Imagine, if you can Janis Joplin fronting Chic, and you have some idea of the level of imagination and musicianship that Kaz Hawkins and her band bought to bear for their show at Lichfield Guildhall as part of their first UK tour.

Playing songs from their recent, critically acclaimed release, Get Ready the group play a wide selection of their own songs, as well as a choice selection of covers. With a voice that was part Etta James, Janis Joplin, and part Bonnie Raitt, Kaz Hawkins lead the band through an explosive, but commercial mix of blues, rock and soul, and some disco rhythms thrown in for good measure.

Her three piece band of drummer Ross Hawkins, bassist Michael McKinney and lead guitarist Nick McConkey provide sympathetic backing that leaves plenty for the ears and feet to digest, providing funky, motown inspired riffs one moment, to heartrending ballad playing the next, but the star of the show is Hawkins herself, leading the band, and the audience through the life that had inspired her work.

‘Believe With Me’ a waltz time ballad was a song about redemption and self belief, and ‘I'm Mad, but I Love You’ looks at the trials that all relationships go through; a melodic southern rock song with traces of the Allman Brothers, ‘Drink with the Devil’ is a swing jazz number. Vocally, the highlight of the first set is ‘Born to Me Baby’, a slow blues number that shows off the highs of Hawkin’s voice, and the pin sharp playing of the group. A rare cover is thrown in with Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ which robbed the song of it usual bombast, and instead had a far more intimate treatment for this reading.

Though the set half packs in a lot more upbeat numbers, it still leaves space for a heartfelt ‘Lipstick and Cocaine’ which is a largely autobiographical song, whilst a new song ‘It Ain’t You’ is a stomping disco flavoured piece which will hopefully become a live favourite.

This was a fine concert, and hopefully the band will go on to reap the rewards that they so richly deserve.Imagine, if you can Janis Joplin fronting Chic, and you have some idea of the level of imagination and musicianship that Kaz Hawkins and her band bought to bear for their show at Lichfield Guildhall as part of their first UK tour.

Playing songs from their recent, critically acclaimed release, Get Ready the group play a wide selection of their own songs, as well as a choice selection of covers. With a voice that was part Etta James, Janis Joplin, and part Bonnie Raitt, Kaz Hawkins lead the band through an explosive, but commercial mix of blues, rock and soul, and some disco rhythms thrown in for good measure.

Her three piece band of drummer Ross Hawkins, bassist Michael McKinney and lead guitarist Nick McConkey provide sympathetic backing that leaves plenty for the ears and feet to digest, providing funky, motown inspired riffs one moment, to heartrending ballad playing the next, but the star of the show is Hawkins herself, leading the band, and the audience through the life that had inspired her work.

‘Believe With Me’ a waltz time ballad was a song about redemption and self belief, and ‘I'm Mad, but I Love You’ looks at the trials that all relationships go through; a melodic southern rock song with traces of the Allman Brothers, ‘Drink with the Devil’ is a swing jazz number. Vocally, the highlight of the first set is ‘Born to Me Baby’, a slow blues number that shows off the highs of Hawkin’s voice, and the pin sharp playing of the group. A rare cover is thrown in with Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ which robbed the song of it usual bombast, and instead had a far more intimate treatment for this reading.

Though the set half packs in a lot more upbeat numbers, it still leaves space for a heartfelt ‘Lipstick and Cocaine’ which is a largely autobiographical song, whilst a new song ‘It Ain’t You’ is a stomping disco flavoured piece which will hopefully become a live favourite.

This was a fine concert, and hopefully the band will go on to reap the rewards that they so richly deserve.

With an abundance of festivals all over the UK, to add another to an already overflowing array may seem daft to many. To Middlesbrough promoters The Kids are Solid Gold and Pay For The Piano, however, it seemed like a great idea and from that idea Twisterella was born.

The festival is spread across five venues just off Middlesbrough Town Centre, and boasts a line-up of over 40 up and coming local, national and international bands. We arrive early in the afternoon heading straight to Teeside University Union, to catch the awesome Fatherson, their brand of Scottish indie rock audible even from the street.

Entering the venue, we’re hit by a wall of sound and settle in for a particularly rocky set, it's no wonder why Fatherson are on the up. Unfortunately their set is over all too soon for our liking, though we’re certain that this isn’t the last time we’ll catch these guys.

We swiftly move on and with so many bands to see we head to one of our favourite Middlesbrough venues, Westgarth Social Club. We’re just in time for Spaniards IEPI, from the outset these guys are here to blow away the early afternoon cobwebs. A total out and out aural assault, delivered with visceral power and guile.

When we thought our ears could not take anymore, the utterly phenomenal That Fucking Tank replaces IEPI. Hardly a new band unlike many of those on today’s line-up, Tank are here to show their prowess. Their instrumental rock is unrivalled and they prove themselves as true behemoths. As usual, we’re completely blown away, by their set.

