Embrace Music, or Lose It! By Steve Rudd A New Year's Guide to What's Musically Hot in Hull...

As we gallantly breeze into 2010, the music scene in Hull and surrounding area remains as vibrant and as exciting as ever, with a multitude of fantastic venues continuing to play host to new and established bands from all conceivable genres. It's hard to know where to start, but The Adelphi on De Grey Street is always a good place, where the likes of The Holy Orders (fronted by fiendishly talented songwriter Matt Thompson ) can often be caught over a perfectly-pulled pint or three.

The appropriately abbreviated 'A' has long been a firm favourite as a venue for Hull folk, not least because it's such a laid-back and infinitely welcoming place which couldn't feel any more like home if its owner Paul Jackson dragged in his sofa or brought down his bed. Fans of Metal should keep their ears open for Pastel Jack and Divine Oblivion this year. Both bands played a series of bruising shows during the course of 2009, and 2010 will hopefully prove to be the year for both outfits to break through from the underground and into the mainstream with their trailblazing riffs and passionate vocals.

While Pastel Jack are fronted by Neil Bailey, Divine Oblivion have Law Mantis at their helm, a scandalously talented female vocalist who flings herself into arty photography shoots in her spare-time. As far as singer-songwriters go, Hull is positively awash with them. Few are more respected than Emma Rugg who has been writing and performing acoustic-based tunes for over a decade.

In the wake of having posted a tour diary on her YouTube page for her myriad fans to view and savour at their leisure, Emma plans to record her eagerly-anticipated follow-up to Isolated Impression this year. Naturally, the city waits with baited breath.

In a similar vein, Steve Reed regularly pours his heart out in song with his brand of acoustic-anchored tuneage. If you're not lucky enough to catch him live, you might be lucky enough to catch him on radio, with the ever popular Raw Talent show on BBC Radio Humberside (hosted with modest flair by Alan Raw) proving to be one of the best ways to get the lowdown on what's hot and what's not in terms of the local music scene. Circus Envy are also a band to look out for should they hit a venue near you. Featuring the musically precocious Mike Richmond, once an integral member of Still Life, the Circus Envy boys are fresh from a well received set at last year's Folk Festival in Beverley.

Plying a wildly original route into Americana inspired circles, their strong melodies and soul fuelled vocals genuinely deserve to be recognised and appreciated by music loving masses across the UK at large.

A little further afield, old skool rock 'n' roll can easily be sought in Goole for the fresh faced band Velvet Star are presently setting the town ablaze with their barbed riffs and punkish swagger. However, fans of great music needn't venture any further than the city limits of Hull. What, with joints like The Welly Club, Lamp and The Ringside jostling for attention in the face of the anarchic nature of The Adelphi, it's fair to say that music of some variety can be found on any given day should you have the tenacity to hound it out and support it with ears wide open.

For more information about Steve's musical endeavours, please visit www.myspace.com/steveruddmusic

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