After seeing Panic Shack at MASH, a gig filled with an abundance of bald heads, I was sparked with a rage only fulfilled by completing an up-to-date gig round up for Varsity. In way of waging a small war on the Radio 6 dads (love them or hate them, they’re at gigs and they’re not moving), here are some bands and singers playing Cambridge that you, the overworked student, should not miss during exam season and beyond.

Prima Queen

The Portland Arms – 26th May

Touring their new summer-sounding album The Prize, indie pop duo Prima Queen have a firmly established name amongst the likes of bands like Wet Leg, Dream Wife, and She’s in Parties. With a confident return, Prima Queen are back and better than ever!

Richard Dawson

Mumford Theatre (ARU) – 14th June

An artist that has truly taken over my headphones this term, Richard Dawson is a massive name on the folk scene and is back with his new album The End of the Middle. Known for his sense of playful (and somewhat absurd) experimentation, Dawson is no stranger to singing from multiple perspectives (my personal favourite will forever be ‘Ogre’ on his album Peasant). For fans of Skydaddy, Squid and Tapir!.

Father John Misty

Corn Exchange – 26th June

If Glen Campbell did acid, read Heidegger and Sartre, and went marginally insane, you’d have a man almost exactly like Josh Tillman. So, go and attend the church of the prime hipster preacher for a pretentious May Week interlude of swelling trumpets, crooning vocals, and grandiose swagger.

Black Country, New Road

Corn Exchange – 24th September

Needing not much explanation, BC, NR are quite possibly the best band to recently come out of Cambridge. Reincarnated with the departure of lead singer Isaac Woods, the group step away from their self-ascribed label of jokingly being the “world’s second-best Slint tribute act”. They have instead chosen to greet summer with their twee, new album Forever Howlong, full of baroque flourishes and pop choruses, but thankfully the band prevail with their bizarre references to TikTok and James Dean – this time sadly without any mention of “Billie Eilish style”.

To book tickets for…

Gurriers

The Portland Arms – rescheduled to early Michaelmas

Taking their name from the old Irish slang for lout, post-punk five piece Gurriers have quite frankly accelerated onto the indie scene. Releasing their debut album back in 2024, Come and See, the band have built up a solid reputation playing gigs across Ireland and London. For fans of Fontaines D.C.’s Dogrel, Fat Dog and DEADLETTER, or if you’re looking for a band to shake you out of a start-of-term slump. With biting vocals, distorted guitars, and siren sounds, Gurriers definitively have all the energy and anger to do so.

Miki Berenyi Trio

The Portland Arms – rescheduled to early Michaelmas (6th Nov)

Once the lead singer of the 1990s dream pop group Lush, Miki Berenyi returns with her partner Kevin ‘Moose’ McKillop and Oliver Cherer. Spending 2020 writing her memoir Fingers Crossed, the Trio were formed as a musical accompaniment to Miki’s book related events and signings. But after developing a momentum of its own, the group have since toured with The Wedding Present and Gang of Four, so expect some Lush classics!

Shiny New Model

All day at Junction— 11th October

“For the new, the noisy, the independent”, Cambridge’s best (and only) all day festival – start next year off right with seeing some of the newest indie bands playing up at Junction. Tier 2 tickets have just been released, and for the small price of £27.50 – you can see Antony Szmierek, Panic Shack, Lime Garden, She’s in Parties, Ebbb, Honeyglaze, and more…

If you have an event you think should be on Varsity’s radar, don’t hesitate to email music@varsity.co.uk