Today is seemingly growing from strength to strength, and as Night Flowers take to the stage everyone seems to be getting in the swing of things. Hailing from Humberside, their set is something of a move away from the previous rock behemoths. A much poppier affair, but an accomplished set from a band that are on the up, lead singer Hetty charms us as she dances away and serenades the amassing crowds at Westgarth.

We make our way over to TS One, to see a north east representative in the form of The Lake Poets play a rare solo set. The venue is packed to the rafters with standing room between the tables only as Martin takes to the stage, his sweet voice coupled with his particularly dark lyrics he has the crowd locked in from the first note. His mesmerising delivery and his awesome talent cements his place as one of the best north east artists around right now.

Unfortunately though our time with The Lake Poets is cut short as this packed line-up forces our hand, making our way back to The Westgarth to see one of our favourite bands, Menace Beach. Arriving as they take to the stage, their set proves to be one of their best and one of the most random of the day. Before they’ve even begun Ryan Needham has covered his mic with his sock.

Their passionate indie rock sounds as fierce as ever today, with tracks like ‘Drop Outs’, ‘Tennis Court’ and ‘Fortune Teller’ all sounding on top form. Every time we think we’ve seen something great today another band trounces their efforts and for us Menace Beach are top of the pile today. We’re left overly excited about their debut long player which is coming early 2015.

We take a short breather before making our way to The Keys for the first time, entering the venue we’re really unsure of what to expect. All we can see is dancing lights and a hefty crowd of people milling round, though it’s not long before Bad Breeding are let out of their cages. These guys come out of the traps already fired up, with an aural assault that is unrivalled by any other band on this bill.

As their lead singer throws himself around the stage and then into the crowd, the band remains unbelievably tight. It’s a performance of epic proportions and we’re just blown away by the atmosphere and the excitement that builds as the set reaches its crescendo. As the band literally stand on each other. there’s a truly triumphant intensity to the end of this short but incredible set.

We leave The Keys sweaty and overwhelmed as we fall back in to TS One to catch the start of the acoustic stage headliner the ever-brilliant Sweet Baboo, who has long been a favourite of ours. Tonight is no different and he takes to the stage to rapturous applause; a rare solo appearance completely stripped back his songs to their barest, but we unfortunately have to leave , once again showing the strength of this line-up.

We head along to The Westgarth again, just in time for the up and coming Happyness, with a ton of radio play and support tours under their belt, we’re excited to see them again, the only problem is this excitement is very short lived. Last time we saw these guys they supported Speedy Ortiz and we thought their banter was nerves and perhaps slightly misplaced. It turns out that’s really not the case; they’re just rather rude, patronising and far from happy.

Their attitude severely detracted from their mediocre music. We get the fact your from that big city down south, no need to force it down the people of Middlesbrough’s throats. They just come across so obtuse and obnoxious, it leaves us feeling slightly annoyed that we’d left Sweet Baboo to see this shambolic waste of time.

We head off early and head to The Keys as the awesome Brontide take to the stage. These three unassuming guys unleashing their intense brand of post rock, drawing us in. There’s a wall of noise as we occupy the front of the stage, eyes wide staring in awe at the sheer amount of noise that these three guys create. By the time the band are done with us, we’ve forgotten about everything that had previously happened, as we float down the street back to The Westgarth to finish our evening.

We catch the well-tipped Longfellow, a band we’ve never heard at all but they’re accomplished set of indie rock has a very polished sound, though is pleasant enough. They hold the crowd well and whilst it’s not setting our world alight, we’re almost positive that these guys will be huge before long. Just like the next and final band to take to the stage at The Westgarth.

Prides have played the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games and they’re certainly one of the most fancied acts on today’s bill. Despite the time creeping on and an impending long journey home, we stick around for this Glaswegian trio. These guys have honed their sound that is made quite clear the only problem is there’s very little deviation away from it.

Fortunately it’s a pleasant sound though, and the band are set to be huge. With excellent reason too, in a few months we shall look back on this, as it’ll be one of those we were there moments. Their set is accomplished and sounds as huge as their ambition; tracks like the new single ‘I Should Know You Better’ are burnt in to our minds with their exquisite hooks we find ourselves humming on the way home.

Overall though, despite one minor hiccup, we’re completely blown away by the inaugural Twisterella Festival. These guys have their pedigree as individual promoters but combined they’re unbelievable, today is a complete triumph from start to finish. Fantastic line-up and even better organisation, having been to so many inner city festivals the trek between venues is always a pain but Twisterella have this down to a tee.

We’re overwhelmed by the talent that we’ve seen today, special thanks has to go to Menace Beach and the unbelievably awesome Bad Breeding. Both bands we’re sure will be huge and for the right reasons. The long drive home seemed like nothing as we’re surviving purely on the adrenaline of the day. We simply cannot wait for Twisterella 2015.

