Festival review – Be There or Be Square 2025, Saturday 12th July 2025

With Molly Henry, Heather McDowall, Rebecca French, Meg and Dean, Brad and Ioana, Big Sugar’s Jam Band, Boilers, Leave Your Body Behind, Shallowdrown, Fire Escape, Dum Language and The People Assembly

Reviewed by Thomas Needham

Photographed by Thomas Needham

Be There or Be Square Festival felt like the culmination of the slow and arduous process of rebuilding in the aftermath of the pandemic. The Big Difference has cultivated a distinct community that’s vibrant, artistic, youth-oriented and just about open-minded enough to persevere through my very flat karaoke cover of Sinatra’s Summer Wind. More than anything the festival was a real celebration of the venue’s unique and characterful place in Leicester’s burgeoning cultural scene.

Focusing on the organisation of the festival and the sheer force of will behind those involved to bring this thoroughly DIY venture to fruition, it’s clear to see their hard work and dedication paid off. With over $1700 raised and split between Leicestershire LGBT Centre, Soft Touch Arts and Jasmine House, to call it a success would be an understatement. This is Be There or Be Square 2025.

The festival truly had it all, from poets to artists to musicians. Anyone would think this magazine was called Arts in Leicester or something silly like that. The wall would be decorated forensically with the work of fourteen individual artists, all specialising in different areas from photography to tattoo design and everything in between. Since music is more my forte (ba-dum tsk), I’ll link all those involved and let you decide for yourself.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Tate Laurance, Tyler Bartlam and Robin Hardman

MIXED MEDIA: Lily Hughes and Max Miracle

TATTOO DESIGN: Charlie!!

ANIMATION AND ILLUSTRATION: Millie Hunt, Meg on Toast, Brahm Butler and Tilly Wheatley

PERFORMANCE ART: Vic

FINE ART: Phoebe Walton

3D DESIGN: Olivia Myers

MISCELLANEOUS PIGEONRY: Evie Cook

POETRY: Imani Ahiro and Roz McGreagor-Devlin

Between sets, it was a pleasure to admire their work; the talents of these artists is self-evident, supporting them is just as important as the music, I just don’t have the knowledge to do them justice myself. Support local artists!

Molly Henry would kick off proceedings, hosting the first of many solo sets in the early afternoon. The highlight of Heather McDowall’s set was almost certainly the stripped-back rendition of her latest single HONEY HONEY !!. Despite the DJ on the opposite side of the street constantly turning up his volume, throwing the rhythm a tad out of whack, McDowall soldiered through. In my view, it’s a credit to the sheer power of her voice that the DJ even felt it necessary to turn up his decks. When they hit, they hit hard.

The single itself is a polished piece of pop, deeply in tune with the current era of whimsical, tongue-in-cheek ballads. I too am rather partial to a little Chappell Roan. I should totally start reading in public (and buy stilts). I’m very excited to see what kind of unique spin she puts on the genre going forward; it’s always great to see an artist reclaim their confidence and I hope she runs with it. Heather McDowall is certainly a name to watch out for, much like the next performer, Rebecca French; you can find my previous review of her here.

Admittedly, I can’t comment on the acoustic cover sets by Meg, Dean, Brad and Ioana because I was upstairs interviewing. My bad that Dum Language completely slipped me by that day. However, in my defence, Terry Burton was in Bulgaria, so you know.

Taking sanctuary upstairs with the trio of organisers behind Be There or Be Square, the festival buzzed on from below with a mix of chatter, singing and card-machine beeps.  Despite some performers attempting to get a well-deserved kip, the day was in full swing.

• Would you like to introduce yourselves?

MOLLY: I’m Molly. I was involved with the music side of it, organising which bands were going to play and the social media side of it.

EVIE: I’m Evie, or Stevie, depending on who you ask. I did the art side of it, making all of our posts, posters and pigeons- anything with a pigeon on it was probably made by me.

ARCHIE: Hello, I’m Archie. I’ve been working on the music side, organising the gear and other little projects for promotion like On the Square.

• What inspired you to start organising ‘Be There or Be Square?’

MOLLY: Me and Evie have been friends for a long time, we just kind of had an idea, it would be really cool if we did a little festival. Where we had loads of bands on and a big art show and then we told Archie and Archie was like, hell yeah.

