On 28 November in Belgrade, on a film set in the winter cold, everything changed for Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. They were in Serbia shooting a video when Albarn received the call: his mother-in-law had suffered a stroke in Jaipur and fallen into a coma.

From the moment we booked our tickets, my five-year-old had been on countdown for weeks to see Bluey live on stage. Each morning brought another excited reminder of how many sleeps were left—and when the big day finally arrived at The Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, it absolutely lived up to expectations. My child remained completely captivated from beginning to end.

Talented film and media students from across the UK have been celebrated at the 12th annual Moving Image Awards ceremony held at the British Film Institute in London. Launched in 2014 in partnership with the British Film Institute, the Moving Image Awards celebrate outstanding moving image work by students studying Eduqas Film and Media qualifications.

Blending country charm with an Irish heart, Nathan Carter has become one of the most enduring and beloved figures in modern country music, building a career defined by versatility, determination and a fiercely loyal fan base. Known for his ability to seamlessly merge pop, Irish folk and traditional country sounds, Carter has carved out a unique space in the genre.

Some places have our hearts for all sorts of reasons; the sea has mine even though I no longer live near to it and I have never even been able to swim. We’re an island after all and, Northumberland to Cornwall, the coastal views are magnificent.

There's much to savour on this album, which marks the debut appearance of Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, leading the Vienna Philharmonic in the legendary New Year's Concert. This annual jamboree of festive Viennese waltzes, polkas and marches, broadcast from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, is a tradition that perhaps benefits from the occasional refresh of its familiar formula, and Nézet-Séguin has risen admirably to that challenge.

From March 2026, the world premiere of Northern Ballet’s new full-length ballet – Gentleman Jack – is set to captivate Yorkshire audiences as part of a nationwide tour, with performances in Leeds (7-14 March 2026), Sheffield (31 March – 4 April) and Bradford (3-5 September).

A 10-day festival bringing world-class film to Morecambe has earned rave reviews for its third edition showing an inspiring selection of films with a focus on Northern talent development. The Bay International Film Festival has now confirmed its fourth outing will take place 29 January - 7 February 2027.

Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (ShAFF) returns this March for its 20th anniversary with its most ambitious edition yet. From Friday 20 to Sunday 22 March 2026, the festival brings over a hundred films, conversations and free events to the Showroom Cinema with stories of endurance, sustainability and connection with the natural world.

To Sleep O soft embalmer of the still midnight,       Shutting, with careful fingers and benign, Our gloom-pleased eyes, embower'd from the light,       Enshaded in forgetfulness divine: O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close       In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes, Or wait the ‘Amen’, ere thy poppy throws       Around my bed its lulling charities.

There is also an emotional narrative running through the album. Beethoven is recorded on the 1708 'Huggins' Stradivarius that accompanied Chen after her Queen Elisabeth Competition win, while the Barber introduces the 1720 'General Kyd' Stradivarius, marking both a farewell and a beginning. You can hear that sense of transition in the playing, contemplative but forward-looking.

This decade was the period in popular music when the synthesiser and electronic drums replaced the electric guitar and traditional drums, respectively. If some of the 7” versions now sound like their time, then the 12” versions only go to exemplify the point even further.

Prism Arts, a disability arts organisation based in Carlisle, has announced that two of its studio artists — Emma Evans and Stuart Irving — are currently exhibiting work at major galleries across the north of England. The exhibitions, running through spring 2026, highlight the breadth and ambition of the creative work emerging from Prism Arts and the artists it supports.

Independent Venue Week saw She Drew The Gun pitch up at the fabulous community venue The Crescent in York. The event was billed as an evening of poetry and song; this seemed apt, as there is undoubtedly a poetic element to She Drew The Guns’ music (check out Howl), and I was interested to see how the evening would pan out.

His imagination and creativity shine throughout. The degree of reference ranges from quoted melodies and figurations to more abstract affinities, but in every case Sumino carries Chopin's sensibility forward whilst crossing it with his own contemporary voice. Raindrop Postlude, for instance, unfolds with the feeling of a jazz improvisation. Transposed up by a half-step from Chopin's original flat key into a sharp key, it gains a sense of clarity and brightness—fresh air after rain. Embedded within lies a hidden four-note motif (second, octave, tonic, fifth, spelling out "28/15") as cryptic homage to the original's opus number.

Yorkshire rap collective Bad Boy Chiller Crew began by uploading comedy and prank videos onto social media, which later began to materialise into a musical career as the three-piece became one of the hottest bassline acts in the musical world – even having their own six-part reality television series as well as selling out nationwide tours, besides signing a big record deal with House Anxiety R…

Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is a comic opera that first premiered on May 1, 1786, in Vienna, but is brought bang up to date in this witty, fizzing production directed by Louisa Miller. Performed in its original Italian, with highly amusing modern translations in the surtitles by Lydia French, Figaro is as accessible and entertaining as a Brian Rix bedroom farce.

As the sun bathes Whitby's famous Abbey in golden light on this album's striking cover photograph, Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra illuminate repertoire that has spent far too long in the shadows. This third volume of Overtures from the British Isles continues the conductor's admirable mission to resurrect rarely heard works, delivering three world première recordings alongside pieces that deserve far wider currency.

As a passionate advocate for her instrument, Harman – appointed solo bassoon of the Philharmonia Orchestra at just twenty-three and currently principal bassoon of the Aurora Orchestra – showcases her skills not merely as a soloist and chamber musician, but as an eloquent communicator. Her thoughtfully curated programme demonstrates the bassoon's capacity to transcend its sometimes comedic image and become, in her words, "a voice".