbed the tower of St Michael’s Church to see amazing views on a snowy Hamburg,l followed by a chocolate experience at Chocoversum which we highly recommend.
https://open.spotify.com/track/0JJP0IS4w0fJx01EcrfkDe?si=M0fTr-y7QwSBGHyNNp76Ww
All rights to the songs in this review are retained by the relevant artists and this site claims no rights over them.
St. Jimmy and Rex 🖤☠️
#AllTimeLow #Blog #Blogging #liveMusic #MaydayParade #MusicReview #Photography #rock #TaylorAcorn #Writing -
WRU doubles down on three-team plan after EGM as Ospreys supporters warn of “lasting damage” to Welsh rugby
The EGM, held at the Principality Stadium on Monday evening, proceeded despite all three original motions being withdrawn at the start of the meeting after the announced departures of WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and Professional Rugby Board chair Malcolm Wall. Around 124 of the WRU’s 284 member clubs and districts attended either in person or online — meaning more than half stayed away entirely.
With no votes to cast, the meeting became a lengthy presentation by WRU leadership followed by an hour and a half of questions from the floor. CEO Abi Tierney reiterated the case for reducing to three professional teams, arguing that Wales is attempting to spread a limited talent pool too thinly and that years of underinvestment in development pathways had brought the game to its current point.
In the days before the meeting Swansea Bay News had warned it could end up as nothing more than a chat — and so it proved, with Tierney unable to offer any concrete timeline, detail on how the reduction would be delivered, or clarity on the Cardiff sale process.
Both Tierney and Collier-Keywood admitted during the meeting that they had made mistakes — specifically that they had spent too long trying to maintain four teams and persuade them to sign a new Professional Rugby Agreement before Cardiff went bust. Collier-Keywood said they tried to maintain four sides for too long amid disputes with the regions, with both agreeing the current benefactor model in Welsh rugby is not sustainable in the long term.
It was also suggested the union had suffered a £6 million shortfall in revenue due to poor Six Nations ticket sales, including a record low crowd for the home match against France. Former Principality Building Society COO Rob Regan — a vocal critic of the WRU’s plans who has been working on an alternative model — used the meeting to ask Tierney directly to admit mistakes in order to help rebuild public trust.
The reaction from the Ospreys community was swift and unequivocal. The Ospreys Supporters Club said it was “extremely disappointed, though not surprised” by the outcome, adding that the WRU’s position remained unchanged despite recent leadership changes.
In a statement, the supporters group described the current situation as “the result of years of chronic mismanagement and neglect at the top of the game” and warned that removing a professional side in west Wales would risk “causing lasting damage to the sport in one of its strongest heartlands.” The OSC called on the WRU to “urgently reconsider its position, rebuild trust through genuine engagement, and work collaboratively with stakeholders before further damage is done.”
Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart had urged clubs to maintain maximum pressure going into the meeting, warning that not voting to remove Collier-Keywood — even though he had already announced his departure — “would send all the wrong messages and is open to misrepresentation by the WRU.” He confirmed that Swansea Council’s legal action remains ready, a CMA referral remains live and the commitment to the Ospreys remains at “100%.”
Stewart also confirmed that work on the St Helen’s redevelopment is expected to start soon as part of the co-investment plan agreed with the Ospreys, with the aim of creating a new venue ready for the start of the 2026/27 season.
Torsten Bell MP also called on clubs to use the meeting to oppose the three-team plan, describing the stakes as “not about technical governance issues” but about “safeguarding the soul of Welsh rugby.” He said Wales deserved a WRU that “brings everyone to the table and explores every option before making decisions that will see major changes to our game.”
The meeting heard a notable moment of contrast on the floor. CGRU representative Chris Morgan argued that Wales’s period of international success had been built on four professional teams and that abandoning that structure without a credible alternative amounted to “a dereliction of duty that could destroy Welsh rugby.” His remarks drew applause from parts of the room. However, a separate club representative later claimed a significant proportion of clubs remained firmly behind the WRU’s proposals — drawing what was reportedly the loudest and most sustained applause of the evening.
Tierney, speaking to journalists after the meeting, said she was confident in strong grassroots support for the three-team plan but was unable to provide further detail on how or when a decision would be reached. She denied the reduction automatically meant a straight shootout between the Ospreys and Scarlets for the western licence, saying there were “a few different permutations.” She also declined to comment on the status of the Scarlets’ legal action against the WRU.
On the Cardiff sale, Tierney admitted no deal had yet been agreed with Y11 Sport & Media, with the exclusivity period due to end on April 22 and reports suggesting Y11 may be reconsidering its position. She also confirmed the WRU is working closely with the United Rugby Championship but was unable to say whether a replacement for the fourth Welsh side in the competition had been found.
The WRU confirmed it will use external headhunters to appoint a new independent chair, with the process to begin in May and the new person expected to be in place by early summer. As Swansea politicians called for a reset following Collier-Keywood’s initial announcement, the mood in Welsh rugby remains one of deep uncertainty — and the questions that defined this EGM remain entirely unanswered.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
WRU EGM: Welsh rugby’s extraordinary meeting — but it could end up as nothing more than a chat
Our preview of Monday’s meeting and what was at stake.Ospreys lifeline as council seals historic St Helen’s deal
The groundbreaking agreement that could secure the Ospreys’ future in Swansea.Collier-Keywood quits: Rugby Union chair says he’ll leave in July
The announcement that changed the shape of the EGM.Ospreys fans close in on 10,000-name petition target
#AbiTierney #CllrRobStewart #EGM #MartynRyan #Ospreys #RichardCollierKeywood #Rugby #WalesRugby #WalesRugbyRegions #WRU
The scale of opposition to the WRU’s three-team plan. -
Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide (April 14–19, 2026)
Looking for the biggest concerts, comedy shows, and live performances across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and beyond? This week’s DoRaleigh Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide is packed with major headliners, touring acts, and can’t-miss performances.
From chart-topping artists to nationally known comedians and iconic venues, here’s your curated list of top events happening April 14–19, 2026.
Tuesday, April 14 – Major Concerts Across the TriangleBush, Mammoth & James and the Cold Gun 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
ADULT. 🕖 7:00 PM | Kings Raleigh
Mei Semones 🕗 8:00 PM | Motorco Music Hall
Sarah Kinsley 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Jackie Venson 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Wednesday, April 15 – Live Music & Hip-Hop HeadlinersPeter Lamb and The Wolves 🕠 5:45 PM | Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Baby Keem 🕢 7:30 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Kishi Bashi 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Band of Heathens 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Ally Venable 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Thursday, April 16 – Rock, Comedy & MoreLamb of God, Kublai Khan TX & Fit For An Autopsy 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
Trae Crowder 🕖 7:00 PM | Goodnights Comedy Club
Hippie Sabotage 🕖 7:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Tennessee Whiskey (Chris Stapleton Tribute) 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Martin Sexton 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Friday, April 17 – Comedy & Live Performances Take OverBert Kreischer 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
Steve Treviño 🕖 7:00 PM & 🕘 9:15 PM | Raleigh Improv
Alice Phoebe Lou 🕗 8:00 PM | Haw River Ballroom
It’s Murph 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Dan Mangan 🕘 9:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Saturday, April 18 – Big Names & Packed LineupBoys Like Girls 🕕 6:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Jefferson Starship 🕖 7:00 PM | Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield
Charlie Berens 🕗 8:00 PM | Meymandi Concert Hall
David Sedaris 🕗 8:00 PM | Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
Danny Brown 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Sunday, April 19 – Strong Weekend CloseDavid and Tamela Mann 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
St. Paul and The Broken Bones 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz
Raleigh Black Tusk 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Plan Your Week: Big Events Across the TriangleThis week’s lineup proves the Triangle continues to be a hotspot for:
National touring artists Major comedy acts Diverse music genres (rock, hip-hop, indie, jazz, metal) Iconic venues across Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill
Whether you’re catching a show at Red Hat Amphitheater or enjoying comedy at Goodnights, there’s no shortage of high-energy events happening across the region.
Follow DoRaleigh.com for daily updates on government meetings, local festivals, and community happenings — your one-stop guide to everything Raleigh!
Post your community News, Events, and you can request placing a Paid ad on our Submissions Page.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#Arts #CaryComedyShows #concertsInRaleighNC #DPACEventsApril2026 #DurhamShowsThisWeekend #events #liveMusicTriangleNC #music #News #RaleighConcertsApril2026 #RaleighNightlifeEvents #RedHatAmphitheaterEvents #thingsToDoRaleighThisWeek #TriangleBigTicketEventGuide #TriangleBigTicketEvents -
Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide (April 14–19, 2026)
Looking for the biggest concerts, comedy shows, and live performances across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and beyond? This week’s DoRaleigh Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide is packed with major headliners, touring acts, and can’t-miss performances.
From chart-topping artists to nationally known comedians and iconic venues, here’s your curated list of top events happening April 14–19, 2026.
Tuesday, April 14 – Major Concerts Across the TriangleBush, Mammoth & James and the Cold Gun 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
ADULT. 🕖 7:00 PM | Kings Raleigh
Mei Semones 🕗 8:00 PM | Motorco Music Hall
Sarah Kinsley 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Jackie Venson 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Wednesday, April 15 – Live Music & Hip-Hop HeadlinersPeter Lamb and The Wolves 🕠 5:45 PM | Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Baby Keem 🕢 7:30 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Kishi Bashi 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Band of Heathens 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Ally Venable 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Thursday, April 16 – Rock, Comedy & MoreLamb of God, Kublai Khan TX & Fit For An Autopsy 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
Trae Crowder 🕖 7:00 PM | Goodnights Comedy Club
Hippie Sabotage 🕖 7:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Tennessee Whiskey (Chris Stapleton Tribute) 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Martin Sexton 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Friday, April 17 – Comedy & Live Performances Take OverBert Kreischer 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
Steve Treviño 🕖 7:00 PM & 🕘 9:15 PM | Raleigh Improv
Alice Phoebe Lou 🕗 8:00 PM | Haw River Ballroom
It’s Murph 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Dan Mangan 🕘 9:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Saturday, April 18 – Big Names & Packed LineupBoys Like Girls 🕕 6:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Jefferson Starship 🕖 7:00 PM | Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield
Charlie Berens 🕗 8:00 PM | Meymandi Concert Hall
David Sedaris 🕗 8:00 PM | Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
Danny Brown 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Sunday, April 19 – Strong Weekend CloseDavid and Tamela Mann 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
St. Paul and The Broken Bones 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz
Raleigh Black Tusk 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Plan Your Week: Big Events Across the TriangleThis week’s lineup proves the Triangle continues to be a hotspot for:
National touring artists Major comedy acts Diverse music genres (rock, hip-hop, indie, jazz, metal) Iconic venues across Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill
Whether you’re catching a show at Red Hat Amphitheater or enjoying comedy at Goodnights, there’s no shortage of high-energy events happening across the region.
Follow DoRaleigh.com for daily updates on government meetings, local festivals, and community happenings — your one-stop guide to everything Raleigh!
Post your community News, Events, and you can request placing a Paid ad on our Submissions Page.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#Arts #CaryComedyShows #concertsInRaleighNC #DPACEventsApril2026 #DurhamShowsThisWeekend #events #liveMusicTriangleNC #music #News #RaleighConcertsApril2026 #RaleighNightlifeEvents #RedHatAmphitheaterEvents #thingsToDoRaleighThisWeek #TriangleBigTicketEventGuide #TriangleBigTicketEvents -
Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide (April 14–19, 2026)
Looking for the biggest concerts, comedy shows, and live performances across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and beyond? This week’s DoRaleigh Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide is packed with major headliners, touring acts, and can’t-miss performances.
From chart-topping artists to nationally known comedians and iconic venues, here’s your curated list of top events happening April 14–19, 2026.
