In 2025, the STARS Come Out To Play
You don’t need to be rich and famous to be a star in this world
You just need to twinkle and shine.
© Rhona Murphy, with kind permission: February 2025 - Louise Schofield, Laurie Wright and I See Orange at The Bands Come Out To Play https://instagram.com/rhonamurphyphoto/
The industrious, interdependent music sector is ablaze with energy as artists and allies fight - alongside Music Venue Trust and more - to save the nation’s inclusive community centres of uplift. If you’re a musician and you haven’t already, twinkle here:
The Artist and the Music Ecosystem - Make the Pledge
https://bit.ly/theartistpledgemvt
Yes, some stars ARE famous to the point of legendary. We are blessed to have such a giant arts heritage from this tiny dot on a world map. Celebration: The Musos Awards, Thursday 6th March, Electric Ballroom, Camden. We NEED a (guitar bands flavoured) party! The Musos Awards Tickets
#musosawards legends 2025 - ever single one has performed in a grassroots music venue
Independent Ideas and Ideals Shape 2025
A year in which the stars really are coming out to play - at every level - with words, action and those all too important MOMENTS of song and live show. Musicians are doing it for themselves.
Recently, TheZineUK doc attended a start to finish flamed sets evening ‘The Bands Come Out Today’ where finalists (from over 450 applications) pulsed performances that belong on bigger stages, to earn an appearance supporting Laurie Wright at the iconic, Electric Ballroom.
Music world friends are coming togeth from all over for this. Happy 30th anniversary, Soccer Six!
Harvey Jay Dodgson (photographed by Rhona Murphy) will appear live at The Musos Awards 2025 on a stage that has witnessed Public Enemy, Blur, Supergrass, Billie Eilish, Garbage, Madness, Stormzy, The Clash, Fontaines DC, Foals, Prince, Sir Paul McCarney, Harry Styles, Muse, The Killers, Phil Lynott, Tom Morello, Joy Division, Megadeth, and Rick Astley (to name but few!). Having caught Harvey via This Feeling, it’s another take off from the runway of what we call Zone Airport.
Musicians are not just staging their own award ceremonies, shows, festivals etc but again making their opinion felt. We have a big love for Featured Artists Coalition and all who sail with them.
Situationism’s alt-arts tapestry shines bright against the harsh thundercloud backdrop of “reality”. Escapism to light up dark feeling days. The euphoria felt at The Bands Come Out To Play is the DNA of The Musos: An inclusive warm welcome. Hot live music. Cool style. Cold drinks and of course although all the 2025 nominations are winners (and an instant circuit of recommendations sector for music) the announcements of the overall champs of this year.
Outright winner at The Bands Come Out To Play is FNTSY already with a big stage presence (see 6th March, Camden!). Image © Rhona Murphy - used with permission.
Can you FEEL it?
Spring is coming. Artists are shaping the now and next culture through achievement and tenacity.
Time to UN-decimate! The industrious interdependent sector is timely.
Who is genuinely in support of what social positivity musicians create?
Cro Cro Land, Decolonise Fest and LOUD WOMEN Fest - to name but an exciting few who are shaping TheZineUK documentary of a newer arts riot. Artists For Arts For ALL.
Amidst the £ awarded awards; Oscars, MOBOS, Brits etc - musicians have created and are staging the first #musosawards event of this generation. Part of the grassroots venue alt rock community, it’s no surprise to see familiar favourite faces and spaces in the 2025 nominations.
The inaugural Decolonise Fest meeting saved my post-Brexit mental health and has gone on to be a key expanding community with a rising star alumni. By and for punx of colour creating events which are inclusive of every music fan is a beautiful thing.
2025: The ZineUK doc has felt alliance with …
This Feeling Big In 2025, Nova Twins and ALT BLK ERA shaking The MOBOs. The Music Fans Voice survey shaping live music. Artists protesting at the "government" choosing sides with AI corporations. The Last Dinner Party shouted out grassroots music venues at The Brits: "None of this would be happening without them". Relevantly, Featured Artists Coalition and Music Venue Trust are original golden threads of a story currently knitting tighter.
More from Myles Smith to follow, but in the mean time, solidarity; here is the ticket to the 20th March, Camden Assembly show (14+) event. First glimpsed and enjoyed Alien Blaze at This Feeling Big In 2023.
Promoting GOOD things
Solidarity and collaboration are essential in a time where wrong 'uns wage war and sew division for more. The arts hearts remind us that most people in our world are good. They sign autographs not bombs.
As if we are living on John Kennedy’s Planet X-posure, all the above names are woven with newer wave media who we also bump into at shows - like Travellers Tunes and ASBO Magazine - who are as much a part of new music world press kits as mainstream media. Uncouth Brett is an influencer introduced by the latter at Truck Festival. A top banana of a music lover (and a Musos Awards 2025 finalist).
