SOUNDBITES

Among the current crop of rising Irish rap stars, VERSATILE have proven to be one of most resilient and loved. With the help of a cult-like following, they’ve made Irish music history, headlining the 2019 Longitude Festival to a 40,000 strong crowd, followed by a sold-out headline at the Three Arena Dublin, cementing themselves as Ireland’s biggest hip-hop group. They are at The Mill, Birmingham, on December 13.

COLD YEARS started in 2014 when Ross Gordon (vocals / guitar) convinced Finlay Urquhart (guitar / vocals) and Fraser Allan (drums) to join a band with him – telling each of them the other had already agreed to join. After a couple of self-released EPs, Louis Craighead (bass / vocals) joined in 2017 and their debut album, Paradise, will be showcased at Dead Wax, Birmingham, on December 3.

YOUNG KNIVES released their seventh album, Barbarians, in September and it was hailed as one of 2021’s best by Mojo Magazine. During lockdown Oxford brothers Henry and Thomas hosted a popular series of livestreams from a dilapidated 1980s caravan, but now the show is taking to the road and the duo are at Birmingham’s Hare & Hounds on November 29.

THE CADILLAC THREE

are celebrating their 10-year anniversary and released their fifth studio album, Tabasco and Sweet Tea, last October, which saw the trio inject some funk into their trademark Southern rock sound. They were recently nominated for Group of the Year at the ACM Awards and you can catch them at Birmingham’s O2 Institute on December 3.

SNOOP DOGG

has announced rescheduled dates for his I Wanna Thank Me tour. He’ll now play Resorts World Arena, the NEC, on August 27.