Tuesday, April 14 – Major Concerts Across the TriangleBush, Mammoth & James and the Cold Gun 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
ADULT. 🕖 7:00 PM | Kings Raleigh
Mei Semones 🕗 8:00 PM | Motorco Music Hall
Sarah Kinsley 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Jackie Venson 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Wednesday, April 15 – Live Music & Hip-Hop HeadlinersPeter Lamb and The Wolves 🕠 5:45 PM | Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Baby Keem 🕢 7:30 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Kishi Bashi 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Band of Heathens 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Ally Venable 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Thursday, April 16 – Rock, Comedy & MoreLamb of God, Kublai Khan TX & Fit For An Autopsy 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
Trae Crowder 🕖 7:00 PM | Goodnights Comedy Club
Hippie Sabotage 🕖 7:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Tennessee Whiskey (Chris Stapleton Tribute) 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Martin Sexton 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Friday, April 17 – Comedy & Live Performances Take OverBert Kreischer 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
Steve Treviño 🕖 7:00 PM & 🕘 9:15 PM | Raleigh Improv
Alice Phoebe Lou 🕗 8:00 PM | Haw River Ballroom
It’s Murph 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Dan Mangan 🕘 9:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Saturday, April 18 – Big Names & Packed LineupBoys Like Girls 🕕 6:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Jefferson Starship 🕖 7:00 PM | Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield
Charlie Berens 🕗 8:00 PM | Meymandi Concert Hall
David Sedaris 🕗 8:00 PM | Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
Danny Brown 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Sunday, April 19 – Strong Weekend CloseDavid and Tamela Mann 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
St. Paul and The Broken Bones 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz
Raleigh Black Tusk 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Plan Your Week: Big Events Across the TriangleThis week’s lineup proves the Triangle continues to be a hotspot for:
National touring artists Major comedy acts Diverse music genres (rock, hip-hop, indie, jazz, metal) Iconic venues across Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill
Whether you’re catching a show at Red Hat Amphitheater or enjoying comedy at Goodnights, there’s no shortage of high-energy events happening across the region.
Follow DoRaleigh.com for daily updates on government meetings, local festivals, and community happenings — your one-stop guide to everything Raleigh!
Post your community News, Events, and you can request placing a Paid ad on our Submissions Page.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#Arts #CaryComedyShows #concertsInRaleighNC #DPACEventsApril2026 #DurhamShowsThisWeekend #events #liveMusicTriangleNC #music #News #RaleighConcertsApril2026 #RaleighNightlifeEvents #RedHatAmphitheaterEvents #thingsToDoRaleighThisWeek #TriangleBigTicketEventGuide #TriangleBigTicketEvents -
Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide (April 14–19, 2026)
Looking for the biggest concerts, comedy shows, and live performances across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and beyond? This week’s DoRaleigh Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide is packed with major headliners, touring acts, and can’t-miss performances.
From chart-topping artists to nationally known comedians and iconic venues, here’s your curated list of top events happening April 14–19, 2026.
Tuesday, April 14 – Major Concerts Across the TriangleBush, Mammoth & James and the Cold Gun 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
ADULT. 🕖 7:00 PM | Kings Raleigh
Mei Semones 🕗 8:00 PM | Motorco Music Hall
Sarah Kinsley 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Jackie Venson 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Wednesday, April 15 – Live Music & Hip-Hop HeadlinersPeter Lamb and The Wolves 🕠 5:45 PM | Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Baby Keem 🕢 7:30 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Kishi Bashi 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Band of Heathens 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Ally Venable 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Thursday, April 16 – Rock, Comedy & MoreLamb of God, Kublai Khan TX & Fit For An Autopsy 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
Trae Crowder 🕖 7:00 PM | Goodnights Comedy Club
Hippie Sabotage 🕖 7:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Tennessee Whiskey (Chris Stapleton Tribute) 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Martin Sexton 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Friday, April 17 – Comedy & Live Performances Take OverBert Kreischer 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
Steve Treviño 🕖 7:00 PM & 🕘 9:15 PM | Raleigh Improv
Alice Phoebe Lou 🕗 8:00 PM | Haw River Ballroom
It’s Murph 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Dan Mangan 🕘 9:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Saturday, April 18 – Big Names & Packed LineupBoys Like Girls 🕕 6:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Jefferson Starship 🕖 7:00 PM | Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield
Charlie Berens 🕗 8:00 PM | Meymandi Concert Hall
David Sedaris 🕗 8:00 PM | Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
Danny Brown 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Sunday, April 19 – Strong Weekend CloseDavid and Tamela Mann 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
St. Paul and The Broken Bones 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz
Raleigh Black Tusk 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Plan Your Week: Big Events Across the TriangleThis week’s lineup proves the Triangle continues to be a hotspot for:
National touring artists Major comedy acts Diverse music genres (rock, hip-hop, indie, jazz, metal) Iconic venues across Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill
Whether you’re catching a show at Red Hat Amphitheater or enjoying comedy at Goodnights, there’s no shortage of high-energy events happening across the region.
Follow DoRaleigh.com for daily updates on government meetings, local festivals, and community happenings — your one-stop guide to everything Raleigh!
Post your community News, Events, and you can request placing a Paid ad on our Submissions Page.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#Arts #CaryComedyShows #concertsInRaleighNC #DPACEventsApril2026 #DurhamShowsThisWeekend #events #liveMusicTriangleNC #music #News #RaleighConcertsApril2026 #RaleighNightlifeEvents #RedHatAmphitheaterEvents #thingsToDoRaleighThisWeek #TriangleBigTicketEventGuide #TriangleBigTicketEvents -
Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide (April 14–19, 2026)
Looking for the biggest concerts, comedy shows, and live performances across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and beyond? This week’s DoRaleigh Triangle Big Ticket Event Guide is packed with major headliners, touring acts, and can’t-miss performances.
From chart-topping artists to nationally known comedians and iconic venues, here’s your curated list of top events happening April 14–19, 2026.
Tuesday, April 14 – Major Concerts Across the TriangleBush, Mammoth & James and the Cold Gun 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
ADULT. 🕖 7:00 PM | Kings Raleigh
Mei Semones 🕗 8:00 PM | Motorco Music Hall
Sarah Kinsley 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Jackie Venson 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Wednesday, April 15 – Live Music & Hip-Hop HeadlinersPeter Lamb and The Wolves 🕠 5:45 PM | Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Baby Keem 🕢 7:30 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Kishi Bashi 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Band of Heathens 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Ally Venable 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Thursday, April 16 – Rock, Comedy & MoreLamb of God, Kublai Khan TX & Fit For An Autopsy 🕖 7:00 PM | Red Hat Amphitheater
Trae Crowder 🕖 7:00 PM | Goodnights Comedy Club
Hippie Sabotage 🕖 7:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Tennessee Whiskey (Chris Stapleton Tribute) 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Martin Sexton 🕗 8:00 PM | Cat’s Cradle
Friday, April 17 – Comedy & Live Performances Take OverBert Kreischer 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
Steve Treviño 🕖 7:00 PM & 🕘 9:15 PM | Raleigh Improv
Alice Phoebe Lou 🕗 8:00 PM | Haw River Ballroom
It’s Murph 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Dan Mangan 🕘 9:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Saturday, April 18 – Big Names & Packed LineupBoys Like Girls 🕕 6:00 PM | The Ritz Raleigh
Jefferson Starship 🕖 7:00 PM | Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Smithfield
Charlie Berens 🕗 8:00 PM | Meymandi Concert Hall
David Sedaris 🕗 8:00 PM | Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
Danny Brown 🕗 8:00 PM | Lincoln Theatre Raleigh
Sunday, April 19 – Strong Weekend CloseDavid and Tamela Mann 🕖 7:00 PM | Durham Performing Arts Center
St. Paul and The Broken Bones 🕗 8:00 PM | The Ritz
Raleigh Black Tusk 🕗 8:00 PM | The Pour House Music Hall
Plan Your Week: Big Events Across the TriangleThis week’s lineup proves the Triangle continues to be a hotspot for:
National touring artists Major comedy acts Diverse music genres (rock, hip-hop, indie, jazz, metal) Iconic venues across Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill
Whether you’re catching a show at Red Hat Amphitheater or enjoying comedy at Goodnights, there’s no shortage of high-energy events happening across the region.
Follow DoRaleigh.com for daily updates on government meetings, local festivals, and community happenings — your one-stop guide to everything Raleigh!
Post your community News, Events, and you can request placing a Paid ad on our Submissions Page.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#Arts #CaryComedyShows #concertsInRaleighNC #DPACEventsApril2026 #DurhamShowsThisWeekend #events #liveMusicTriangleNC #music #News #RaleighConcertsApril2026 #RaleighNightlifeEvents #RedHatAmphitheaterEvents #thingsToDoRaleighThisWeek #TriangleBigTicketEventGuide #TriangleBigTicketEvents -
You Can’t Fight City Hall! The thread about Lothian Road Public School
Preamble. The schools of the “School Board” era of public education (those built 1872-1918) hold a particular fascination for me, one most profound where they have been “deconsecrated” and are either no longer in use as schools or have disappeared entirely. This thread began as a couple of lines for my own notes about the “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” but soon snowballed into an alphabetical deep-dive into each.
Before the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, which created the Edinburgh School Board and kick-started a building programme of new schools, the west end of the city was served by church-run schools on Cambridge Street by St John’s Episcopal Church and in halls behind the Lothian Road United Presbyterian Church (this latter building would much later become the Filmhouse cinema). They were joined in 1862 when the Free Church of Scotland established a school for 270 children on Riego Street as a mission of Free St Cuthbert’s and Free Greyfriars‘ churches.
The Riego Street School, a photograph taken in 1914 by J. R. Hamilton of the Edinburgh Photographic Society by which time it was in use as a mission hall. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.After its initial flurry of construction to replace the worst of the schools it had inherited and fill gaps in provision, the School Board turned its attention to the Lothian Road area and acquired a tiny, undeveloped plot extending to only a quarter of an acre at the junction of Grindlay and Cambridge Streets. This land was feud from The Grindlay Trust for £2046 (for whom Grindlay Street is named) who maintained the rights to final approval of any designs. This new Lothian Road Public School was proposed in tandem with Canonmills Public School and at 800 pupils was of a capacity but with a density of 0.77 pupils per metre square it would be the most congested school that the Board would build.
Comparison of the 1849 and 1893 OS Town Plans of Edinburgh for Lothian Road, move the slider to compare. These show in 1849 two small church schools (an Episcopal School in the top right and a United Presbyterian School middle bottom) and in 1893 the Lothian Road Public School in the centre of the image, to the right of the open street square. On the right of the 1893 map are the School Board Offices on Castle Terrace. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandPlans by the Board’s architect Robert Wilson were approved in March 1879 and generally followed the Collegiate Gothic styling then in favour, looking very much like a truncated version of its peer at Canonmills but raised to a height of three storeys to maximise the limited space available. An unusual deviation however was a French-style tower with louvred windows on the principal (western) façade adjoining the neighbouring tenement on Grindlay Street. The boys’ entrance was at its base, girls and infants having a separate entrance on Cambridge Street. The ground floor accommodated the infant department in a large central classroom (42 feet by 27 feet) with three smaller rooms leading off of it. The first and second floors were for the older pupils, again each following the same arrangement as the ground floor. To the rear of the school were two rather small playgrounds, one each for boys and girls.
Lothian Road Public School, looking towards the Castle. The striped globe-shaped objects in the middle distance below the Castle are on the roofline of the Synod Hall on Castle Terrace. City of Edinburgh Council Architectural Drawings and Photographs via Trove.Scot, DP 102382Construction began in late June 1879, the accepted estimate for construction being £5,891 19s 6d (c. £640k in 2026). A site accident on 15th August 1879 injured joiner Alexander Glass when a crane failed and dropped an iron beam on his foot, part of which had to be amputated at the Royal Infirmary as a result. After this, work proceeded steadily and the new school school opened on 6th September 1880, the school on Victoria Terrace (an older building inherited from the Heriot Trust) closing as a consequence. The total cost including purchasing the site came out at £7,333 17s (c. £795k in 2026). As built the capacity was 825 pupils (280 infants and 545 juveniles) with a staff comprising the headmaster, infant mistress, a first assistant teacher and eight assistant teachers. They were supported by a sewing mistress, a singing master and twelve pupil teachers (older children who were remaining in education beyond the mandatory leaving age and who helped in monitoring and conveying the lessons to younger children). The school soon proved to be one of the top performers (helped in a large part because of the socio-economic circumstances of its neighbourhood) and in 1882 the staff were given a 15 percent salary increase on account of reaching the first class tier of the Board’s ranking system.
From the very beginning Continuation Classes (evening school for adults) were part of the school’s offering, with Advanced Classes “for young men” in Latin, grammar and English composition; basic elementary subjects and also more vocational ones such as bookkeeping, shorthand and commercial geography. Architectural and mechanical drawing joined the syllabus in 1885 and by 1889 advanced level mechanics and mathematics were also being taught. In 1898 there were 350 enrolled for continuation schooling with an average attendance of 302. Technical classes in confectionery were started by the Master Bakers of Edinburgh and Leith in 1903 “with a view to raising the standard of fancy baking in the district.”