EVIE: I think from an arts perspective, I found there’s very little space for you in the community if you don’t study art and I was in a position where I had work I wanted to show but no clue how and where to show it. I thought, if I feel this, there’s probably loads of other artists who feel this as well. I think that was one of the things that kind of egged me on to say to Molly, like, you know, we both had this idea, should we just do it? We want to create a community where you don’t have to study things to be able to be involved in a scene.

• What is it like operating a day festival in Leicester?

ARCHIE: It’s a lot of fun. The Big Difference has been so helpful; we’re just really lucky to have a wonderful community around us that has been so enthusiastic about helping in every regard. Everyone’s getting involved.

MOLLY: It’s been a bit stressful- even yesterday we had like an act drop out so it’s kind of learning a lot of new things like kind of okay how do we fix this quickly how do we work together as a team to sort this out but I couldn’t have asked for a better team you know but it’s been really fun.

EVIE: I think we’ve been really lucky, especially with the artists. When I first approached people, we had nothing to back us. We didn’t have an account; it was just people trusting our vision. We’re really appreciative of them being so understanding and patient as we organised the festival.

MOLLY: And Ant as well, [the manager of The Big Difference], has been so, so helpful in just kind of letting us do what we want, really, and just going ‘yeah, that sounds like a really good idea go for it.’ We couldn’t really put on today without Ant so big up Ant and The Big Difference staff.

• What is the most challenging part of organising a festival?

EVIE: We’re chronic overachievers. We can’t do things simply- we made everything about ten times more difficult than it needed to be. Everything is handmade, everything is brought by us, made by us and done by us. We did it in such a convoluted way. It’s really stupid.

MOLLY: I think financially as well, although it’s not cost us that much, it has been a little bit of a stress because it’s got to come out of our pockets- it’s such a DIY thing. But we’re only two hours in but it’s paid off already. We’ve made the money back that we’ve spent, so we can donate to really amazing charities.

• What is something people might not realise about what it takes to make a successful festival?

MOLLY: I would say maybe the art side of it to be honest.

EVIE: That’s what I was thinking, I think a lot of people would probably think making an exhibition is really easy. You just say to an artist give me your work and you put it up but it is so much. Everyone puts in so much effort so it’s more than just kind of asking them, it’s composing the whole thing where everyone’s work shines equally which is really difficult to honour.

ARCHIE: Yeah, the biggest one for me I felt is clear communication, making sure that everybody’s on the same page is easier said than done. I think by the end of it we’ve done a pretty good job but you know that was definitely something we had to learn pretty quickly at the start.

MOLLY: For me, the social media side of it has been so important to get the festival to where it is. I didn’t realize how much social media would play a part in it and we’ve done so much promotion for it. I feel like that’s probably one of the reasons why it’s been so busy.

• Your advertising campaign has been incredibly comprehensive. Could you talk us through your branding decisions and the process of releasing such a consistent output?

MOLLY: Yeah, so obviously we had our ideas, [to Evie] you kind of came up with the pigeon idea.

EVIE: Yeah, it’s so Leicester. If I could think of something to be a Leicester logo, it would be a pigeon. And there was no other way for us to make this in my mind that didn’t involve a pigeon as our logo.

MOLLY: So when we were announcing everyone, Evie would make all these amazing art things. And then we put the pictures on it and posted it- like there’s a feature on Instagram, the collaborative post, that’s so helpful. Then we started being like, right, it’s two weeks away, how are we going to do it? Let’s get Isaac [Deacon] in a pigeon costume, walking around town. We were going to do things like how to get to The Big Difference- there’s loads of stuff we didn’t manage to post in the end.

• How did your BBC interview take place? How do you feel it went? How can we attract more mainstream attention to Leicester’s oft-overlooked arts scene?

MOLLY: So I know a girl called Izzy and she works for BBC Radio Leicester and I just got a random WhatsApp message saying ‘we want to talk to you about Be There or Be Square’. I was like, how did you get my number? Oh my God, Arch, Evie, we’ve been asked to do a radio show!

• How do you think it went? 

EVIE: I think it went well. We were terrified. I have a really weird fear of Michael Jackson. and they played a Michael Jackson song before we went on, and it was really scary.

• Which one? 

EVIE: I think it was Beat It.

• Oh, so not even a good one?

