Maybe I’m the only one who geeks out about these things, but I always find it interesting to see what brings the biggest audience to our blog. It’s not always what you might expect…
By Graeme Smith
We’re a small team here at York Calling, but a busy one, and I’m pleased to see everyone getting at least one popular article across the year. It’s not a competition, of course, yet diverse voices are what makes this blog, so I’m glad no-one’s is being buried.
This rundown will start, naturally, in January. The depths of winter is always a good time to announce a festival line-up, and news about 2024’s Download was soaked up by our audience. Elsewhere we teased Angie Millard’s Beyond Caring at Theatre@41, and the announcement that Jack Savoretti would be coming to York Museum Gardens turned some heads.
February saw John’s review of ABC Orchestral at York Barbican take off while my post about Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog’s Welsh language album proved popular. Jane’s discovery of Belgium-based DJ A!DEN also drew a crowd.
Many visited in March to read Angie’s review of Cluedo 2 at York Theatre Royal and to find out what Miles thought of Raye at Bridlington Spa. John scored another hit with his review of OMD at First Direct Arena, Leeds.
In April, Miles ran the rule over the Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black for us, a film that drew a lot of interest from our audience. Meanwhile, I headed down to Key Club in Leeds to catch Millie Manders & The Shutup, and Jane’s Unknown Pleasures round up of post-rock and post-metal proved popular.
Miles was at it again in May, this time in attendance at Bruce Springsteen at The Stadium of Light, Sunderland. We had more theatre critique from Angie, this time it was Shakespeare’s Speakeasy at Theatre@41, and Jane’s interview with experimental electronic artist Bad Bubble deserves an honourable mention.
Across June and July, my reviews filtered through to the top of the pile, with plenty of interest in Alison Fleming’s remix album, Frederic Claudel’s debut album, Laura De Souza’s track Dark Moon, Jason Montero’s comeback album, and Monday Service’s single all doing well. Also worth a mention was John’s review of Yes at York Barbican, and James Reeves’ guest post about Dolly Parton’s niece Jada Star.
August was all about Cashavelley’s stunning single, Rewrite and The Zangwills’ romantic track Collision, as well as John’s reporting from the frontlines of a storm-affected Friday at Leeds Festival.
In September, Weathership’s debut album proved popular and Angie was back at the theatre, this time enjoying performances of Little Women at York Theatre Royal and Red Sky at Sunrise at the Grand Opera House.
October was a popular month for live music reviews seeing Miles catch Fairground Attraction at York Barbican, me reviewing Rachel Croft at The Crescent, and Ruby covering The Libertines at Manchester Academy. There were more reviews from Miles in November, too, when he saw The Cult and Pretenders at York Barbican. Elsewhere, my reviews of North Yorkshire’s Timekeepers’ single and Kaleb Braun-Schulz folk pop album also got their fair share of eyeballs.
December’s not quite finished but recent standouts have been Miles’s review of the York music scene’s 2024 and his reflections on Wham!’s Last Christmas. I’ve also drawn some attention with my coverage of Nick Gusman and the Coyotes’ live-recorded album.
Overall, it was a good year for metalheads, lovers of artists of a certain vintage, and innovative local acts. Here are York Calling’s top five most popular posts in 2024:
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