A street artist at work on the pavement island outside Lothian Road Public School in 1903, while a crowd looks on. The sign on the lamp post reads “Cars Stop“, indicating that this was a passenger platform for the city’s cable tramway.In 1887, 909 scholars from Lothian Road were presented for examination, suggesting the school was more than 10% over capacity, and before the Scotch Education Department reduced class sizes there were up to 1,000 learners crammed in. The school was a victim of its own success, having the highest attendance rate in the city meaning it was always full. A janitor’s house was added in 1889 at a cost of £223, an extra play shed for the boys in 1892 and new classrooms for drawing and cookery in 1893 at a cost of £1,000.
A fire in March 1891, the result of a fireplace in a classroom causing surrounding woodwork to overheat, proved to be “of a trifling nature” and was extinguished by the staff and janitor before the fire brigade could arrive. Headmaster George Robertson, who had been in charge since opening, died in March 1893. His newspaper obituary recalled him as “a man of a kindly and courteous disposition, which secured for him cordial relations with his staff” and one who had cut his educational teeth in some of the city’s poorest quarters. He had started his career in the school of the Chalmers Territorial Free Church in the West Port of which he was also in the congregation and a deacon (church civic officer). The teachers and a deputation of the schoolchildren attended his funeral at the Grange Cemetery.
Grave marker of George Robertson (1849-93), his infant son John (1875-76) and his wives Anne Mullay (1846-75) and Christina Barclay Robertson (1849-1918). Photo credit Charlie via Findagrave.comThe school was only sixteen years old when ominous clouds began to form on its horizon: in 1896 its site was mooted as one of a number of potential locations for a new civic music hall. The City Hall, as it was then known, was the result of a gift to the city by Andrew Usher (1826-98) who’s family had made a vast fortune in brewing that he had made even larger through perfecting the process of blending Scotch Whisky: revolutionising the product, the industry and a nation’s drinking habits. His endowment was worth £100,000 (about £12 million in 2026) and trustees invested it until an appropriate site could be found.
Barrels of Andrew Usher’s “OVG” (Old Vatted Glenlivet) blended whisky in one of his bonds at St Leonards. This was the first mass-market blended whisky.A longlist of twelve sites was initially proposed including Princes Street Gardens, Melville Street, Atholl Crescent, opposite St Giles Cathedral on the High Street, Castle Terrace, Chambers Street, Port Hopetoun Basin, the junction of George and Castle Streets and – most controversially – the Meadows. London architect Alfred Waterhouse was engaged to survey each and draw up a shortlist of five, with Atholl Crescent being the favoured option.
Batholomew map, 1898, showing some of the proposed locations for the Usher Hall. A site on Atholl Crescent, to the west of these, was first favoured before attention moved to the area between Lothian Road and Castle Terrace (to the left of the middle of the three plots highlighted above.) Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.Plans changed in 1900 however when the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland merged with the Free Church of Scotland and the former’s Synod Hall on Castle Terrace was now surplus to requirements. In an ironic twist, this large venue was actually first built as an entertainments hall but quickly failed as a commercial venture. The Town Council leapt at the chance to acquire it with a view that it might somehow be a good site for the hall, or might even be re-purposed as it.
The Synod Hall from West Princes Street Gardens. City of Edinburgh Council Architectural Drawings and Photographs via Trove.Scot SC2575722Matters proceeded slowly for the next few years while the Town Council tried to acquire further adjacent land; it spent £15,000 buying plots totalling 2,719 square yards, on top of the 2,327 of the hall. In 1903 the Town Clerk, Thomas Hunter, was asked report “on the whole muddle” and set out options for the potential use of the Synod Hall site. Things were getting complicated by the fact the successor United Free Church were apparently attempting to buy the building back and had verbally offered the Corporation £40,000 for it ( the latter having paid just £25,000 a few years earlier). Proponents of the Synod Hall site argued it would be a less expensive proposition than the alternatives and sited facing the Castle it made for an appropriately grand backdrop. Detractors were quick to point out that the new hall proposed for that site would have 2,400 seats, just 300 more than the building it was proposed to demolish and replace!
While matters remained unresolved, the idea of siting what would become The Usher Hall in the vicinity of Castle Terrace had by now crystallised in the minds of the Town Council and their gaze soon shifted to the side of the block that faced on to Lothian Road. If the site of Lothian Road School was combined with the neighbouring tenements and added to the Council’s existing landholding, this gave a combined site of 4,221 square yards without demolishing the Synod hall and in 1904 firm plans were put in front of the Town Council recommending securing the school property.
A complication remained however in that the local authority did not possess the school – it remained the property of the School Board which was independent from the Town Council. An informal approach to the Board had been rebuffed and there was an unwillingness to resort to powers of compulsory purchase. Unfortunately Lord Provost Sir Robert Cranston then went and put his foot in it by letting it be known that the school buildings had been condemned by the Scotch Education Department: the implication being they would thus be easy to acquire, He was rebuked in a most public manner by the Board in a statement published by the Evening News. The Lord Provost wrote to the Board’s chair, the redoubtable Flora Stevenson, to set the matter straight.
Advert taken out by the School Board in response to the Lord Provost’s assertions that Lothian Road School had been condemned by the Scotch Education Department. Edinburgh Evening News, 13th February 1905.A meeting was convened behind close doors between senior representatives from both sides and soon ironed things out. The Board let it be known they would give up the school for a “fair price” and sufficient land for a replacement school. They hoped to get ground at Lady Lawson Street, the site of the city’s cattle market which was to be relocated, however this was acquired instead by the Education Department for the College of Art.
Once again the scheme stalled, but for Lothian Road Public School it remained business as usual. On account of its central location it remained a favoured venue for a number of organisations. From 1906 to 1910 it was used by the Edinburgh Esperanto Society for meetings and lessons, the Board charging only a nominal rent so as to help encourage that language. A similar privilege was given to the Celtic Union who began Gaelic language evening classes, transferring them from the Outlook Tower on Castlehill whose facilities they had outgrown. It was the Union’s intention to prove there was a public appetite for the language in order that the Board might formally adopt them for its own programme. This plan quickly came to fruition and from 1908 these classes transferred to the School Board’s Continuation curriculum and were run from Gilmore Place Public School. (Coincidentally, this latter building remains in education use as an annexe of James Gillespie’s High School and has recently become a centre for its Gaelic Medium Education learning.)
On June 15th 1909 a meeting was held at the school by “a few far-sighted ladies and sympathetic mothers” which formed the committee to establish the Girl Guiding movement in the city. In July that year a concert was held by the senior pupils of the school to celebrate the attendance records of Janet Gray, Nettie Bee, Janet Taylor and Jane Bogue who all had achieved a perfect attendance record in their seven years at the school; a combined total of twenty-eight years without a day missed. The Board presented medals to the girls and commended the headmaster and his staff. The takings from the concert were to be “devoted to the purchase of pictures with which to adorn the walls” of the school.
An Edinburgh School Board perfect attendance medal first issued in 1908-09 to Robert McKinlay of London Street School. Picture via Lockdale’s Auctioneers and Valuers, sale lot from 2024.Time was running short for the school however. It was now fourteen years after Usher’s gift to the city (and twelve after his death) and pressure was mounting to finally get his hall built. Finally on March 21st 1910 a report was submitted to the Lord Provost’s Committee of the Town Council recommending that it should be built on the Lothian Road site that included the footprint of the school. This was approved and at a closed meeting the following day the School Board agreed to its sale for £8,500 plus a new site at the City Slaughterhouse (the Killin’ Hoose) at Fountainbridge, which was about to be relocated to Slateford. The Board were initially offered one and a quarter acres but stuck to their guns that they would not settle for less than two – in the end they accepted one and three-quarters plus two buildings to convert into a janitor’s house. This still left the Board an estimated deficit of £17,000 (about £1.7 million in 2026) for the replacement, however they felt “willing to do all in their power to further the important scheme“.
Edinburgh Evening News, 7th January 1905 Shaded properties were those to be acquired for the final Usher Hall scheme. The area outlined by the dotted and thick solid line was already possessed by the Town Council.Lothian Road Public School closed for the last time at the end of the summer term of 1910. Its brief thirty year life was the shortest of any of the Board’s schools and in that time it was estimated that 9,780 children had passed through its doors. Its Continuation Classes were removed to James Gillespie’s School when the new term started, the infant department to temporary huts at Ponton Street and the remaining 590 children were largely sent to the old West Fountainbridge School while their new home was completed. This building had been closed a few years previously (it had actually been condemned) and its lower floors had by then been converted into a central cooking centre for free and “penny dinners” for schools in the city centre. One can only imagine what the smells of boiling cabbage were like for children trying to learn about the kitchens’ coppers which had a capacity to cook 650 gallons in one go – 130 stones (or 826kg) of potatoes could be cooked per hour!
On Tuesday March 13th 1911, workmen of Messrs Neil Mcleod & Sons began working on building operations for the Usher Hall and that Friday the Edinburgh Evening News reported on “the passing of Lothian Road School“. Wooden hoardings been erected around the building and children were helping the teachers throughout the day to clear the school.
Although now the exigencies of modern educational equipment call for something more up to date [it] has never failed to satisfy the powers that be in the work of educating pupils and securing high attendance percentages.”
“The Passing of Lothian Road School”, Edinburgh Evening News, 17th March 1911On the 22nd of the month, the demolition gangs moved in and it was reported less than a month later that a workman by the name of Alexander Young had been seriously injured at work on demolition, having been standing on a second floor staircase when it collapsed beneath him and he suffered a fall of thirty five feet as a result.
During and before images of the demolition of Lothian Road Public School, view looking towards Grindlay Street. Move the slider to compare. Photographs probably taken by Francis M. Chrystal of the Edinburgh Photographic Society. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries. During and before images of the demolition of Lothian Road Public School, view looking towards Cambridge Street. Move the slider to compare. Photographs probably taken by Francis M. Chrystal of the Edinburgh Photographic Society. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.In December 1910 it had been decided that the replacement school should be called Tollcross Public School and that it should accommodate 800 children (300 infants and 500 juveniles). Tenders were advertised in May 1911 and it would open in September 1912.
Site of Tollcross School, before shown on 1906 Goad Fire Insurance map when it was the municipal slaughter houses and after shown on 1944 OS Town Plan. Move the slider to compare. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandDemolition at Lothian Road proceeded swiftly and groundworks were advanced to allow the laying of the memorial foundation stones on July 19th 1911. King George V and Queen Mary performed the honours at a grand public ceremony, each dropping a stone into place by the turning of the handle of a crane and tapping it gently with a ceremonial mallet.
The stage is set, quite literally, for the laying of the Usher Hall’s foundation stones, July 19th 1911. These are on the site of the former Lothian Road School, the steepled building on the right of the photo being St. Columba’s Gaelic Free Church. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.The Usher Hall finally opened on March 16th 1914, seventeen years and two hundred and eighty two days after the initial gift was made. By all accounts it has been a grand success, but its troubled gestation is just one of many examples of the city’s difficult (and ongoing) history of schemes to try and build public concert halls!
Bust of Andrew Usher, unveiled at the opening of the Usher Hall. Photograph by Francis Caird Inglis, 1914. Delays to the scheme meant that Usher was long dead by the time his gift was completed. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.The previous chapter of this series looked at the James Clark School.
Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret -
You Can’t Fight City Hall! The thread about Lothian Road Public School
Preamble. The schools of the “School Board” era of public education (those built 1872-1918) hold a particular fascination for me, one most profound where they have been “deconsecrated” and are either no longer in use as schools or have disappeared entirely. This thread began as a couple of lines for my own notes about the “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” but soon snowballed into an alphabetical deep-dive into each.
Before the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, which created the Edinburgh School Board and kick-started a building programme of new schools, the west end of the city was served by church-run schools on Cambridge Street by St John’s Episcopal Church and in halls behind the Lothian Road United Presbyterian Church (this latter building would much later become the Filmhouse cinema). They were joined in 1862 when the Free Church of Scotland established a school for 270 children on Riego Street as a mission of Free St Cuthbert’s and Free Greyfriars‘ churches.
The Riego Street School, a photograph taken in 1914 by J. R. Hamilton of the Edinburgh Photographic Society by which time it was in use as a mission hall. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.After its initial flurry of construction to replace the worst of the schools it had inherited and fill gaps in provision, the School Board turned its attention to the Lothian Road area and acquired a tiny, undeveloped plot extending to only a quarter of an acre at the junction of Grindlay and Cambridge Streets. This land was feud from The Grindlay Trust for £2046 (for whom Grindlay Street is named) who maintained the rights to final approval of any designs. This new Lothian Road Public School was proposed in tandem with Canonmills Public School and at 800 pupils was of a capacity but with a density of 0.77 pupils per metre square it would be the most congested school that the Board would build.
