This Showcase was always going to be a bit varied and I think multiple genres was the theme on the night. The opening band –The Jinxy Trixterz played their first gig and smashed it! The trio was accompanied ‘Chris’ the drum machine – who was front and centre. They played a mixture of originals and …
Back at The Big Difference this month, it was great to catch up with some familiar faces I had not seen in a while. First up were Extended Probation. This young band played a very tight, well rehearse set that includes covers as well as original material. They opened up with Iggy pop followed by …
We were very excited to hold an event at brand new venue The Real Ale Classroom on Rutland Street. The venue is managed by Nuala who is a friend and staff member so we have been eagerly awaiting a chance to try it out. The downstairs venue is intermate but the PA is great. Unglam …
The first our our events this year kicked off at Duffy’s Bar. And I thought with a heavy line up with headliners Independent Trucking would mean a lot of head bobbing. I was not prepared for all the dancing The very lovely Boilermen started us off, by their own omission, they are owed by the …
We have been involved in the Unglamorous International Women’s Day since it started in 2022. This year was always going to be a difficult one. Since the loss of Ruth, Unglamorous has been run by her daughter Isobel and a committee of lovely Unglam women. There are now so many women bands that it was …
For the past couple of years we have been putting on Showcases at various venues around Leicester. The only criteria is that you have to rehearse here 🙂 If you would like to play at a Showcase then email or message us, it would be good if you could link us into your socials or …
The Stayfree Christmas Party at Firebug, or as we liked to call it ‘Stayfree Snowcase’ This was a great get together of customers and bands from previous Showcases. The first band on the night was Unglamorous Band – Mental Load. These women formed just 6 months ago . Facebook – Mental Load Next up was …
We recently caught up with our resident drum teacher Jack Freestone, owner of Leicester Drum Lessons to find out a bit about his background and what its like having a career playing drums. What got you into playing drums? Funnily enough, it was another resident of Stayfree – Bhav, of Beats And Vocals Studios that …
First on tonight at The Big Difference was the beautiful Joyce Embers. This was her first billing as usually she plays a lot of open mic nights. Her set was fantastic, with a range of ballads and heavier material. She is a thoughtful song writing with a great voice – Instagram –@joyce_embers Next band to …
This is the first of two showcases at The Big Difference this Autumn. This months line up starts with Pretty Dirty Rats, one of the great women bands to form out of the Unglamorous Project. These guys are funky, punky and have great rat based songs with very entertaining stories Facebook Next up was residents Dum …
This was our first showcase at OMC Music Venue on Frog Island, by far the easiest one to transport equipment to as I just have to cross the road to get to it. The opening band was brand new trio – Acute Echo, part of the Unglamorous project, they formed in May , had their …
A few weeks ago I was chatting with Glitch Magnet in reception and they mentioned that they had ticked off another item of their band bingo. I enquired what that meant; they explained that Band Bingo is where you collate a list of all the achievements you would like to accomplish as a band and …
Well its 30th June, exactly a year since our first Showcase and I’m please to say how much fun we have been having doing the event. This line up may look a bit eclectic from a distance but Jake from The People Assembly would only play a Showcase if they were to support The Verinos. …
This Showcase was all about pedal boards and plenty of sick guitar solos! The winner of the biggest pedal board goes to Mysterious Voices. I wasn’t the only person taking photos of their pedal boards too! Mysterious Voices opened up the night with a great set. They have a very interesting sound, the bassist often …
This was our very first all women Showcase! As Stayfree is the home of Unglamorous, we have plenty of amazing women bands to choose from and Im sure there will be more women bands appear on our line ups in the not to distant future. Boilers opened the night. This brand new band played their …
We were back at The Big Difference last night with the First Showcase of the year, celebrating another set of talented young artists that rehearse with us. First off was the marvellously kooky The Societys who entertained the audience with their new up coming single ‘Keys Phone Wallet’ and my personal favourite ‘Goals’ They have …
As 2022 started, we knew it was our 30th anniversary since starting at Friday Street in 1992. It would be great to celebrate in some way, plan some events and tell the story of how Stayfree Music has grown and developed through the decades. But there were also lots of challenges as January approached. It …
Having had a great success with the monthly Stayfree Showcases we decided to end the year with a Christmas Party at Firebug on 16th December. Performances at this event would be by the staff, headlined by the much anticipated return of The Hunters Club. Max Mead started the event with his one man band. His …
This was our first time at The Big Difference venue. I was very eager to put Showcases on at The Big Difference because it the bar is run by an old staff member – Anthony from Earls. This event was incredibly busy so I spent most my time upstairs on ‘door duty’ so my pictures …
Pheonixshire, 11 Years Tyranny, Wollow at Duffy’s Bar This month was all about Heavy Metal – Rock. Pheonixshire Eleven Years Tyranny The pace quickened somewhat with death metal/ metalcore Eleven Years Tyranny. There was a permanent mosh pit throughout their set, hair was flying everywhere! Alex on vocals …
Yesterday’s launch event for our next-door neighbour – Warehouse 6 – was a lovely day with pop-up stalls and good food along with some of the things that Stayfree does best … live music and beer! Warehouse Six aims to provide pop up spaces for new businesses to showcase their goods – from food to …
Szyslak, Our Souls, First Wave at Firebug 29th July 2022 This was another great night of guitar rock with a punk edge to celebrate Stayfree’s 30th anniversary by showcasing some of the bands that rehearse or are based here. We think Firebug is a brilliant venue to see live bands and our second showcase gig …
First Wave punk band started in 2002, their current line up; Dean Ross, Graham Warne and Tony Taylor have been together for the past 7 years. They are an old school punk rock band with flavours of rock and pop, think Ramones meets The Clash with sometimes Killing Joke, UK Subs and Motorhead Riffs involved. …
Dum Language, The Verinos, Melonade at Duffy’s Bar 30th June 2022 It’s so brilliant to be able to go out to gigs again! These three Leicester bands were all quite different, but it made the event at Duffy’s Bar that bit more intense. If you’re the kind of person still reluctant to go out or …
The mighty Produkty started rehearsing at Stayfree June 2009. The same month that we opened up at Frog Island, the same day that Michael Jackson died! Produkty are Andy Sharman (front man from Sister Crow – who Ian managed in the 80’s) , Kerry Williams and Nikki Webb, they are a punk inspired rock trio …
Thirty years is a long time for anyone to stay in business – especially a local independent music organisation- so it was important for Stayfree to have a big event as a centrepiece to the year’s celebrations. In that time, Stayfree has promoted events, managed and supported bands and, most importantly, converted huge old buildings …
Stayfree Open Day – 30th Anniversary 1992 – 2022 Read More »
66 Days to start a band and perform a gig? Women can do anything! Stayfree director Caroline McLavy was delighted to hear about and support a project that aims to get more women playing instruments and forming bands. Although there are quite a few women musicians already in Leicester, there aren’t very many female …
The Libertines is one of those classic British rock n roll bands complete with all the stories, and a few weeks back they did a pre-tour day at Stayfree. Originally formed in 1997, by Carl Barat and Pete Doherty, The Libertines played a big part in the garage rock revival. Their first album, produced by …
We’ve started this new feature to the Stayfree website to show the many gigs that our bands and artists play every week. It would be great to show photos of your recent shows, as well as advertising what’s coming up soon. To be included, speak with any of our staff, or send information by email …