1 Secret Garden Party
Famed for its quirky decadence, the Cambridgeshire festival bows out this year, with founder Freddie Fellowes explaining that “you can’t be avant garde from within an institution”. Before that, they’ll stage one last almighty bash with help from Ray BLK and Peaches.
Abbots Ripton, 20-23 July
2 Sheer Mag
Like a more punk-minded Alabama Shakes, this Philadelphia outfit make raw, groovy rock engorged with emotion – mainly a result of frontwoman Tina Halladay’s rasping but full-bodied vocal. They tour their debut Need to Feel Your Love this month.
Islington Assembly Hall, N1, 20 July; The Lughole, Sheffield, 21 July; touring to 23 July
3 Jorja Smith
There’s generally not much overlap between the West Midlands and international R&B superstardom, so when Drake was pictured in a Co-op in Walsall recently there could only be one explanation: he was popping to the shops with local girl Jorja Smith. Injecting the glossy world of R&B with a down-to-earth British flavour, Smith featured on Drake’s More Life after winning fans with the Dizzee Rascal-interpolating, bus-route-referencing Blue Lights. See her in action around the UK this week.
Latitude festival, nr Southwold, 15 July; Longitude festival, Dublin, 16 July; Electric Brixton, SW2, 20 July; touring to 22 July
4 Songhoy Blues
The final gig in Somerset House’s series of beautifully staged outdoor shows belongs to the Timbuktu group, whose fun and frantic blues are matched by an astonishing backstory that takes in both a jihadist organisation and Damon Albarn.
Somerset House, WC2, 16 July
5 Sunn O)))
So heavy is this Seattle band’s drone metal that it can seem almost comically doom-laden – their long black gowns and hammy stagecraft suggest that may be deliberate. Either way, there’s an entertaining night out among the experimentation.
Manchester, 15 July; Glasgow, 16 July; Belfast, 17 July; Dublin, 18 July; Leeds, 19 July; Brighton, 20 July