Comparison of the 1849 and 1893 OS Town Plans of Edinburgh for Lothian Road, move the slider to compare. These show in 1849 two small church schools (an Episcopal School in the top right and a United Presbyterian School middle bottom) and in 1893 the Lothian Road Public School in the centre of the image, to the right of the open street square. On the right of the 1893 map are the School Board Offices on Castle Terrace. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandPlans by the Board’s architect Robert Wilson were approved in March 1879 and generally followed the Collegiate Gothic styling then in favour, looking very much like a truncated version of its peer at Canonmills but raised to a height of three storeys to maximise the limited space available. An unusual deviation however was a French-style tower with louvred windows on the principal (western) façade adjoining the neighbouring tenement on Grindlay Street. The boys’ entrance was at its base, girls and infants having a separate entrance on Cambridge Street. The ground floor accommodated the infant department in a large central classroom (42 feet by 27 feet) with three smaller rooms leading off of it. The first and second floors were for the older pupils, again each following the same arrangement as the ground floor. To the rear of the school were two rather small playgrounds, one each for boys and girls.
Lothian Road Public School, looking towards the Castle. The striped globe-shaped objects in the middle distance below the Castle are on the roofline of the Synod Hall on Castle Terrace. City of Edinburgh Council Architectural Drawings and Photographs via Trove.Scot, DP 102382Construction began in late June 1879, the accepted estimate for construction being £5,891 19s 6d (c. £640k in 2026). A site accident on 15th August 1879 injured joiner Alexander Glass when a crane failed and dropped an iron beam on his foot, part of which had to be amputated at the Royal Infirmary as a result. After this, work proceeded steadily and the new school school opened on 6th September 1880, the school on Victoria Terrace (an older building inherited from the Heriot Trust) closing as a consequence. The total cost including purchasing the site came out at £7,333 17s (c. £795k in 2026). As built the capacity was 825 pupils (280 infants and 545 juveniles) with a staff comprising the headmaster, infant mistress, a first assistant teacher and eight assistant teachers. They were supported by a sewing mistress, a singing master and twelve pupil teachers (older children who were remaining in education beyond the mandatory leaving age and who helped in monitoring and conveying the lessons to younger children). The school soon proved to be one of the top performers (helped in a large part because of the socio-economic circumstances of its neighbourhood) and in 1882 the staff were given a 15 percent salary increase on account of reaching the first class tier of the Board’s ranking system.
From the very beginning Continuation Classes (evening school for adults) were part of the school’s offering, with Advanced Classes “for young men” in Latin, grammar and English composition; basic elementary subjects and also more vocational ones such as bookkeeping, shorthand and commercial geography. Architectural and mechanical drawing joined the syllabus in 1885 and by 1889 advanced level mechanics and mathematics were also being taught. In 1898 there were 350 enrolled for continuation schooling with an average attendance of 302. Technical classes in confectionery were started by the Master Bakers of Edinburgh and Leith in 1903 “with a view to raising the standard of fancy baking in the district.”
A street artist at work on the pavement island outside Lothian Road Public School in 1903, while a crowd looks on. The sign on the lamp post reads “Cars Stop“, indicating that this was a passenger platform for the city’s cable tramway.In 1887, 909 scholars from Lothian Road were presented for examination, suggesting the school was more than 10% over capacity, and before the Scotch Education Department reduced class sizes there were up to 1,000 learners crammed in. The school was a victim of its own success, having the highest attendance rate in the city meaning it was always full. A janitor’s house was added in 1889 at a cost of £223, an extra play shed for the boys in 1892 and new classrooms for drawing and cookery in 1893 at a cost of £1,000.
A fire in March 1891, the result of a fireplace in a classroom causing surrounding woodwork to overheat, proved to be “of a trifling nature” and was extinguished by the staff and janitor before the fire brigade could arrive. Headmaster George Robertson, who had been in charge since opening, died in March 1893. His newspaper obituary recalled him as “a man of a kindly and courteous disposition, which secured for him cordial relations with his staff” and one who had cut his educational teeth in some of the city’s poorest quarters. He had started his career in the school of the Chalmers Territorial Free Church in the West Port of which he was also in the congregation and a deacon (church civic officer). The teachers and a deputation of the schoolchildren attended his funeral at the Grange Cemetery.
Grave marker of George Robertson (1849-93), his infant son John (1875-76) and his wives Anne Mullay (1846-75) and Christina Barclay Robertson (1849-1918). Photo credit Charlie via Findagrave.comThe school was only sixteen years old when ominous clouds began to form on its horizon: in 1896 its site was mooted as one of a number of potential locations for a new civic music hall. The City Hall, as it was then known, was the result of a gift to the city by Andrew Usher (1826-98) who’s family had made a vast fortune in brewing that he mad made even larger through perfecting the process of blending Scotch Whisky: revolutionising the product, the industry and a nation’s drinking habits. His endowment was worth £100,000 (about £12 million in 2026) and trustees invested it until an appropriate site could be found.
Barrels of Andrew Usher’s “OVG” (Old Vatted Glenlivet) blended whisky in one of his bonds at St Leonards. This was the first mass-market blended whisky.A longlist of twelve sites was initially proposed including Princes Street Gardens, Melville Street, Atholl Crescent, opposite St Giles Cathedral on the High Street, Castle Terrace, Chambers Street, Port Hopetoun Basin, the junction of George and Castle Streets and – most controversially – the Meadows. London architect Alfred Waterhouse was engaged to survey each and draw up a shortlist of five, with Atholl Crescent being the favoured option.
Batholomew map, 1898, showing some of the proposed locations for the Usher Hall. A site on Atholl Crescent, to the west of these, was first favoured before attention moved to the area between Lothian Road and Castle Terrace (to the left of the middle of the three plots highlighted above.) Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.Plans changed in 1900 however when the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland merged with the Free Church of Scotland and the former’s Synod Hall on Castle Terrace was now surplus to requirements. In an ironic twist, this large venue was actually first built as an entertainments hall but quickly failed as a commercial venture. The Town Council leapt at the chance to acquire it with a view that it might somehow be a good site for the hall, or might even be re-purposed as it.
The Synod Hall from West Princes Street Gardens. City of Edinburgh Council Architectural Drawings and Photographs via Trove.Scot SC2575722Matters proceeded slowly for the next few years while the Town Council tried to acquire further adjacent land; it spent £15,000 buying plots totalling 2,719 square yards, on top of the 2,327 of the hall. In 1903 the Town Clerk, Thomas Hunter, was asked report “on the whole muddle” and set out options for the potential use of the Synod Hall site. Things were getting complicated by the fact the successor United Free Church were apparently attempting to buy the building back and had verbally offered the Corporation £40,000 for it ( the latter having paid just £25,000 a few years earlier). Proponents of the Synod Hall site argued it would be a less expensive proposition than the alternatives and sited facing the Castle it made for an appropriately grand backdrop. Detractors were quick to point out that the new hall proposed for that site would have 2,400 seats, just 300 more than the building it was proposed to demolish and replace!
While matters remained unresolved, the idea of siting what would become The Usher Hall in the vicinity of Castle Terrace had by now crystallised in the minds of the Town Council and their gaze soon shifted to the side of the block that faced on to Lothian Road. If the site of Lothian Road School was combined with the neighbouring tenements and added to the Council’s existing landholding, this gave a combined site of 4,221 square yards without demolishing the Synod hall and in 1904 firm plans were put in front of the Town Council recommending securing the school property.
A complication remained however in that the local authority did not possess the school – it remained the property of the School Board which was independent from the Town Council. An informal approach to the Board had been rebuffed and there was an unwillingness to resort to powers of compulsory purchase. Unfortunately Lord Provost Sir Robert Cranston then went and put his foot in it by letting it be known that the school buildings had been condemned by the Scotch Education Department: the implication being they would thus be easy to acquire, He was rebuked in a most public manner by the Board in a statement published by the Evening News. The Lord Provost wrote to the Board’s chair, the redoubtable Flora Stevenson, to set the matter straight.
Advert taken out by the School Board in response to the Lord Provost’s assertions that Lothian Road School had been condemned by the Scotch Education Department. Edinburgh Evening News, 13th February 1905.A meeting was convened behind close doors between senior representatives from both sides and soon ironed things out. The Board let it be known they would give up the school for a “fair price” and sufficient land for a replacement school. They hoped to get ground at Lady Lawson Street, the site of the city’s cattle market which was to be relocated, however this was acquired instead by the Education Department for the College of Art.
Once again the scheme stalled, but for Lothian Road Public School it remained business as usual. On account of its central location it remained a favoured venue for a number of organisations. From 1906 to 1910 it was used by the Edinburgh Esperanto Society for meetings and lessons, the Board charging only a nominal rent so as to help encourage that language. A similar privilege was given to the Celtic Union who began Gaelic language evening classes, transferring them from the Outlook Tower on Castlehill whose facilities they had outgrown. It was the Union’s intention to prove there was a public appetite for the language in order that the Board might formally adopt them for its own programme. This plan quickly came to fruition and from 1908 these classes transferred to the School Board’s Continuation curriculum and were run from Gilmore Place Public School. (Coincidentally, this latter building remains in education use as an annexe of James Gillespie’s High School and has recently become a centre for its Gaelic Medium Education learning.)
On June 15th 1909 a meeting was held at the school by “a few far-sighted ladies and sympathetic mothers” which formed the committee to establish the Girl Guiding movement in the city. In July that year a concert was held by the senior pupils of the school to celebrate the attendance records of Janet Gray, Nettie Bee, Janet Taylor and Jane Bogue who all had achieved a perfect attendance record in their seven years at the school; a combined total of twenty-eight years without a day missed. The Board presented medals to the girls and commended the headmaster and his staff. The takings from the concert were to be “devoted to the purchase of pictures with which to adorn the walls” of the school.
An Edinburgh School Board perfect attendance medal first issued in 1908-09 to Robert McKinlay of London Street School. Picture via Lockdale’s Auctioneers and Valuers, sale lot from 2024.Time was running short for the school however. It was now fourteen years after Usher’s gift to the city (and twelve after his death) and pressure was mounting to finally get his hall built. Finally on March 21st 1910 a report was submitted to the Lord Provost’s Committee of the Town Council recommending that it should be built on the Lothian Road site that included the footprint of the school. This was approved and at a closed meeting the following day the School Board agreed to its sale for £8,500 plus a new site at the City Slaughterhouse (the Killin’ Hoose) at Fountainbridge, which was about to be relocated to Slateford. The Board were initially offered one and a quarter acres but stuck to their guns that they would not settle for less than two – in the end they accepted one and three-quarters plus two buildings to convert into a janitor’s house. This still left the Board an estimated deficit of £17,000 (about £1.7 million in 2026) for the replacement, however they felt “willing to do all in their power to further the important scheme“.
Edinburgh Evening News, 7th January 1905 Shaded properties were those to be acquired for the final Usher Hall scheme. The area outlined by the dotted and thick solid line was already possessed by the Town Council.Lothian Road Public School closed for the last time at the end of the summer term of 1910. Its brief thirty year life was the shortest of any of the Board’s schools and in that time it was estimated that 9,780 children had passed through its doors. Its Continuation Classes were removed to James Gillespie’s School when the new term started, the infant department to temporary huts at Ponton Street and the remaining 590 children were largely sent to the old West Fountainbridge School while their new home was completed. This building had been closed a few years previously (it had actually been condemned) and its lower floors had by then been converted into a central cooking centre for free and “penny dinners” for schools in the city centre. One can only imagine what the smells of boiling cabbage were like for children trying to learn about the kitchens’ coppers which had a capacity to cook 650 gallons in one go – 130 stones (or 826kg) of potatoes could be cooked per hour!
On Tuesday March 13th 1911, workmen of Messrs Neil Mcleod & Sons began working on building operations for the Usher Hall and that Friday the Edinburgh Evening News reported on “the passing of Lothian Road School“. Wooden hoardings been erected around the building and children were helping the teachers throughout the day to clear the school.
Although now the exigencies of modern educational equipment call for something more up to date [it] has never failed to satisfy the powers that be in the work of educating pupils and securing high attendance percentages.”
