The Star's critics ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARTIN HALL, MICHAL BONCZA, ANGUS REID reviews Holy Cow, One to One: John and Yoko, King of Kings, Panda Bear in Africa
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Ben Lunn: Marxist Notes on Music
The edifying spirit of the Workers’ Music Association (WMA) Summer School remains intact as it returns after the pandemic
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PATRICK JONES recommends a vital anthology from Afghan and Iranian poets where the political and personal fuse into witness-bearing and manifesto-making
WILL STONE is impressed by Hania Rani who is already making a name for herself in the male-dominated world of modern classical music
MIK SABIERS enjoys the theatrical feminist six piece who have a lot of fun that the audience feeds off as the set rolls on
New releases from Ibex Band, Lucy Dacus, and Various Artists
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by characters so un-nuanced as to be unreal, a stereotypical plot and a conceptual vampire
WILL STONE appreciates an artist who can swerve from industrial noise to clubby trance pop without missing a step
THE Workers’ Music Association (WMA) was formed in 1936 via a conglomeration of workers’ choirs, including the London Labour Choral Union, and other working-class groups and thanks to the leadership of individuals like Alan Bush and Rutland Boughton (among others).
Included in the early aims of bringing the greatest amount of music to the widest spread of the working-class, the Summer School has been a key element of the work and a continuing source of joy and enthusiasm among attendees and those close to the WMA.
Since it started in 1946, the Summer School has been continuous event, with the exception of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which made this year a cathartic and joyous experience.
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