1: Little Mix
With political poetry readings, onstage animal slaughter and a support slot from Einstürzende Neubauten, the Little Mix Get Weird tour certainly lives up to its name. OK, so all of those things are made up, but come on, you don’t go and see Little Mix for weirdness… you go to see dance routines, glitzy costumes and a procession of weapons-grade pop bangers, all of which are pretty much guaranteed here.
2: Yungen
When the south London grime MC recently traded insults with Chip, music site Noisey felt compelled to run a 2,000-word account under the headline “The Beef That Stopped The Internet”. It didn’t – the internet is still going, I checked – but it was a welcome reminder of Yungen’s spiky talents. Watch him unleash the barbs at his London show.
3: New Order
“Return to form” is a phrase seemingly dragged out to describe 90% of releases by returning bands, regardless of whether they’ve just made a masterpiece or simply recorded themselves drunkenly burping through a vocoder. New Order’s Music Complete, however, is genuinely the best thing they’ve done in decades, a mix of saucy disco and nods to their post-punk past that should ensure their Royal Albert Hall show is about more than just yelling for the oldies.
4: Rat Boy
At just 20 years of age, Jordan Cardy is still young enough to be able to get away with performing songs called Fake ID. Do his odes to signing on make him the voice of generation rent? Or is he just a ska-tinged cheeky chappy intent on making venues sweaty? This Glasgow show should provide some answers.
5: Pusha T
Pusha T’s second album, King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, saw him use the lyrical prowess he developed as one half of Clipse to do more than just tell stories of coke-slinging. Tracks such as Sunshine saw him align with rap’s new protest arm, so expect Black Lives Matter and tales of the American Dream turned sour.