“The Passing of Lothian Road School”, Edinburgh Evening News, 17th March 1911On the 22nd of the month, the demolition gangs moved in and it was reported less than a month later that a workman by the name of Alexander Young had been seriously injured at work on demolition, having been standing on a second floor staircase when it collapsed beneath him and he suffered a fall of thirty five feet as a result.
During and before images of the demolition of Lothian Road Public School, view looking towards Grindlay Street. Move the slider to compare. Photographs probably taken by Francis M. Chrystal of the Edinburgh Photographic Society. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries. During and before images of the demolition of Lothian Road Public School, view looking towards Cambridge Street. Move the slider to compare. Photographs probably taken by Francis M. Chrystal of the Edinburgh Photographic Society. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.In December 1910 it had been decided that the replacement school should be called Tollcross Public School and that it should accommodate 800 children (300 infants and 500 juveniles). Tenders were advertised in May 1911 and it would open in September 1912.
Site of Tollcross School, before shown on 1906 Goad Fire Insurance map when it was the municipal slaughter houses and after shown on 1944 OS Town Plan. Move the slider to compare. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandDemolition at Lothian Road proceeded swiftly and groundworks were advanced to allow the laying of the memorial foundation stones on July 19th 1911. King George V and Queen Mary performed the honours at a grand public ceremony, each dropping a stone into place by the turning of the handle of a crane and tapping it gently with a ceremonial mallet.
The stage is set, quite literally, for the laying of the Usher Hall’s foundation stones, July 19th 1911. These are on the site of the former Lothian Road School, the steepled building on the right of the photo being St. Columba’s Gaelic Free Church. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.The Usher Hall finally opened on March 16th 1914, seventeen years and two hundred and eighty two days after the initial gift was made. By all accounts it has been a grand success, but its troubled gestation is just one of many examples of the city’s difficult (and ongoing) history of schemes to try and build public concert halls!
Bust of Andrew Usher, unveiled at the opening of the Usher Hall. Photograph by Francis Caird Inglis, 1914. Delays to the scheme meant that Usher was long dead by the time his gift was completed. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.The previous chapter of this series looked at the James Clark School.
If you have found this useful, informative or amusing, perhaps you would like to help contribute towards the running costs of this site – including keeping it ad-free and my book-buying budget to find further stories to bring you – by supporting me on ko-fi. Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends.
Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#Edinburgh #EdinburghSchoolBoard #Entertainment #LostBoardSchoolsOfEdinburgh #LothianRoad #Megaproject #School #Schools #Usher #WestEnd #Written2026 -
••⋅☾Two Authors of Konbini Idol (Kan-chan POV)☽⋅••
#Vss366 Irish / #StPatricksDay #EroticMusings 42: Languages?
Part 2 of 2
She first told the bartender in Japanese, “She wants a virgin melon soda. No alcohol.”
“Arigatogozaimasu,” the woman responded, bowing slightly. She was older with short, gray hair. She wore an idol t-shirt and a black biker jacket adorned with anime keychains and idol patches. “Otaku,” I thought, not unkindly.
“Watashi wa Nara Moore desu.” Her Japanese was atrocious, but it was clear she had introduced herself as Nara Moore.
“I speak English,” Ume said. “Would you like to join my friends and me? You look lonely.” She must have been wasted too, or maybe she thought it would please Shishi.
“This is Tomo-san and Kan-chan,” Ume began introducing us.
I bowed.
“And these two are Tsugumi-san and Matsumoto-san. I’m Ume, and this is Shiori-san. She’s an ex-idol and she might know who that is,” Ume continued, pointing to Nara’s shirt.
“I do. She’s a great screamer,” Shishi said. The Japanese “Sukurīmā” must have been close enough, and Nara gave her a thumbs-up. Ume’s girlfriend was finally looking interested in what was going on. Too bad she and Nara couldn’t understand each other. Otherwise, they could have talked about idol stuff while the rest of us drank.
Nara joined us, bowed again, and repeated her name.
“We’re celebrating the publication of my book,” Ume explained.
“Oh, you’re an author too. So am I. What do you write?” Nara sounded excited.
“Yuri and slice of life. The book I just sold is about women who have to break a curse. And you?”
“Yuri, mythpunk, and surreal fantasy.”
“Did you ask her?” Matsumoto broke in.
“No,” Ume said. “My friends want to know why all the drinks are green today.”
"It's St. Patrick's Day," she said, pointing to the sign.
“今日は聖パトリックの日です,” Ume translated.
“Who’s St. Patrick?” Tsugumi asked.
Ume repeated what had been said to Nara, who replied, “He’s an #Irish saint who’s reputed to have driven all the vipers from Ireland. He supposedly brought Christianity there.”
Ume translated again. Then, switching back to English, she asked, “So what have you written?”
“It’s embarrassing, so I’ll skip that. But I’m currently writing about a woman who’s turned into a crow. It’s called ‘Airisu: The Crow and the Witch.’ The crow…”
Tomo whispered to me, “I hope Ume doesn’t add someone new to her harem.”
I laughed. Knowing Ume, she just might.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #KonbiniIdol #NMFic #SaintPatricksDay #SliceOfLife
-
••⋅☾Two Authors of Konbini Idol (Kan-chan POV)☽⋅••
#Vss366 Irish / #StPatricksDay #EroticMusings 42: Languages?
Part 2 of 2
She first told the bartender in Japanese, “She wants a virgin melon soda. No alcohol.”
“Arigatogozaimasu,” the woman responded, bowing slightly. She was older with short, gray hair. She wore an idol t-shirt and a black biker jacket adorned with anime keychains and idol patches. “Otaku,” I thought, not unkindly.
“Watashi wa Nara Moore desu.” Her Japanese was atrocious, but it was clear she had introduced herself as Nara Moore.
“I speak English,” Ume said. “Would you like to join my friends and me? You look lonely.” She must have been wasted too, or maybe she thought it would please Shishi.
“This is Tomo-san and Kan-chan,” Ume began introducing us.
I bowed.
“And these two are Tsugumi-san and Matsumoto-san. I’m Ume, and this is Shiori-san. She’s an ex-idol and she might know who that is,” Ume continued, pointing to Nara’s shirt.
“I do. She’s a great screamer,” Shishi said. The Japanese “Sukurīmā” must have been close enough, and Nara gave her a thumbs-up. Ume’s girlfriend was finally looking interested in what was going on. Too bad she and Nara couldn’t understand each other. Otherwise, they could have talked about idol stuff while the rest of us drank.
Nara joined us, bowed again, and repeated her name.
“We’re celebrating the publication of my book,” Ume explained.
“Oh, you’re an author too. So am I. What do you write?” Nara sounded excited.
“Yuri and slice of life. The book I just sold is about women who have to break a curse. And you?”
“Yuri, mythpunk, and surreal fantasy.”
“Did you ask her?” Matsumoto broke in.
“No,” Ume said. “My friends want to know why all the drinks are green today.”
"It's St. Patrick's Day," she said, pointing to the sign.
“今日は聖パトリックの日です,” Ume translated.
“Who’s St. Patrick?” Tsugumi asked.
Ume repeated what had been said to Nara, who replied, “He’s an #Irish saint who’s reputed to have driven all the vipers from Ireland. He supposedly brought Christianity there.”
Ume translated again. Then, switching back to English, she asked, “So what have you written?”
“It’s embarrassing, so I’ll skip that. But I’m currently writing about a woman who’s turned into a crow. It’s called ‘Airisu: The Crow and the Witch.’ The crow…”
Tomo whispered to me, “I hope Ume doesn’t add someone new to her harem.”
I laughed. Knowing Ume, she just might.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #KonbiniIdol #NMFic #SaintPatricksDay #SliceOfLife
-
••⋅☾Two Authors of Konbini Idol (Kan-chan POV)☽⋅••
#Vss366 Irish / #StPatricksDay #EroticMusings 42: Languages?
Part 2 of 2
She first told the bartender in Japanese, “She wants a virgin melon soda. No alcohol.”
“Arigatogozaimasu,” the woman responded, bowing slightly. She was older with short, gray hair. She wore an idol t-shirt and a black biker jacket adorned with anime keychains and idol patches. “Otaku,” I thought, not unkindly.
“Watashi wa Nara Moore desu.” Her Japanese was atrocious, but it was clear she had introduced herself as Nara Moore.
“I speak English,” Ume said. “Would you like to join my friends and me? You look lonely.” She must have been wasted too, or maybe she thought it would please Shishi.
“This is Tomo-san and Kan-chan,” Ume began introducing us.
I bowed.
“And these two are Tsugumi-san and Matsumoto-san. I’m Ume, and this is Shiori-san. She’s an ex-idol and she might know who that is,” Ume continued, pointing to Nara’s shirt.
“I do. She’s a great screamer,” Shishi said. The Japanese “Sukurīmā” must have been close enough, and Nara gave her a thumbs-up. Ume’s girlfriend was finally looking interested in what was going on. Too bad she and Nara couldn’t understand each other. Otherwise, they could have talked about idol stuff while the rest of us drank.
Nara joined us, bowed again, and repeated her name.
“We’re celebrating the publication of my book,” Ume explained.
“Oh, you’re an author too. So am I. What do you write?” Nara sounded excited.
“Yuri and slice of life. The book I just sold is about women who have to break a curse. And you?”
“Yuri, mythpunk, and surreal fantasy.”
“Did you ask her?” Matsumoto broke in.
“No,” Ume said. “My friends want to know why all the drinks are green today.”
"It's St. Patrick's Day," she said, pointing to the sign.
“今日は聖パトリックの日です,” Ume translated.
“Who’s St. Patrick?” Tsugumi asked.
Ume repeated what had been said to Nara, who replied, “He’s an #Irish saint who’s reputed to have driven all the vipers from Ireland. He supposedly brought Christianity there.”
Ume translated again. Then, switching back to English, she asked, “So what have you written?”
“It’s embarrassing, so I’ll skip that. But I’m currently writing about a woman who’s turned into a crow. It’s called ‘Airisu: The Crow and the Witch.’ The crow…”
Tomo whispered to me, “I hope Ume doesn’t add someone new to her harem.”
I laughed. Knowing Ume, she just might.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #KonbiniIdol #NMFic #SaintPatricksDay #SliceOfLife
-
••⋅☾Two Authors of Konbini Idol (Kan-chan POV)☽⋅••
#Vss366 Irish / #StPatricksDay #EroticMusings 42: Languages?
Part 2 of 2
She first told the bartender in Japanese, “She wants a virgin melon soda. No alcohol.”
“Arigatogozaimasu,” the woman responded, bowing slightly. She was older with short, gray hair. She wore an idol t-shirt and a black biker jacket adorned with anime keychains and idol patches. “Otaku,” I thought, not unkindly.
“Watashi wa Nara Moore desu.” Her Japanese was atrocious, but it was clear she had introduced herself as Nara Moore.
“I speak English,” Ume said. “Would you like to join my friends and me? You look lonely.” She must have been wasted too, or maybe she thought it would please Shishi.
“This is Tomo-san and Kan-chan,” Ume began introducing us.
I bowed.
“And these two are Tsugumi-san and Matsumoto-san. I’m Ume, and this is Shiori-san. She’s an ex-idol and she might know who that is,” Ume continued, pointing to Nara’s shirt.
“I do. She’s a great screamer,” Shishi said. The Japanese “Sukurīmā” must have been close enough, and Nara gave her a thumbs-up. Ume’s girlfriend was finally looking interested in what was going on. Too bad she and Nara couldn’t understand each other. Otherwise, they could have talked about idol stuff while the rest of us drank.
Nara joined us, bowed again, and repeated her name.
“We’re celebrating the publication of my book,” Ume explained.
“Oh, you’re an author too. So am I. What do you write?” Nara sounded excited.
“Yuri and slice of life. The book I just sold is about women who have to break a curse. And you?”
“Yuri, mythpunk, and surreal fantasy.”
“Did you ask her?” Matsumoto broke in.
“No,” Ume said. “My friends want to know why all the drinks are green today.”
"It's St. Patrick's Day," she said, pointing to the sign.
“今日は聖パトリックの日です,” Ume translated.
“Who’s St. Patrick?” Tsugumi asked.
Ume repeated what had been said to Nara, who replied, “He’s an #Irish saint who’s reputed to have driven all the vipers from Ireland. He supposedly brought Christianity there.”
Ume translated again. Then, switching back to English, she asked, “So what have you written?”
“It’s embarrassing, so I’ll skip that. But I’m currently writing about a woman who’s turned into a crow. It’s called ‘Airisu: The Crow and the Witch.’ The crow…”
Tomo whispered to me, “I hope Ume doesn’t add someone new to her harem.”