EVIE: [laughs] Well, other than Michael Jackson, it went really well, I think. Yeah!

• Wait, why are you so scared of Michael Jackson?

EVIE: You know when he turned white, and he just looked really scary?

• Understandable.

ARCHIE: I think it went really well. The whole radio show was a really surreal experience. I mean, being in there, it’s kind of stressful, because you just sort of start waffling. Which is exactly what I’m doing now. I started going on about when I was 17 and I put on a festival in my house. [Molly and Evie start laughing]

ARCHIE: Oh, no, no, no, we’re not doing it again.

MOLLY: You’ve got to now-

ARCHIE: Okay… So, when I was 17, I put on a festival in my house. And then I just started bringing up that, because I didn’t really know what else to talk about. I’ve never really done much event organizing, aside from that.

EVIE: So they just went on about this house party.

ARCHIE: Yeah, for like five minutes of this interview. And I’ve gone and done it again.

MOLLY: Apparently, everyone said I sounded really Braunstone in it, so I was like, oh, great.

EVIE: Molly actually got told off in the interview.

MOLLY: Yeah, some guy just came up and was like, they told us to speak really close to the microphone, so I was like ‘pshshshsh’ into the mic. And then he just walked in and just went [does a move away gesture] like that to me. I was like, oh, okay.

EVIE: So, she apologizes if you listen. There’s a really gentle sorry. [Archie] didn’t know how to twist the question, because I twisted their questions to be relevant.

ARCHIE: Yeah, no, I’m too tired. Which question was it? What did you want to do when you were five? Did you imagine you’d be doing this when you were five?

• They asked what you thought you’d do when you were five?

EVIE: Yeah- I don’t think a five-year-old would say, oh, I want to host a DIY festival at The Big Difference for charity. My favourite thing was when they asked, ‘where do we find you on social media?’, and [Archie] asked, ‘What, the account, like the festival?’ As if she wanted your personal Instagram.

ARCHIE: Mate, it’s @a.for.archie if she’s asking.

• Where can you find your Instagram? I feel like I should ask that. 

EVIE: @a.for.archie. [laughs]

ARCHIE: Yeah, @a.for.archie and @fireescape.band.

EVIE: No, @bethereorbesquarepresents. Or On the Square, which doesn’t have an Instagram account yet. Does it have a YouTube? It probably will, at some point, it’s not made yet. Future plans! Find On the Square on Instagram, tagged in our bio!

ARCHIE: You’ll also find us on YouTube. And maybe on Spotify. Maybe. At some point.

EVIE: Yeah- we’re going to take over. We’re not ambitious. We’re just real. We will take over the entire industry.

ARCHIE: Be There or Be Square will be bigger than Glastonbury.

• God, I hope so. 

EVIE: Don’t let us have that power. Imagine our egos- We’d be unbearable.

• From your perspective, do you think that all artists need a bit of ego? 

EVIE: You know what I’ve found from putting stuff up? I feel like every artist has a level of insecurity to it. Especially in this exhibition, I’ve found it’s made the artists really vulnerable. So I’ve had a couple of pieces given in to me, where the artists hate the work, and they’re really, really worried about putting it up. And they’ve been so wonderful in kind of just saying, ‘I’m going to give it to you, don’t talk to me about it, don’t say anything, I’m just going to give it to you, and you’ll put it up, and I don’t have a choice.’ And I think it was lovely that they were very open about being vulnerable with that. As much as I think ego plays a part in it, I do think so much of art is just vulnerability and being able to say to your organiser, this isn’t something I’m comfortable with, but if you are going to support me, I’ll do it.

ARCHIE: For bands. I think there has to be a level of confidence to some degree to be able to get up on stage and present yourself to a crowd of faces that you can’t see.

By this point, Molly had gone downstairs to record and take pictures for promotional material; I had to scamper downstairs after forgetting my camera bag at a random table, thus leaving the microphone at the mercy of Evie and Archie.

EVIE: Hello!

ARCHIE: Hello!

EVIE: What should we talk about?

ARCHIE: So, in November, December time, we’re thinking of doing Be There or Be Square Presents, which’ll showcase four bands and four artists. [Submissions are open now via their Instagram account]

EVIE: And do you want to know something else? I found out that lobsters communicate via their urine.

