Open’er Festival 2026 through five key performances

From David Byrne’s orange-hued optimism to Nick Cave’s rousing, devotional headline set, Open’er Festival transformed north Poland’s Gdynia into a four-day celebration of music legends and contemporary pop icons. 

Decoding… ongaku kissa

Filmmaker Nick Dwyer traces the origins, evolution and enduring appeal of Japan’s ‘ongaku kissa’.

11 tracks for the shortest flight of your life, selected by Bassvictim

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

In Photos: Gottwood Festival 2026

Gottwood celebrated a landmark 15th anniversary this year, rewarding its dedicated community with its first-ever 24-hour programme across the Carreglwyd Estate.

Dancing with the ghosts of Blackpool: The Black Lights was an inspired collision of place and sound

The inaugural edition of The Black Lights embraced Blackpool’s faded glamour, transforming venues across the town into stages for radical music from The Caretaker, Klein, Blackhaine and more.

8 artists, writers and Madonna collaborators on CONFESSIONS II

Arca, IB Kamara, Michael Cragg and more share their first takes and experiences with ‘CONFESSIONS II’ – Madonna’s long-awaited, triumphant return to the dancefloor.

CONFESSIONS II: Madonna lets her guard down on the dancefloor

Looking back has never come naturally to Madonna. On ‘CONFESSIONS II’, she does so without succumbing to nostalgia, delivering her most honest, cohesive and creatively liberated album in over 20 years.

Donato Dozzy & Batu: The Expanding Universe

Donato Dozzy and Batu may come from different generations and zones of electronic music, but their paths have been crossing, fatefully, for nearly a decade. Now, they’re playing an ongoing game of “ping-pong production” that brings together Bristol bass futurism and hypnotic minimal techno.

Listen to a playlist that captures what the sun feels like, according to Parris

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.