I laughed. Knowing Ume, she just might.
#TootFic #MicroFiction #KonbiniIdol #NMFic #SaintPatricksDay #SliceOfLife
-
Federated Replies and Reactions in Madblog
Engage with the Web from plain text files
Madblog is founded on a simple principle: a blog is just a collection of #markdown files in a folder. No databases, no logins, no client-side bloat — just files.
The recently implemented support for both Webmentions and ActivityPub add an extra appeal to this approach: now those text files can federate, they can send mentions to Wordpress blogs or Mastodon accounts, and you can visualize mentions, comments and reactions from other corners of the Web directly under your articles.
But after receiving in the past few days a bunch of reactions on my blog that I couldn't interact with, which forced me to fall back on my standard Fediverse account to send replies and likes, I've decided to take the "everything is a file" philosophy a step further.
Now from #madblog you can also reply to comments and react to posts across the Fediverse - all from plain text files in your content folder.
Replying to Comments
When someone comments on your article from Mastodon or another ActivityPub-compatible services, their message appears on your blog.
Now you can also respond directly from your blog.
Or you can reply to any other post on the Fediverse or mention anyone, without those posts cluttering your blog's front page (I've learned to avoid this fatal design mistake made by e.g. Medium).
How it works
Create a Markdown file under
replies/<article-slug>/:[//]: # (reply-to: https://mastodon.social/@alice/123456789) Thanks for the kind words, Alice! I'm glad the tutorial helped. @alice@mastodon.socialSave the file, and Madblog automatically:
- Publishes your reply to the Fediverse as a threaded response
- Notifies Alice on her Mastodon instance
- Displays the reply on your blog, nested under her original comment
Your reply lives in your content folder. Just like with your articles, you can version replies and reactions on git, synchronize them over SyncThing or Nextcloud Notes, or run some analysis scripts on them that would just operate on text files.
Replying to replies
Conversations can go as deep as you want. Reply to a reply by pointing
reply-toat the previous message's URL:[//]: # (reply-to: https://mastodon.social/@alice/123456790) Great question! I'll write a follow-up post about that. @alice@mastodon.socialThe threading is preserved both on your blog and across the Fediverse.
[Example of a nested thread rendered on Madblog]
(I hope that @[email protected] and @[email protected] won't mind for using a screenshot from their conversation on my blog 🙂)
Remember to mention your mentions
An important implementation note: if you're replying to someone else's ActivityPub post, it's important that you also mention them in the reply, otherwise your reply will be rendered under their comment but they may not be notified.
Usually you don't have to worry about this on Mastodon because the UI will automatically pre-fill the participating accounts in a sub-thread when you hit Reply.
But this is something to keep in mind when your posts are just text files.
Your replies are articles in their own right
Even though anything under
replies/won't appear on your blog's home page, it doesn't mean that it must be rendered just like a humble rectangle in a crowded comments section.By clicking View full reply you get redirected to a separate page where the reply is rendered as a blog article, and its comments sections consists in the sub-tree of the reactions that spawned from that specific reply.
[Example of a Madblog reply rendered as a blog article, with its own sub-thread of reactions]
Liking Posts
Sometimes a reply is too much — you just want to show appreciation. Now you can "like" any post on the Fediverse with a simple metadata header.
Standalone likes
Create a file under
replies/with just alike-ofheader:[//]: # (like-of: https://mastodon.social/@bob/987654321)This publishes a
Likeactivity to the Fediverse. Bob sees the notification, and your blog records the interaction.Like and comment
Want to like and say something? Combine both:
[//]: # (like-of: https://mastodon.social/@bob/987654321) [//]: # (reply-to: https://mastodon.social/@bob/987654321) This is such a great point! Bookmarking for later. @bob@mastodon.socialBob gets both the like and your reply as a threaded response.
Unlisted Posts
Not everything needs to appear on your blog's front page. Files under
replies/withoutreply-toandlike-ofheaders become "unlisted" posts — they're published to the Fediverse but don't clutter your blog index.Perfect for quick thoughts, threads, or conversations that don't warrant a full article.
[//]: # (title: Thoughts of the day) Quick thought: I've been experimenting with writing all my Fediverse posts as Markdown files. It's oddly satisfying to `git log` my social media history.Guestbook Replies
Your blog's guestbook works the same way. Reply to guestbook entries by placing files under
replies/_guestbook/:[//]: # (reply-to: https://someone.blog/mention/123) @alice@example.com welcome! Thanks for stopping by.Editing and Deleting
Changed your mind? Edit the file and an
Updateactivity is sent. Delete the file and your reply is removed from the Fediverse too.Accidentally liked something? Remove the
like-ofline (or delete the file) and anUndo Likeis published.Your content, your rules.
Getting Started
- Enable ActivityPub in your
config.yaml:
link: https://blog.example.com enable_activitypub: true activitypub_username: blog # Only specify these if you want your ActivityPub domain to be different from your blog domain # activitypub_link: https://example.com # activitypub_domain: example.com- Install Madblog
- From
pip:
pip install madblog- From Docker:
docker pull quay.io/blacklight/madblog- Run Madblog from your Markdown folder (it is recommended that your articles are stored under
<data-dir>/markdown):
- From a
pipinstallation:
madblog /path/to/data- From Docker:
docker run -it \ -p 8000:8000 \ -v "/path/to/config.yaml:/etc/madblog/config.yaml" \ -v "/path/to/data:/data" \ quay.io/blacklight/madblog- Any text file you create under
markdown/becomes a blog article. Any text file you create underreplies/becomes an unlisted post, a reply or a like reaction.
Check the README for detailed configuration options.
Happy blogging!
-
Messy Sensing Presents: Voicing Places
Forum Stadtpark, Donnerstag, 26. Februar um 18:00 MEZ
Voicing Places
Voicing Places is a platform for artistic research amplifying embodied, community-based reflections on listening and aural practices. We operate in the space where critical sound studies, sonic journalism, soundmaking, and soundwalking echo and resonate with each other.
Our starting point is the fundamental instability of practice. Sensing is inherently messy; being in a body and relating to a site is an unstable process. We believe our sonic practices must address this directly, embracing the muddy, shifting ground on which we stand. We propose investigating sites in ways that intentionally straddle the discursive and the sensory from start to end. This involves enacting sound art practices while inhabiting our bodies as we walk, voice and listen, exploring the production of sites and subjects.
Our approach is phenomenological, akin to sensory ethnography, attuned to how the political affects of today leak into our ways of being. We connect to the different, often conflicting, aspects of a place – its historical layers, social dynamics, political contours, and the tensions between the imaginary and the real.Messy Sensing – an artistic duo between Anna Jurkiewicz and Reza Kellner. It emerged in 2023 from fascination with multilayer sensory imaginaries connected to specific places. It works with photography and sound (through the body called Reza Kellner), voice, video, and writing (through the body called Anna Jurkiewicz). It wants to honour all kinds of bodies, surrounded
and absorbed by messy feasting and messy growing. Perpetual sensory exchanges and negotiations between crowds of not closely related – in the genetic sense of the word – but not
unrelated bodies, affected by each other.ACTS
Lecture-Performance #1
"becoming more than one "
In the lecture performance ‘becoming more than one’, Adina Camhy deals with voices of the victims of the 1493 witch trial in St. Leonhard, considered the first witch trial on today’s Austrian territory which led to executions. How can we deal with documentation of past patriarchal and gender-based violence today – in archives, at sites, in the landscape? How to work with archival traces when victims’ voices survive only through their tormentors’ records? Adina Camhy recently realised a temporary monument in Bad St. Leonhard / Carinthia, remembering the victims of the witch-hunts in the Lavant Valley. Initiated by the cultural Initiative Container25, the monument was inaugurated in autumn 2025.
Adina Camhy is interested in the pressing questions of our time, in technology, history and memory, in peripheries and glimpses beneath surfaces. Camhy researches, deconstructs and remixes. Her research-based work ranges from video, sound, print to performance and is shown in public spaces, swimming pools and coffee houses as well as at film festivals, cinemas and exhibitions. In her music she interweaves electronics, field recordings, voice and effects, creating subtle, alienated and eery fragmented soundtrack-like soundscapes between noise, ambient, drone and industrial. Camhy studied architecture at TU Graz and UPV Valencia (ES) and Master Critical Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (ongoing). She has received scholarships, grants and awards, including the City of Graz Working Scholarship for Fine Arts (2025), the Carinthia Annual Scholarship for Interdisciplinary Art Forms (2023), the Pixel, Bytes + Film Grant (2022), among others.
Lecture-Performance #2
In her second lecture performance for Voicing Places, Anna Jurkiewicz outlines a situated phenomenology of ever-morphing matter which never fails to bring the atmospheric and the planetary into late capitalism. The work investigates how snow transforms the land, affordances and sensory abilities while embodying a specific temporality and conflicting potentialities of voicing and muting, concealing and uncovering, leveling and othering. The performance brings together video art, artistic research, vocal performance and sound art in a playful and meditative sequence.
Anna Jurkiewicz is a transdisciplinary artist working with sound, video, writing and voice. She engages in artistic research around more-than-human timelines, architectures and interactions. Some of her projects explore karst landscapes created by water through deep-time processes of dissolution and sedimentation. Most focus on multispecies relations that produce space and habitats. Her artistic practice often comes with the intention of strengthening interspecies empathy. As a sound artist, Jurkiewicz works with field recording, various microphones, voice and found footage to create multi-layered sound collages. As a vocalist, she recycles archives, composes music and explores resonance in various spaces, including an acoustic inventory of caves. In her work, a background in traditional music, ethnography and linguistics is combined with research and a personal practice of listening and cultivating intimate relationships with environments.
Lecture-Performance #3
Reza Kellner’s research explores processes of perforation and breakage, the rupturing of membranes, the fracturing of solid and the dissolution of forms. His lecture-performance for Voicing Places deliberately avoids the language of rationalization and channels witnessed and experienced emotions. These reflections arise from the chaos and unpredictability of world events, with particular attention to events unfolding in West Asia.
Music Act #1
fabien artal is a French-born sound artist and electronic music performer currently studying at the Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics in Graz (Austria). Since graduating from ESAAIX in 2008, he has performed in several international festivals and events from different musical horizons and has been involved as a composer, sound designer, and developer in various projects. Throughout the years, he has been exploring the space of perception and more specifically the thin layer between the inner and the outer perceptive milieux.
fabien artal’s Impulse Train is a performative wave installation that explores the physicality of sound once projected into space and perceptive distortions. In this piece, the space is stimulated by a continuous train of wave fronts projected at fixed time intervals. The latter intervals, as well as the frequencies of the sine waves sent on each channel, are calculated according to the dimensions of the room. Each channel is then processed to reveal the experience Impulse Train is trying to carry. The very substance of this piece realizes itself in its projection space, where it meets the sensing bodies. In this temporary sonotopy made of frictions, acoustic patterns and movements, Impulse Train, by inducing an embodied experience of our immediate surrounding, invites us to dissolve and question the role of our body in the act of sensing.
Music Act #2
o-m-ae: Live
o-m-ae is a collaboration between two musicians and sound artists, Zlata Zhdkv and ANTUUM. The duo practices sonic storytelling, often creating dark, enchanted forests with barren trees, cold winds, witches, and pilgrims. These stories avoid comfort and leave nothing softened; they neither conceal chaos nor moral rupture, yet leave space for hope.
o-m-ae mixes cello and flute with digital processing and field recordings, shaping slow, shadowed soundscapes.
------------------
18.00 Lecture-Performance #1: Adina Camhy
18.45 Lecture-Performance #2: Anna Jurkiewicz
19.15 Music Act #1: fabien artal
19.30 break
19.45 Lecture-Performance #3: Reza Kellner
20.00 Talk
20.30 Music Act #2: o-m-ae Live------------------
Voicing Places is curated by Messy Sensing and kindly supported by BMWKMS, Land Steiermark and Stadt Graz.
https://gancio.graz.events/event/messy-sensing-presents-voicing-places
-
The Darts Strike Hard With New Single “Apocalypse”
Photo by Tina GrossSeattle’s The Darts return with “Apocalypse,” the second advance single from their upcoming LP Halloween Love Songs, arriving March 3. Where “Midnight Creep” danced in B-movie shadows, “Apocalypse” blows the door off the darker half of the album, leaning into caveman rhythms, volcanic fuzz, and the kind of apocalyptic joy that makes destruction sound like deliverance. It hits February 3 and marks the moment the record shifts from spooky fun into full-throttle, after-midnight fire.