It’s a Friday, and 23 year old Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg of Avi Buffalo stands on the deck at the Islington Assembly Hall, relaxed and working his way around an arpeggio. The band have opened with ‘So What’, lead single from his second album with his band. Although your average Avi Buffalo show contains a fair amount of fret-wanking, Zahner-Isenberg’s confidence as a guitar player is pleasantly at odds with his self-consciousness as a lyricist - as this small, white-jeaned Long Beacher cranes his neck to reach his microphone, it’s hard to work out exactly where he’s trying to pitch his tent.

With the rather sad title of At Best Cuckold, the band’s second outing is less winsome, more crafted and a bit less obnoxious than its predecessor. It’s been a four-year wait, and it’s not just the absence of any questionable song titles (although the first album’s delightful ‘Five Little Sluts’ doesn’t get an airing tonight, we are treated to a stripped-down solo rendition of the evocative, ‘Summer Cum’) that belies his maturity. The new album feels less throwaway, more carefully put together. After the Californian insouciance of their self-title debut, Zahner-Isenberg describes new LP as his ‘tribute to the ballad’, and although the lyrics occasionally still smack of hash-brownie nonsense (“I’m a cheese ball on fire” from ‘Memories Of You’, or the cod-confessional “I ran over two dogs / Then I ate them” from ‘Overwhelmed With Pride’ [unless he actually did that, in which case, harsh mate]), there are some more moving passages to Avi Buffalo songs, more touching than the hey-nonny nonniness of his debut. Although often the vocals still sound like Steven Malkmus having his balls tightly squeezed, when the rest of the band leaves the stage and it’s just this guy in a spotlight, eyes closed, noodling around on ‘Jessica’ or stripping down tracks on a piano, the whole shebang seems less smug, a bit more heartfelt. As he says, ‘I can’t express these thoughts without mistakes’. It almost makes you want to forgive him for the faux-mantic reference “my boner pressed, up to your chest” on ‘Memories Of You’.

And even some of the stranger tracks from Cuckold have a blistered nerve sticking out of them, as the oneiric piano of ‘Oxygen Tank’ (a song borne out of Zahner-Isenberg’s Cormac McCarthy dream about a murderous man with an oxygen tank) is punctured by a heartfelt, non-falsetto “if I don’t start seeing through those lies you tell me every day”. This split between nonsense and tenderness is actually a powerful weapon, because although this Californian wunderkind can nail a distorted a spotlight guitar solo like it was Baker Street in a jazz bar, the mood of his songs can shift from psych madness to sad, alter-ballad in the space of four minutes. As the band return to the stage to finally whip out 2010’s, light and breezy ‘What’s In It For Me’, one is struck with the feeling that four years seem to have taken their toll on Avi Buffalo. And this is no bad thing.

Before We Were Promised Jetpacks roll onto the stage, The Lexington crowd is treated to tremendous support from fellow Scots Fatherson, a Biffy Clyro inspired group of 20-somethings who grab the room by the scruff of the neck with snapping drums and superb vocals. Emblematic of angst-ridden indie rock, Fatherson are a tight outfit that seem destined for huge success. Festival main stages are surely just one or two hits away.

A small wait later and Scottish Indie Rockers We Were Promised Jetpacks burst out of the traps. Now as a five-piece, welcoming Stuart McGachan in on keys, the band have truly mastered the art of the build-up. With phenomenal thunderous rhythm behind each and every song the set is packed full of energy and the hardcore fans at the front are regularly sent into frenzy throughout the night.

Following the release of Unravelling, their third LP, front-man Adam Thompson announces, that “this is the final night of our UK tour so let’s have a party.” With that, every note played and every drum hit feels like it is building to something and it’s clear that even those who had clearly been taken along by friends and partners can’t resist getting involved as the band hit full-throttle.

The difference in style between Unravelling and previous releases, These Four Walls (2009) and In the Pit of the Stomach (2011) is stark when new material is interspersed throughout the setlist. With a slightly slower tempo it creates less furore, feeling more mature and bass-driven, with more intricate compositions replacing the racing indie riffs of old. 

All in all, it’s a hugely energetic show and the crowd ricochets to ‘Short Bursts’ and ‘Quiet Little Voices’, while the highlight of the night comes through ‘Keeping Warm’ which ambles to a huge crescendo sending the venue into raptures. 

The band depart with ‘It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning’ from debut album These Four Walls and the intensity of the track peaks as Adam Thompson screams, “Your body was black and blue.” As it does, it is as if Thompson’s voice is stretching so far it might snap, but it’s this passion, mirrored by the crowd that make We Were Promised Jetpacks so captivating live and a few bodies certainly will be black and blue on Thursday.