Whether it was Jilly’s Rockworld in Manchester, The Kazimier in Liverpool, Gatecrasher in Birmingham, Mint Club in Leeds or The Arches in Glasgow, everyone who has ever grown up in the provinces of the UK will have a local nightclub that will hold a special place in their heart. While these aforementioned totemic nightclubs have sadly all closed their doors in recent years, they and their regional counterparts to be found in every city and every town, from Essex to Aberdeenshire, are just a handful of hundreds across the UK that will have played host to so many seminal nights-out and provided the backdrop to many of our formative years. ‘How Does Your Love’, the latest from erudite Glasgwegian poet and vocalist Declan Welsh with his electrifying band The Decadent West, is a nostalgic nod and optimistic ode to the sticky floors, battered doors and DJ lost-causes, that make regional night clubs such an inimitable and intrinsic part of growing up in the UK.

As Declan explains: 'This is maybe the easiest to misinterpret, I actually think this is a love letter to the power of provincial nightclubs. See, they get a lot of stick and yes I am not a huge fan of Downtown in East Kilbride. But see for 90% of folk, the f**king Berghain is a nightmare. Or like any f**king grocers come techno cocktail bar in Dalston. It's pretentious and cool and it's full of people who go to places to be seen going to places. See Downtown in East Kilbride for all its flaws, people go their to get blitzed and forget about their week. Their week has been sh*te, they know the place they’re in is sh**e but it’s not work so they embrace it. It's also about how kissing someone on a dancefloor is a transcendent experience. Its lame as f**k and everyone around you hates you, but see when you meet someone you fancy on a night out and you both winch to music, no-one else in the world exists, yer hearts going a million miles an hour, it's a rare moment of genuine tunnel visioned bliss. This song celebrates that.'

'How Does Your Love’, swiftly follows the band’s blistering recent single ‘No Fun’. Collectively, both tracks set the scene for one of the year’s most anticipated albums: Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold, the band’s debut LP which will hit the shelves on October 18 via Modern Sky UK.

DECLAN WELSH & THE DECADENT WEST - WINTER UK TOUR

October

Thurs 31        Newcastle Think Tank

November

Sun 3Brighton Hope & Ruin

Mon 4Bristol Louisiana

Tues 5London Notting Hill Arts Club

Wed 6Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach

Fri 8Blackpool Bootleg Social

Sat 9Liverpool Phase One

Sun 10Leeds Lending Room

Mon 11Manchester Jimmys

Wed 13Leicester Cookie

Thurs 14Halifax Lantern

Fri 15Glasgow St Lukes

Sun 17Inverness Mad Hatters

Mon 18Aberdeen Tunnels

Tues 19Dundee Beat Generator

Boudica Festival returns for a third year, returning to The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, where they will showcase the best up and coming womxn*, and non-binary artists in music.The festival features specially curated live music over three stages celebrating inspirational womxn and non-binary performers across the music industry. The festival shows the best up and coming womxn performers from a variety of genres, alongside music workshops and stalls from local artists.

With a female focused line up, Boudica Festival (named after the warrior queen thought to have stood her final battle against the Romans just north of Coventry) is a unique event that gives a platform to and celebrates the wealth and diversity of womxn and non-binary talent in the music industry both on the stage and behind the scenes.

Womxn and non binary artists have always been underrepresented in all aspects of the music industry. Low womxn representation is an industry wide problem, with a growing awareness seeing many festivals being called out for their male dominated lineups. The response from some festival organisers has been there are not enough womxn musicians out there to book. Boudica Festival however seeks to change this opinion by showcasing womxn and non-binary musicians from across a wide spectrum of musical genres across three stages showing this is more than possible.

This year’s festival will  the launch of a new Music Video Competition, which invites filmmakers/musicians to submit music videos that they have worked on which celebrates womxn in front of and behind the camera. During the festival the shortlisted entries will be screened, followed by the announcement of the best music video which will be judged by an all-female panel of creatives. The winner will win a prize of £100. More information on the music video competition can be found here: http://boudicafestival.co.uk/music-video-competition/

This year will see three stages of live music including a local artists stage, showcasing the best up and coming talent in Coventry. Alongside the live music there will be DJ and music coding workshops for budding musicians as well as stalls filled with arts and crafts from local artists.A long term aim of the festival, in addition having a stellar female line-up, has been to form an all womxn events crew, using the expertise of womxn sound engineers, lighting technicians and stage managers. This year we are very proud to have reached that goal. As well as providing a platform, we want to highlight the opportunities available to womxn within the music industry other than performing.

FULL LINE UP INFORMATION

SATURDAY 19TH OCTOBER: LIVE MUSIC

£13 Under 18s & Students / £16 Advance

TUSKS

Virginia Wing

GHUM

Dorcha

TrueMendous

Los Bitchos

Joviale

MORE ACTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

* Womxn is used to express gender fluidity and inclusivity