The song was born in Angers, France, when singer/organ conjurer Nicole Laurenne wandered through the massive medieval Apocalypse Tapestry, a wall of woven chaos, angels, beasts, storms, the whole cosmic meltdown. “The lightning bolt struck me,” she says. “The song practically wrote itself in the van as we left the castle.” Instead of doom, Nicole leaned into the strange liberation of burning it all down: freedom from suffering, freedom from crowns, freedom from being told what comes next. She wrote the line “no future, no kings” as a mantra of release — and a year later, as if the song had cracked something open, “No Kings” erupted as a protest chant across the U.S. All while the track existed only as a demo on her laptop.
Musically, “Apocalypse” hits like a ritual. A pounding, Neanderthal beat through the verses, wide-open chant on the chorus, and those snaking organ lines that nod straight to The Seeds, The Standells, and other 60s greats who knew how to make the end of the world sound like a block-party with broken amps. Rebecca Davidson’s guitar tone drags the song into modern grit with thick, grimy Mudhoney fuzz, a little L7 bite, and flashes of Bikini Kill’s unbottled anger. It’s garage rock with a cracked halo, stomped through the dirt and set on fire.
https://youtu.be/5VPD6y5c0vk?si=32W7KmpqZX8L-sCB
Long before the album was finished, the band slipped “Apocalypse” into their live sets, and the audience reaction was immediate. People were yelling for it after shows, asking where they could buy it, treating it like a lost classic. When the studio version was finally tracked, Gretsch Guitars tapped the instrumental for a major ad, with Lindsay Scarey and Rebecca featured front and center. A quiet demo had somehow become one of the band’s most in-demand songs before it ever saw daylight.
Recorded at Station House Studio in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer Mark Rains, “Apocalypse” is the bridge into Halloween Love Songs’ after-midnight terrain: heavier, darker, louder, and built to shake rooms. It’s the sound of a band deep into its evolution with Nicole, Becca, Lindsay, and returning drummer Rikki Styxx, pushing garage rock to its breaking point and finding something feral and euphoric on the other side. “Apocalypse” arrives February 3. No future, no kings — just volume.
The Darts On Tour 2026
3.26 Lille, FR – Bistrot de ST SO
3.27 Amiens, FR – Péniche Celestine
3.28 Lauzach, FR – Festival Bouge Ton Cube
4.01 Rouen, FR – Fury Défendu4.02 0rleans, FR – O’PATIO DÉFI
4.03 Vitré, FR – Very Rock Trip Party
4.04 Montaigu, FR – Le Zinor5.01 Sacramento, CA
5.02 Reno, NV
5.03 Chico, CA
5.06 Eugene, OR
5.07 Portland, OR
5.08 Tacoma, WA
5.09 Seattle, WA
5.10 Bellingham, WA
5.12 Yakima, WA
5.14 Salt Lake City, UT
5.15 Grand Junction, CO
5.16 Denver, CO
5.17 Albuquerque, NM
5.19 Tucson, AZ
5.20 Phoenix, AZ
5.21 El Centro, CA
5.22 Los Angeles, CA
5.23 Long Beach, CA
5.24 Oceanside, CA
5.25 Pioneertown, CA
5.27 Las Vegas, NV
5.28 Palmdale, CA
5.29 Santa Cruz, CA
5.30 Oakland, CA6.10 Jersey City, NJ
6.11 Washington, DC
6.12 Richmond, VA
6.13 Raleigh, NC
6.14 Wilmington, NC
6.17 Savannah, GA
6.18 Athens, GA
6.19 Atlanta, GA
6.20 Nashville, TN
6.21 Louisville, KY
6.23 Indianapolis, IN
6.24 Cleveland, OH
6.25 Rochester, NY
6.26 Lake George, NY
6.27 New Haven, CT
6.28 Brooklyn, NY8.26 Eugene, OR
8.27 Portland, OR
8.28 Seattle, WA
8.29 Vancouver, BC8.30 Olympia, WA
#garage #MUSIC #NEWS #PUNKROCK #THEDARTS -
The Darts Strike Hard With New Single “Apocalypse”
Photo by Tina GrossSeattle’s The Darts return with “Apocalypse,” the second advance single from their upcoming LP Halloween Love Songs, arriving March 3. Where “Midnight Creep” danced in B-movie shadows, “Apocalypse” blows the door off the darker half of the album, leaning into caveman rhythms, volcanic fuzz, and the kind of apocalyptic joy that makes destruction sound like deliverance. It hits February 3 and marks the moment the record shifts from spooky fun into full-throttle, after-midnight fire.
The song was born in Angers, France, when singer/organ conjurer Nicole Laurenne wandered through the massive medieval Apocalypse Tapestry, a wall of woven chaos, angels, beasts, storms, the whole cosmic meltdown. “The lightning bolt struck me,” she says. “The song practically wrote itself in the van as we left the castle.” Instead of doom, Nicole leaned into the strange liberation of burning it all down: freedom from suffering, freedom from crowns, freedom from being told what comes next. She wrote the line “no future, no kings” as a mantra of release — and a year later, as if the song had cracked something open, “No Kings” erupted as a protest chant across the U.S. All while the track existed only as a demo on her laptop.
Musically, “Apocalypse” hits like a ritual. A pounding, Neanderthal beat through the verses, wide-open chant on the chorus, and those snaking organ lines that nod straight to The Seeds, The Standells, and other 60s greats who knew how to make the end of the world sound like a block-party with broken amps. Rebecca Davidson’s guitar tone drags the song into modern grit with thick, grimy Mudhoney fuzz, a little L7 bite, and flashes of Bikini Kill’s unbottled anger. It’s garage rock with a cracked halo, stomped through the dirt and set on fire.
https://youtu.be/5VPD6y5c0vk?si=32W7KmpqZX8L-sCB
Long before the album was finished, the band slipped “Apocalypse” into their live sets, and the audience reaction was immediate. People were yelling for it after shows, asking where they could buy it, treating it like a lost classic. When the studio version was finally tracked, Gretsch Guitars tapped the instrumental for a major ad, with Lindsay Scarey and Rebecca featured front and center. A quiet demo had somehow become one of the band’s most in-demand songs before it ever saw daylight.
Recorded at Station House Studio in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer Mark Rains, “Apocalypse” is the bridge into Halloween Love Songs’ after-midnight terrain: heavier, darker, louder, and built to shake rooms. It’s the sound of a band deep into its evolution with Nicole, Becca, Lindsay, and returning drummer Rikki Watson, pushing garage rock to its breaking point and finding something feral and euphoric on the other side. “Apocalypse” arrives February 3. No future, no kings — just volume.
The Darts On Tour 2026
3.26 Lille, FR – Bistrot de ST SO
3.27 Amiens, FR – Péniche Celestine
3.28 Lauzach, FR – Festival Bouge Ton Cube
4.01 Rouen, FR – Fury Défendu4.02 0rleans, FR – O’PATIO DÉFI
4.03 Vitré, FR – Very Rock Trip Party
4.04 Montaigu, FR – Le Zinor5.01 Sacramento, CA
5.02 Reno, NV
5.03 Chico, CA
5.06 Eugene, OR
5.07 Portland, OR
5.08 Tacoma, WA
5.09 Seattle, WA
5.10 Bellingham, WA
5.12 Yakima, WA
5.14 Salt Lake City, UT
5.15 Grand Junction, CO
5.16 Denver, CO
5.17 Albuquerque, NM
5.19 Tucson, AZ
5.20 Phoenix, AZ
5.21 El Centro, CA
5.22 Los Angeles, CA
5.23 Long Beach, CA
5.24 Oceanside, CA
5.25 Pioneertown, CA
5.27 Las Vegas, NV
5.28 Palmdale, CA
5.29 Santa Cruz, CA
5.30 Oakland, CA6.10 Jersey City, NJ
6.11 Washington, DC
6.12 Richmond, VA
6.13 Raleigh, NC
6.14 Wilmington, NC
6.17 Savannah, GA
6.18 Athens, GA
6.19 Atlanta, GA
6.20 Nashville, TN
6.21 Louisville, KY
6.23 Indianapolis, IN
6.24 Cleveland, OH
6.25 Rochester, NY
6.26 Lake George, NY
6.27 New Haven, CT
6.28 Brooklyn, NY8.26 Eugene, OR
8.27 Portland, OR
8.28 Seattle, WA
8.29 Vancouver, BC8.30 Olympia, WA
#garage #MUSIC #NEWS #PUNKROCK #THEDARTS -
The Darts Strike Hard With New Single “Apocalypse”
Photo by Tina GrossSeattle’s The Darts return with “Apocalypse,” the second advance single from their upcoming LP Halloween Love Songs, arriving March 3. Where “Midnight Creep” danced in B-movie shadows, “Apocalypse” blows the door off the darker half of the album, leaning into caveman rhythms, volcanic fuzz, and the kind of apocalyptic joy that makes destruction sound like deliverance. It hits February 3 and marks the moment the record shifts from spooky fun into full-throttle, after-midnight fire.
The song was born in Angers, France, when singer/organ conjurer Nicole Laurenne wandered through the massive medieval Apocalypse Tapestry, a wall of woven chaos, angels, beasts, storms, the whole cosmic meltdown. “The lightning bolt struck me,” she says. “The song practically wrote itself in the van as we left the castle.” Instead of doom, Nicole leaned into the strange liberation of burning it all down: freedom from suffering, freedom from crowns, freedom from being told what comes next. She wrote the line “no future, no kings” as a mantra of release — and a year later, as if the song had cracked something open, “No Kings” erupted as a protest chant across the U.S. All while the track existed only as a demo on her laptop.
Musically, “Apocalypse” hits like a ritual. A pounding, Neanderthal beat through the verses, wide-open chant on the chorus, and those snaking organ lines that nod straight to The Seeds, The Standells, and other 60s greats who knew how to make the end of the world sound like a block-party with broken amps. Rebecca Davidson’s guitar tone drags the song into modern grit with thick, grimy Mudhoney fuzz, a little L7 bite, and flashes of Bikini Kill’s unbottled anger. It’s garage rock with a cracked halo, stomped through the dirt and set on fire.
https://youtu.be/5VPD6y5c0vk?si=32W7KmpqZX8L-sCB
Long before the album was finished, the band slipped “Apocalypse” into their live sets, and the audience reaction was immediate. People were yelling for it after shows, asking where they could buy it, treating it like a lost classic. When the studio version was finally tracked, Gretsch Guitars tapped the instrumental for a major ad, with Lindsay Scarey and Rebecca featured front and center. A quiet demo had somehow become one of the band’s most in-demand songs before it ever saw daylight.
Recorded at Station House Studio in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer Mark Rains, “Apocalypse” is the bridge into Halloween Love Songs’ after-midnight terrain: heavier, darker, louder, and built to shake rooms. It’s the sound of a band deep into its evolution with Nicole, Becca, Lindsay, and returning drummer Rikki Watson, pushing garage rock to its breaking point and finding something feral and euphoric on the other side. “Apocalypse” arrives February 3. No future, no kings — just volume.
The Darts On Tour 2026
3.26 Lille, FR – Bistrot de ST SO
3.27 Amiens, FR – Péniche Celestine
3.28 Lauzach, FR – Festival Bouge Ton Cube
4.01 Rouen, FR – Fury Défendu4.02 0rleans, FR – O’PATIO DÉFI
4.03 Vitré, FR – Very Rock Trip Party
4.04 Montaigu, FR – Le Zinor5.01 Sacramento, CA
5.02 Reno, NV
5.03 Chico, CA
5.06 Eugene, OR
5.07 Portland, OR
5.08 Tacoma, WA
5.09 Seattle, WA
5.10 Bellingham, WA
5.12 Yakima, WA
5.14 Salt Lake City, UT
5.15 Grand Junction, CO
5.16 Denver, CO
5.17 Albuquerque, NM
5.19 Tucson, AZ
5.20 Phoenix, AZ
5.21 El Centro, CA
5.22 Los Angeles, CA
5.23 Long Beach, CA
5.24 Oceanside, CA
5.25 Pioneertown, CA
5.27 Las Vegas, NV
5.28 Palmdale, CA
5.29 Santa Cruz, CA
5.30 Oakland, CA6.10 Jersey City, NJ
6.11 Washington, DC
6.12 Richmond, VA
6.13 Raleigh, NC
6.14 Wilmington, NC
6.17 Savannah, GA
6.18 Athens, GA
6.19 Atlanta, GA
6.20 Nashville, TN
6.21 Louisville, KY
6.23 Indianapolis, IN
6.24 Cleveland, OH
6.25 Rochester, NY
6.26 Lake George, NY
6.27 New Haven, CT
6.28 Brooklyn, NY8.26 Eugene, OR
8.27 Portland, OR
8.28 Seattle, WA
8.29 Vancouver, BC8.30 Olympia, WA
#garage #MUSIC #NEWS #PUNKROCK #THEDARTS -
The Darts Strike Hard With New Single “Apocalypse”
Photo by Tina GrossSeattle’s The Darts return with “Apocalypse,” the second advance single from their upcoming LP Halloween Love Songs, arriving March 3. Where “Midnight Creep” danced in B-movie shadows, “Apocalypse” blows the door off the darker half of the album, leaning into caveman rhythms, volcanic fuzz, and the kind of apocalyptic joy that makes destruction sound like deliverance. It hits February 3 and marks the moment the record shifts from spooky fun into full-throttle, after-midnight fire.