Promoters promoted then musicians have voted! #MusosAwards 2025 finalists, Get In Her Ears, Indie Cult Club, LOUD WOMEN, Scruff Of The Neck, This Feeling, Tim at Brixton Windmill are six of the best.
The independent venues…
where we make friends are blessed with as many “moments” as arenas. So good to see a virtual tour circuit in the nominations at https://instagram.com/musosawards/
Imagine if there was true trickle down to boost small spaces and events!
February 2025 at independent music venue, The Finsbury, Manor House. Images © Rhona Murphy - used with permission. Ready to do it all again on a bigger stage?
Music world “independent” can be synonymous with struggling.
This includes ourselves and many of our allies and favourite stars while the necessary trickle-up from under the radar continues. The back stories of all concerned gives the post-lockdown culture a hard earned 2018-origin tale of survival to be here. Look again at the entire list of Musos appearances, alone.
Activism in Our Armageddon Age is buzzing.
There’s an extra sensory perception palpable pulse. A sixth sense supernature in the ether. Humanity’s evolved instinct. Peace, Planet, People, Play. It flashed up at The Bands Come Out To Play.
Sure the fash are organised with bloodthirsty lies and scary misrule yet the "unorganised" somehow stage the biggest peaceful protests alongside their choirs of love at gigs of every size. Additionally, Football is proving to be an even more beautiful game in resistance to evil.
Are you a PLAYER?
Music is Nature’s communication, pulsing uplift with rhythm n tune. Often by talent that most of the world don't know exist. Between us, despite everything. We have everything to make a song and dance about. Let’s get together and FEEL alright.
(announced) Game Changers making public appearances. You WILL swear that you WERE there! Proper night out partying. Be seeing you.
Imagine if gatekeepers actively supported developed just one hundred times as much emerging potential? This is where our documenting came about in the first place. Opinionated while living it. Yay to the many speaking out. Look at the difference made to 2024 by ‘Bands Boycott Barclays’, SXSW etc. Onwards, then…
Myles Smith smashing it with recordings but also for this National TV gem at The Brits.
To…
…the government: “if British music is one of the most powerful exports we have, why have you treated it as an afterthought for so many years? How many more venues need to close, how many more music programmes need to be cut before you realise that you can't just celebrate success, you have to protect the foundations that make it”
… the biggest venues around the country and the world: “If artists selling out your arenas and stadiums started in grassroots venues, what are you doing to keep them alive?”
… to the industry, the execs in the room (The 02 Arena) and to the people behind the scenes; “Are we building careers or are we just chasing moments? Because moments fade and careers take time. Please stick with artists past their first tour because it really matters to us. Moments they fade but careers they last forever”
Making a moment with music tourism. A warm welcome awaits The-NOW-bus load of Welsh friends. Image © Rhona Murphy, with permission
“If you can’t play a note, you don’t get a vote”…
Five days after The Brits, in Camden Town, The Musos Awards kick off thirty years of Music Industry Soccer Six, encompassing all the above with a fuck-YEAH rock n roll BALL - in a Ballroom!
Host, Louise Schofield, at The Bands Come Out To Play with a MUSOS Award. Having followed her from DIY TV studio in backpack to some of the nation’s biggest stages and red carpets, big up Lullaby Lou for The Musos green carpet and Electric Ballroom stage.
(@louiseschofieldtv) • Instagram - image © Rhona Murphy used with kind permission.
Independent venue, informal artists social, musicians, songs, albums, venues, festivals and even the influencers who get indie music heard on their socials. A spectrum of nominations fwith winners announced, some live appearances and you never know who you’ll bump into!
Playing Class Friends of every background. Come Together.
Working class founded (Mark ‘Abes’ Abery of Soccer Six) and fronted Rowetta, Queen of Manchester, on the stage and releasing her first single of the year on Idris Elba’s label the next day. Host, Louise Schofield, is the hard working Nottingham presenter / journalist / DJ and more whose music TV show, Spill The Sound is about to kick off yet another series on Stream GM.
This is a documentary (which included Soccer Six from Chapter 1 with images of Peter Doherty’s cool footie playing - Cheers Heather Minx), so after March 6th, there will be more about the musicians and their allies behing the scenes making all the above happen.
They’ve just created a new music industry sector of Artist Recommendations, since January 9th (a.k.a. all of the nominations at https://instagram.com/musosawards/
Musicians make Musos The Player’s Player
There is not one dull back story in what TheZineUK have DIY documented since 2014.
Interdependence shapes 2025 arts and sports. C’mon LOVERS - What’s not to LOVE?