ARCHIE: Do they actually? That’s awesome. Do I have any fun facts? No, all of my facts are evil.

EVIE: Can I have an evil fact? What’s your most evil fact?

ARCHIE: [in deep contemplation] You can fit two raccoons inside your…

EVIE: I thought it was three?

ARCHIE: It could be three. It might be three. Someone try it and let us know. Or don’t. Maybe not. Maybe don’t actually do that.

By this point, The Fun Police (me) had returned, offering to let them to continue as I organised myself and waited for Molly.

EVIE: No, no- I think we reached a really good, natural endpoint. But yeah, Molly’s just better at promoting than we are. She’s actually getting videos. And the people downstairs with the tripod reached out to us and asked if they could make their own documentary. So they came when we were setting up and we’re very excited to see it.

• What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Leicester’s music and arts scene?

ARCHIE: Yeah. I’d say maybe accessibility. I mean, places like The Big Difference are really good for that kind of thing. That’s why we’ve been able to put on this festival, because it’s so accessible. But when you see other venues, and especially for artists as well, it’s really hard to find a space to display whatever art you’re doing. That’s part of the reason why we put this festival on because we want to give people that opportunity and people deserve that opportunity because their art is really good.

MOLLY: I would say Leicester’s such a small city and I don’t think it gets enough recognition, you know, you’ve got London, you’ve got Birmingham and I feel like Leicester gets forgotten about. But there’s such an amazing amount of creativity in Leicester. There are so many amazing artists and so many amazing bands and performers. It’s just a shame that Leicester doesn’t get a lot of recognition for that. Really, that’s one of the main reasons why we wanted to put today on to just showcase how amazing people are in Leicester and how creative and amazing everyone- it’s a nice feeling to have that celebrated.

EVIE: Yeah, I’d agree- there was a statistic that Leicester is the fifth most creative city in the UK? I think everyone has this idea that to be creative, you need to get out of Leicester, and the idea that it’s kind of this left behind sh**hole. It’s really instilled within people but there are so many beautiful, creative places within Leicester. Like Archie says, it comes down to accessibility- it’s really hard to afford getting involved in these scenes. There’s a really good DIY music scene but I think from an arts perspective, and I’ve felt it, if you’re not studying or you don’t have the money to pay to be involved in really wonderful galleries and unless you have an Instagram. There’s no way that you can get your art out to people and that was one of our biggest pushpoints: you shouldn’t have to have money to be able to show your art – that was one of our big driving factors.

• What more can be done to highlight and promote Leicester’s music and art scene?

MOLLY: Go to more gigs.

EVIE: Go to more exhibits.

MOLLY: Buy more beer!

EVIE: Just go out and have a good time.

MOLLY: Yeah- go see your local art exhibits, go support places like Appittame Arts or Soft Touch Arts. Just get out of the house.

EVIE: So much of it is free, every Wednesday there’s a Big Difference Little Gig here, there are so many exhibitions you can go and see. There are ways to do it that don’t cost you money. Two Queens is a gallery that’ll reimburse you because nobody should be unable to access art. There are ways to do it and be involved in the scene that don’t cost money.

ARCHIVE: Get involved. Organise something yourself. It’s what we did and it’s gone incredibly well for us. Bands are always looking for people to help out whether it’s doing photography or doing something with merchandise, even start your own band. There are so many schemes to help people that have never even played an instrument before like there’s the Riotous Collective at Stayfree Music. Just keep an eye out for opportunities.

• What do you make of the prevailing attitude that there’s nothing to do in Leicester? How do we prove them otherwise?

MOLLY: Excuse my language but- f-ck them h-es! [laughs] People who say there’s not enough to do in Leicester have not been out in Leicester. You’ve not been involved in the music. You’ve not been involved in going and seeing art. Yeah it’s not as big as other cities but there’s still stuff to do that’s really amazing.

EVIE: If you don’t think there’s enough to do in Leicester, make something. Make an event, make what you want to see. If you think there’s a gap in the market, make it. Even today, there’s so much. So they’ve got Be There or Be Square, the Cosmopolitan Arts Festival, Two Queens, Phoenix, and LCB Depot. Check out those places – there’s so much going on today, it’s a great day for the Leicester community.

• What’s the story behind the creation of your mascot… Pascal the Pigeon?

