Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall
Haffway starts the evening – the Nashville-born singer/songwriter’s powerful voice
commands the entire room and despite being new to most in the Deaf Institute, the
audience hangs onto his every note. His charismatic presence engages the room as he chats
freely to the crowd.
‘I Don’t Need You Anymore’ taps into the well of melancholic songs produced by many
artists from the small towns of the Bible Belt and Midwest, painting a picture of a yearning
for something that isn’t good for him.
Elle Coves then springs onto stage in a 60s-inspired tan jumpsuit, mirroring the matching cowboy
hats and boots seen scattered in the crowd. Her song ‘Lost Cowboy’ has become a fan
favourite since its release in October, with fans screaming “Don’t take me for a love-drunk
home-run kid”. Elle’s songs are so personal to her but are relatable to her predominantly
younger female audience.
Even though the room is small, her voice fills every corner; powerful and emotional. With a
cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Is it Over Now?’ and the final bridge of ‘Out of the Woods’ thrown in
for good measure, Coves cements herself as a new indie-pop princess and someone to keep
an eye on for 2024.
Playing an unreleased song called ‘Blonde on Blonde’, which a select few girls at the front
already knew most of the words too, Elle hints at future releases and excites everyone.
Ending the set with her first single ‘Before I Fall Apart’, the room jumps with her. The song
sounds like a coming-of-age cinematic soundtrack and encapsulates how this first headline
tour will feel for 19-year-old Elle herself.
Featured image and gallery: Hoang Phan Notebooks were carried from one workshop to another. Writers from different generations sat around tables, sharing manuscripts and listening to each other. Outdoors, small groups strolled along Oxford Road, pausing before buildings steeped in literary history. This was the scene during the Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026, held…
Featured image: Katja Ogrin With many sore heads and limbs this morning after the most hardcore day of the festival taking place yesterday, many are recovering from the moshing and pit brutality of the previous day’s antics. As the tradition of a morning movie in the Serpents Lair prevails, the crowd sprawls out onto the plush,…
Featured image: Abbi Draper After an electrifying start to the weekend, with temperatures slowly climbing, many lather themselves in suncream, shed their band shirts and rise from their tents to trek towards the arena. Saturday has big things incoming for the humans of Bloodstock 2026. Some pace themselves for the day and hide from the early…
Featured image: Abbi Draper After a memorable Thursday opener, Bloodstock 2026 opens its gates once again onto the Hallowed Grounds of Catton Park, kicking off day two of its 25th-anniversary celebration of metal. As the sun rises on Catton Park, festivalgoers emerge from their tents to prepare for another day of mayhem. The morning brings…
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