The song was born in Angers, France, when singer/organ conjurer Nicole Laurenne wandered through the massive medieval Apocalypse Tapestry, a wall of woven chaos, angels, beasts, storms, the whole cosmic meltdown. “The lightning bolt struck me,” she says. “The song practically wrote itself in the van as we left the castle.” Instead of doom, Nicole leaned into the strange liberation of burning it all down: freedom from suffering, freedom from crowns, freedom from being told what comes next. She wrote the line “no future, no kings” as a mantra of release — and a year later, as if the song had cracked something open, “No Kings” erupted as a protest chant across the U.S. All while the track existed only as a demo on her laptop.
Musically, “Apocalypse” hits like a ritual. A pounding, Neanderthal beat through the verses, wide-open chant on the chorus, and those snaking organ lines that nod straight to The Seeds, The Standells, and other 60s greats who knew how to make the end of the world sound like a block-party with broken amps. Rebecca Davidson’s guitar tone drags the song into modern grit with thick, grimy Mudhoney fuzz, a little L7 bite, and flashes of Bikini Kill’s unbottled anger. It’s garage rock with a cracked halo, stomped through the dirt and set on fire.
https://youtu.be/5VPD6y5c0vk?si=32W7KmpqZX8L-sCB
Long before the album was finished, the band slipped “Apocalypse” into their live sets, and the audience reaction was immediate. People were yelling for it after shows, asking where they could buy it, treating it like a lost classic. When the studio version was finally tracked, Gretsch Guitars tapped the instrumental for a major ad, with Lindsay Scarey and Rebecca featured front and center. A quiet demo had somehow become one of the band’s most in-demand songs before it ever saw daylight.
Recorded at Station House Studio in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer Mark Rains, “Apocalypse” is the bridge into Halloween Love Songs’ after-midnight terrain: heavier, darker, louder, and built to shake rooms. It’s the sound of a band deep into its evolution with Nicole, Becca, Lindsay, and returning drummer Rikki Styxx, pushing garage rock to its breaking point and finding something feral and euphoric on the other side. “Apocalypse” arrives February 3. No future, no kings — just volume.
The Darts On Tour 2026
3.26 Lille, FR – Bistrot de ST SO
3.27 Amiens, FR – Péniche Celestine
3.28 Lauzach, FR – Festival Bouge Ton Cube
4.01 Rouen, FR – Fury Défendu4.02 0rleans, FR – O’PATIO DÉFI
4.03 Vitré, FR – Very Rock Trip Party
4.04 Montaigu, FR – Le Zinor5.01 Sacramento, CA
5.02 Reno, NV
5.03 Chico, CA
5.06 Eugene, OR
5.07 Portland, OR
5.08 Tacoma, WA
5.09 Seattle, WA
5.10 Bellingham, WA
5.12 Yakima, WA
5.14 Salt Lake City, UT
5.15 Grand Junction, CO
5.16 Denver, CO
5.17 Albuquerque, NM
5.19 Tucson, AZ
5.20 Phoenix, AZ
5.21 El Centro, CA
5.22 Los Angeles, CA
5.23 Long Beach, CA
5.24 Oceanside, CA
5.25 Pioneertown, CA
5.27 Las Vegas, NV
5.28 Palmdale, CA
5.29 Santa Cruz, CA
5.30 Oakland, CA6.10 Jersey City, NJ
6.11 Washington, DC
6.12 Richmond, VA
6.13 Raleigh, NC
6.14 Wilmington, NC
6.17 Savannah, GA
6.18 Athens, GA
6.19 Atlanta, GA
6.20 Nashville, TN
6.21 Louisville, KY
6.23 Indianapolis, IN
6.24 Cleveland, OH
6.25 Rochester, NY
6.26 Lake George, NY
6.27 New Haven, CT
6.28 Brooklyn, NY8.26 Eugene, OR
8.27 Portland, OR
8.28 Seattle, WA
8.29 Vancouver, BC8.30 Olympia, WA
#garage #MUSIC #NEWS #PUNKROCK #THEDARTS -
The Darts Strike Hard With New Single “Apocalypse”
Photo by Tina GrossSeattle’s The Darts return with “Apocalypse,” the second advance single from their upcoming LP Halloween Love Songs, arriving March 3. Where “Midnight Creep” danced in B-movie shadows, “Apocalypse” blows the door off the darker half of the album, leaning into caveman rhythms, volcanic fuzz, and the kind of apocalyptic joy that makes destruction sound like deliverance. It hits February 3 and marks the moment the record shifts from spooky fun into full-throttle, after-midnight fire.
The song was born in Angers, France, when singer/organ conjurer Nicole Laurenne wandered through the massive medieval Apocalypse Tapestry, a wall of woven chaos, angels, beasts, storms, the whole cosmic meltdown. “The lightning bolt struck me,” she says. “The song practically wrote itself in the van as we left the castle.” Instead of doom, Nicole leaned into the strange liberation of burning it all down: freedom from suffering, freedom from crowns, freedom from being told what comes next. She wrote the line “no future, no kings” as a mantra of release — and a year later, as if the song had cracked something open, “No Kings” erupted as a protest chant across the U.S. All while the track existed only as a demo on her laptop.
Musically, “Apocalypse” hits like a ritual. A pounding, Neanderthal beat through the verses, wide-open chant on the chorus, and those snaking organ lines that nod straight to The Seeds, The Standells, and other 60s greats who knew how to make the end of the world sound like a block-party with broken amps. Rebecca Davidson’s guitar tone drags the song into modern grit with thick, grimy Mudhoney fuzz, a little L7 bite, and flashes of Bikini Kill’s unbottled anger. It’s garage rock with a cracked halo, stomped through the dirt and set on fire.
https://youtu.be/5VPD6y5c0vk?si=32W7KmpqZX8L-sCB
Long before the album was finished, the band slipped “Apocalypse” into their live sets, and the audience reaction was immediate. People were yelling for it after shows, asking where they could buy it, treating it like a lost classic. When the studio version was finally tracked, Gretsch Guitars tapped the instrumental for a major ad, with Lindsay Scarey and Rebecca featured front and center. A quiet demo had somehow become one of the band’s most in-demand songs before it ever saw daylight.
Recorded at Station House Studio in Los Angeles with Grammy-winning producer Mark Rains, “Apocalypse” is the bridge into Halloween Love Songs’ after-midnight terrain: heavier, darker, louder, and built to shake rooms. It’s the sound of a band deep into its evolution with Nicole, Becca, Lindsay, and returning drummer Rikki Watson, pushing garage rock to its breaking point and finding something feral and euphoric on the other side. “Apocalypse” arrives February 3. No future, no kings — just volume.
The Darts On Tour 2026
3.26 Lille, FR – Bistrot de ST SO
3.27 Amiens, FR – Péniche Celestine
3.28 Lauzach, FR – Festival Bouge Ton Cube
4.01 Rouen, FR – Fury Défendu4.02 0rleans, FR – O’PATIO DÉFI
4.03 Vitré, FR – Very Rock Trip Party
4.04 Montaigu, FR – Le Zinor5.01 Sacramento, CA
5.02 Reno, NV
5.03 Chico, CA
5.06 Eugene, OR
5.07 Portland, OR
5.08 Tacoma, WA
5.09 Seattle, WA
5.10 Bellingham, WA
5.12 Yakima, WA
5.14 Salt Lake City, UT
5.15 Grand Junction, CO
5.16 Denver, CO
5.17 Albuquerque, NM
5.19 Tucson, AZ
5.20 Phoenix, AZ
5.21 El Centro, CA
5.22 Los Angeles, CA
5.23 Long Beach, CA
5.24 Oceanside, CA
5.25 Pioneertown, CA
5.27 Las Vegas, NV
5.28 Palmdale, CA
5.29 Santa Cruz, CA
5.30 Oakland, CA6.10 Jersey City, NJ
6.11 Washington, DC
6.12 Richmond, VA
6.13 Raleigh, NC
6.14 Wilmington, NC
6.17 Savannah, GA
6.18 Athens, GA
6.19 Atlanta, GA
6.20 Nashville, TN
6.21 Louisville, KY
6.23 Indianapolis, IN
6.24 Cleveland, OH
6.25 Rochester, NY
6.26 Lake George, NY
6.27 New Haven, CT
6.28 Brooklyn, NY8.26 Eugene, OR
8.27 Portland, OR
8.28 Seattle, WA
8.29 Vancouver, BC8.30 Olympia, WA
#garage #MUSIC #NEWS #PUNKROCK #THEDARTS -
Long feature article in the SMH about Parramatta Square, with a lot to unpack.
"All of these things happen within a few minutes: a shirtless man riding a skateboard jumps onto a bench and performs a triple somersault; four women in traditional Chinese dresses dance to music blasting from a portable speaker; two Mormons engage in conversation with a man in shorts; strangers – some kitchen staff from the nearby Indonesian restaurant, some in suits – compete at council-provided table tennis tables; about eight government bureaucrats, school students and corporate workers gather around a giant chessboard, appraising each other’s moves; five schoolgirls, some in hijabs and all in Adidas flats, eat ice-cream; and I am approached by a neatly dressed man who invites me to listen to a presentation about God the Mother.
...
"What started as an urban renewal project costing $2.7 billion worked – now Parramatta Square is just urban."
Definitely agree that, especially on weekdays, it's a very vibrant space and an example of urban renewal done well.
"It’s a question brought to the fore by an innocent enough change in tenancy: the main cafe that used to occupy space at the base of the public library is being replaced by the cult American chicken shop Wingstop.
"At Publique, the bistro-style cafe that spread its Prague chairs along the open sides of the French-designed “public living room”, library visitors and tourists, the down-and-out and university students, would all rub shoulders with the lanyard class of state bureaucrats and corporate officers in nearby buildings.
"Wingstop, with 3000 stores worldwide, is unlikely to attract such a crowd. But the change at the square’s flagship venue represents a shift in approach from the council: a daytime-focused venue that mainly attracted people working will turn into a nighttime-focused eatery aimed at young people, especially students.
...
"But Wingstop will be able to do what Publique never managed: stay open late, and on weekends. When the office workers leave and university students go home, Parramatta Square turns eerie. On weekends, the library is often the only place open during the day."
Yes, that space *should* have remained a café.
And, more importantly, Publique *should* have opened on weekends.
Phive, the library building, is absolutely packed with students on a weekend.
If it were open on weekends, many would buy coffees. Food too, if it's tasty abd affordable.
But Publique closed on weekends, in the misguided view that only office workers want coffee.
And then because all the cafés are closed by 1:30pm on weekends, there's less reason /to/ visit on weekends.
(Ironically, the few that are open later do an amazing trade.)
"Zoom out beyond the three-hectare site, and you’ll get a glimpse of the forces that will change how we experience the square.
To the west, land owned by St John’s Cathedral was last year rezoned to allow for the multi-storey development of church premises, with more than 2500 square metres of public space.
"And to the north, machinery is heaving around the site of the future Metro West station precinct, which will practically double the space in the area, with four towers stretching up to 38 storeys.
"Among the towers will be swathes of new public space, also forming part of the new Civic Link strip to connect the CBD to the river."
One of the issues with the Parra CBD at the moment is that so much of it is still under construction.
The other thing that it's sorely missing is arts and cultural spaces, especially a decent sized art gallery and live music venues.
The Parra Powerhouse and a rebuilt Riverside Theatre could help on that front. But I'd look to add a good main history museum, major public art gallery, and reopen the Roxy as an art gallery.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fried-chicken-corporate-towers-and-the-search-for-western-sydney-s-heart-20251230-p5nqpz.html
#Parramatta #WesternSydney #Sydney