EVIE: [laughs] Probably one of the most stupid things I’ve come up with creatively. Most of my work is like really detailed architectural stuff, so the fact that I’m now known for pigeons is hilarious. Pascal was born out of my true love for Leicester pigeons. I think they’re misunderstood. I feel really bad for pigeons. We should show them more love. We domesticated them and because of the way they view ancestral homes, they still think the places we’ve built on are their homes and that’s why they flock there. [Evie goes to collect the Pascal hat for a picture] The reason we came up with the costume is because Molly got very drunk and told Isaac that I can make costumes and he said if you make it I’ll wear it. And I then had to make this. I papermasched the whole thing. It stemmed from the fact that every year Molly has a themed birthday party and I refuse to buy costumes. I will only make them from recycled stuff. So this was my biggest challenge yet, and I’m proud of this weird little freaky thing. The only thing I’m cautious about is if I don’t get the whole top [in the picture], it might look like I’m a TERF. That’s my only fear.

For the record, despite talking about this immediately prior, I still failed to get the entire top in. On Evie’s behalf, the top says ‘TERF BITER’. While I went downstairs again to get pictures of Rebecca French, the microphone was again left at the mercy of more fun facts…

EVIE: All koalas are born with chlamydia, because they eat each other’s s**t… [to Joel, Lewis and Rowan of The People Assembly as they write their setlists] Do you guys know any fun facts?

ROWAN: No, I don’t have any. No fun facts. Recipes don’t count.

LEWIS: Yeah they do, it’s a fact?

ROWAN: Yeah but it’s not fun.

EVIE: A recipe would be allowed because he [Tom] has to actually listen to all of this.

And as revenge, now you all have to read it.

ROWAN: I can’t do it. It’s all gone wrong.

LEWIS: This interview is really rubbish. Sorry, Tom.

EVIE: Sorry, Tom.

ROWAN: Sorry, Tom.

It’s okay guys : )

• Why did you choose The Big Difference as the venue to host your festival?

ARCHIE: Well, I know for a lot of local bands in Leicester, The Big Difference has been such an important part of starting a project and starting a band. They have a wonderful policy where they don’t take a cut from the ticket sales, so today all of the money will be used to pay the sound technician and the rest is given to charity. They make all their money from drinks so it’s been a pleasure really.

EVIE: I feel like it almost wasn’t even a question. The moment we came up with it, we were like, oh yeah, The Big Difference. It wasn’t even a discussion really. If they let us, we’ll do it.

MOLLY: Yeah, obviously, with the exhibition, we wanted somewhere that would be able to show it in all its beauty, and The Big Difference is the perfect venue. We just loved The Big Difference. I love it here. It’s got a real sense of community to it.

• In one of your ads, there’s a pigeon that poked its head out the ground. What happened to that pigeon? 

MOLLY: We were just sitting in a Wetherspoons and I got up to go say hi to a friend. I come back, there’s just a pigeon under the chair.

EVIE: [Molly] screamed.

MOLLY: Yeah, I screamed. I was terrified. There’s just a pigeon poking around and then an old guy was like, ‘oh yeah, have you seen the pigeon that lives under there?’

EVIE: Apparently there’s an underground system and all the pigeons live underneath Spoons.

MOLLY: So we have no idea what happened with that. We didn’t save it-

EVIE: But we did give it a bit of pizza.

MOLLY: We were just as confused as you are.

EVIE: We got told he lived there.

ARCHIE: Yeah, we got told it was fine and they’re just always there.

• Who is Pascal the Pigeon? What was the creative decision behind his creation? Does he have an official backstory?

MOLLY: Ooh yeah we were discussing the backstory

EVIE: Yeah, he’s been banned from countries. He’s not allowed to go to Budapest. He’s a mother to five-

MOLLY: He’s like an ex-military. He’s just a silly goofy guy. He’s reformed now.

EVIE: NO, NO, NO- He doesn’t vote-

MOLLY: I said reformed! [laughs]

• What was the thinking behind who you chose to perform as musicians, speakers and artists?

ARCHIE: Well, at the beginning, we drew up a huge list of every artist we could think of in Leicester and we sort of just picked the artists that we would want to watch. When there are future projects, we’re open to all artists and we can’t wait to put as many people on as possible.

MOLLY: Yeah, I think like me and Archie are in bands, (Molly is in Shallowdrown and St Brigids, Archie is in Fire Escape) and obviously Evie’s an artist, so we wanted to put our friends on, like yeah, like let’s showcase our friends and their amazing talents.

• What are the requirements for you to consider your event a success?

MOLLY: I think it’s been a huge success already. People are here enjoying themselves.

EVIE: For us, as long as we help to strengthen our community, it’s a win. Even if everything went terribly if we help build a bit more of an arts community, if we help to raise a little bit of money for charity, then that’s a win for us

• I get the impression you’re all interested in hosting another festival? 

MOLLY: YES.

ARCHIE: YES.

MOLLY: YES, YES, YES. We would love to, we’re already planning future events and stuff.

• Are there any details or is it all on the down low?

MOLLY: We kind of need to have a sit down but we’ve announced On the Square and we’ve got Be There or Be Square Presents.

ARCHIE: Yeah, we’re not really 100% on the details yet, but the ideas are there and after today they’re getting formed properly – there’ll be an announcement at some point.

• Is there anything you’d change for future events?

EVIE: More pigeons. We’ve not done enough pigeons; I fear we need more.

ARCHIE: We could bring in the five kids.

MOLLY: Stay tuned for the drama!

ARCHIE: I can’t think of anything else really.

MOLLY: Yeah, we’ve slayed it.

Packing up for the interview, we’d all funnel downstairs for the first band of the evening, Big Sugar’s Jam Band.

Speaking of slaying- Big Sugar dies. The king of the on-stage gimmick paid the ultimate price; his jam band, no more. Presumably, someone wasn’t very happy with Mr. Sugar’s incessant abuse of the bass pedal. If you’re now feeling guilty that you’ve missed the bus on Big Sugar’s Jam Band, you have the chance at redemption when The Juliettes play their farewell gig this Saturday at The Big Difference.

With the same line-up as my last review (now with the added inclusion of Liam Thomas on the doohicky), Deacon and company brought a Bossa Nova twist to proceedings, with, of course, a drum solo leading into a jam-cover of Duke Elligington’s jazz-standard Caravan. There would be no rushing, there would be no dragging; the band remains an ever-talented bunch.

Confusion was abundant as the feathery fella was lugged backstage, a potent mix of sorrow and total stupefaction hung in the air until it was clarified, ‘that’s the end of the show, you can all go home’. Some grieved, some giggled – all would eventually file out of the basement. All I was left wondering was if Pascal the Pigeon technically counts as a fursona or not. Truly, this is the thinking man’s magazine. They’ve left the nest… The birds have flown… Won’t you fly high, free bird…

Without delving too much into the Riotous Collective (hint, hint for my next article) – Boilers are defiant in their sheer joy. Their zany, driving punk instrumentals steamroll opposition while tackling oft-overlooked subjects and themes. In a country where no fun is allowed, Boilers (and more widely Riotous Collective) provide an antidote and avenue for those who traditionally wouldn’t have such an opportunity. That alone is something to cherish, but more on that soon.

Drummer and lead vocalist Fish has effortless interpersonal skills with an audience. From interjections during brief interludes in the music to the tales told before each track, it’s enticing, exciting and incredibly entertaining. Boilers know exactly who they are and exude confidence on-stage; they play to their audience and thrive directly because of it. Top bants were had by all.

I don’t know how many bands could get away with songs about having a thinly veiled fetish for assorted puddings (or at least I hope lyrics like ‘creaming over pavolvas’ is a metaphor), but Boilers certainly can. There’s probably a joke about this country being an Eton Mess to be made somewhere (zing!!). To prudes fretting about impropriety or the lack of instrumentation- you do know this is a punk group, right?

‘How dare this thing designed to challenge my preconceptions and make me uncomfortable, challenge my preconceptions and make me uncomfortable!’ You only have to start worrying if they open an afternoon tea shop. Guitarist Barbe, outside of simply being lovely to talk to about the Riotous Collective’s history, provides a guitar brimming with attack and defiant vigour. McFly’s bass can simultaneously be foreboding in isolation but get a real pep-in-its-step when coupled with Fish’s Moe Tucker-esque drums, namely on songs like Big Dinners. Overall, thoroughly witty, thoroughly entertaining and thoroughly worthy of your support.

Hot off the heels of their latest album, ‘If You Must Close Your Eyes To See’, Leave Your Body Behind offers a solid, sickly sweet, shoegaze-y homage to the sixties. Think less Austin Powers and more jaunty progressions and genuinely enthralling harmonica solos. With that the band puts a modern spin on the sound of Small Faces and the mid-era Beatles with a helping dollop of early-era King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard.

Putting everyone else to shame was the ever immaculately dressed Max Miracle, who flew through renditions of songs like Rings of Confusion. Bassist Diogo Macedo lays down a funky low end that allows Ben Hickman to go hog-wild with his guitar licks and runs that come straight out of Revolver’s playbook. It’s this ability to combine homage with George Budd’s more alternative-influenced drumming that gives the band their characteristic carefree breeziness.

While I left temporarily, the show went on with Shallowdrown, Fire Escape and Dum Language taking to the stage. I did manage to catch a performance by Shallowdrown at Firebug and Duffy’s Bar Bank Holiday Festival on the 24th August and they were superb. As soon as I arrived, I immediately understood why people have raved about their star power.

Treading that fine line between alternative licks and gothic lamentation. Molly Henry has one of the best voices in the entire scene; when backed with Lenny Allott’s howling guitar work, it’s a completely different ballpark to what I heard during her more intimate acoustic set. Dom Tawiah on bass and Sam McClean on drums know almost instinctively when to give Molly the centre stage and when to give you tinnitus. There was never a moment in their set where I thought something didn’t quite pay off; it’s a handle over their material and their individual talents as writers and performers that tells me Shallowdrown has got the juice. I’ll certainly be tuning into their EP when that releases on November 22nd and you should too.

Since I can’t comment on Fire Escape (other than stalk their story and get sad I wasn’t there) I’ll do some shilling instead. They’ll be playing a string of shows from the all-day Luv Luv Luv Festival at Firebug and Duffy’s Bar this Saturday (30/08/25) to Duffy’s Bar on 24th September and The Big Difference on 4th October. For my thoughts on Dum Language, you can find my review of them at Creepy Crawlers Festival here.

Conveniently, I was back in time to see The People Assembly close off the night, not with a gig but with a victory march. For 75 minutes, I was reminded why I should probably invest in some ear protection soon. That foreboding sense of dread? Yeah, scratch that. These days, I tend to smile into the void; the void, in turn, smiles back. If I knew my neutoricism would be used in their advertising, I’d have written a snappier punchline in my first review… Uhh it’s better than crack!

Met with a raucous reception, these shamans of silly sounds and two-step trots delivered the goods. The gloves, as well as the shirts, were well and truly off. Christ, was it hot… At least drummer Andrew Bassett had a fan! The rest of us were sweating like pigs (something, something Swinewhale hardy-hardy harr), although lambs to the slaughter is perhaps a more accurate metaphor for the average People Assembly audience experience.

Despite this, the only casualty of the night would ultimately be Joel Page’s guitar, as bassist Lewis Bates translated leftist dialectics into material action, abolishing Page’s private property. If you’re wondering what’s on Joel’s head, that’d be the headstock of his guitar.

Leicester isn’t perfect. With venues on the ritz, creatives skedadaling to faraway lands and access to the arts increasingly becoming a privilege, it’s important to recognise and preserve the work of those already giving it their all to make our city a hub for the creatively inclined. Their efforts will continue to prove themselves invaluable.

My attitude towards the city of my birth was previously outright apathetic. Before getting involved, my heart was once only open to the one institution in this country that still works (spoons). Now I see I was but a fool. It’s been a pleasure to be proven wrong over the last eight months – if you take anything away from this article, get involved. The barrier to entry for aspiring organisers, musicians, artists, poets, and, as I’ve found, even p̶o̶n̶d̶s̶c̶u̶m journalists is minimal. Be the change you want to see.

I’ve met so many wonderful people since I started writing for Music in Leicester, all brimming with different stories, perspectives and ideas that I love wittering about and hope eventually get the recognition they deserve. In the meantime, I’d like to congratulate and thank all the artists and performers on show, I hope they continue to find success doing what they love. The Big Difference staff, from the sound technicians to the bar staff, who are always a pleasure and exceedingly patient. And above all, Molly, Evie and Archie, who absolutely smashed it, I can’t wait for the next one.

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