JT Soar and Coffee Beat Presents… Another highly curated, one stage/no clashes, uncompromising line-up of my favourite post punk, new/no wave, art pop, garage punk etc from all over the world.A CERTAIN RATIO, BIS, DELIVERY (AUS), THE KLITTENS (NLD), THE RETAIL SIMPS (CAN), SAVAK (USA), EBBY (NLD), WATER MACHINE, MACKENZIES, HEY COLOSSUS, NAPE NECK, THE COOL GREENHOUSE, SUEP, THE REAL LOSERS, DRAGGED UP, UCD, THE CHOP, PICT and… a few surprises…
Here’s a couple of playlists covering most of the line-up..
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JULB3dANDYwDm8eRJbD7M?si=npGxlIKcQEKTcufeAFRGog&pi=guuqyp05TV6Sy
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLynKiSzk1HWk6RFgp4Y12xJ4RaUKyHOZE&si=Dk1pkjAlXlagyfZe
A CERTAIN RATIO (Manchester)
Legendary post punky new wavey avant funk outfit, a standout of the early Factory records scene bringing in The Pop Group, Pere Ubu and Brian Eno influences alongside more leftfield luminaries such as Hermeto Pascoal and Flora Purim to great effect. 48 years in, they’re constantly striding forward, with 13 studio albums (On Factory, A&M, Mute etc), 33 singles etc there’s no sign of respite. Genuinely honoured to have them as part of this year’s JT Fest..
BIS (Glasgow)
It’s 1996, 9 year old Phil is watching Top Of The Pops.. Peter Andre, Gary Newman, Take That and…..BIS!!! I’d never heard anything like it.. Listening to em now still hits the same way.. The Joyous, driving, synthy indie britpopping Power Puff Girl soundtracking Scots have since 1994 released 6 albums, slews of EPs and toured the world over, playing with Foo Fighters, Garbage, Pavement, Gary Newman etc.. Amy saw em at Bearded Theory last year (John was wearing his JT Soar tee, aww), a definite highlight.
DELIVERY (Melbourne, Australia)
Driving garage post punk from the place that does it best! From winning SXSW and touring with Franz Ferdinand to selling out JT Soar twice on the trot, they really are a force majeure. Stunning LPs/EPs on Feel It, Anti Fade, Heavenly… just doozy after doozy. Henry Rollins is a fan, nuff said.
THE KLITTENS (The Netherlands)
Dutch fuzzy indie rockin art poppin quintet featuring members of Lewsberg, Real Farmer, The Hobknobs etc.. with inspirations listed as wide as The Ronettes, MF Doom, Dry Cleaning and Kate Bush. I hear Pavement, Breeders, Yo La Tengo, Grass Widow etc too, such a solid mix. After selling out JT proper a couple of times, so chuffed to have em at JT Fest.
THE RETAIL SIMPS (Montreal, Canada)
Theee/Thine/Tha/The Educated Fools, different names, the same super prolific garagey proto punkers melding Modern Lovers, Television, Pere Ubu, Dr Feelgood etc to make records that drag you into the room with em for a good ol boogie. Their recent LP (As The Educated Fools, hilariously slated by Maximum RnR) is a perfect example of this.. So good live too, saw em over in Cincinnati a few years ago and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.. Total Punk records (Alien Nosejob, Civic, Gee Tee) mainstays and genuinely a pull their records out a burning building band for me. First time in the UK!
WATER MACHINE (Glasgow)
Art popping post punking quintet with rekkids out on Upset The Rhythm (Deerhoof, Screensaver etc) Glasgow’s Water Machine blew my mind at JT many moons ago, so chuffed they’re coming down for this. Their LP, God Park, out on Fat Cat Records has received widespread acclaim, with Henry Rollins, Marc Riley etc all chiming in. “The world of Water Machine is a swirling eddy of melodic bass lines and volatile guitar sliding between jazz chords and punk riffs, all the while narrated by sardonic social commentary and silly stories”. Very well put..
NAPE NECK (Leeds/Berlin)
"Nape Neck is the kind of band that makes you want to play in a band." - Arnold de Boer, The Ex. Well that’s a good start. “Like a hardcore Gang Of Four” – WFMU. Sold yet? This angular no wavey trio ftmo Objections, Beards, Guttersnipe etc released the LP The Shallowest End in 2025 on a trio of forward thinking labels (Red Wig (Germany), OCCII, Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Dot Dash Sounds (USA)), and embarked on a near month long US tour, hitting up the best of the best Gonerfest on their way through. Excited to get em back on home turf.
MACKENZIES (Glasgow)
The NME C86 comp was a real game changer, guess what label had the most bands on there.. that’s right, Long Eaton’s Ron Johnson records. Stump, Big Flame, A Witness, The Shrubs.. they all had LPs and a greater oeuvre to delve into, not Mackenzies. They gave us a few Eps and a couple of absolutely killer Peel sessions of abrasive twisted indie funk then disappeared. NOW THEY’RE BACK, 40 years later, with their debut LP, A Dog’s Breakfast.. eeeeeeeeeek, can’t wait to hear it.
THE REAL LOSERS (Leeds)
Yorkshire’s raucous no-fi garage punkers ride again.. I’ll quote The Cribs here “Back in the early 2000’s, The Real Losers were the best band in Leeds. Uncompromising, raw as f*ck, and totally over the edge. They were our favourite band around”. Their 2002 Cribs produced LP, Time To Lose, has been recently repressed by Portland’s Total Punk records, leading to a few shows stateside and luckily for us, some shows this side of the pond too.. Hold onto yer hats folks..
BITCHFINDER GENERAL (Newcastle)
I discovered these lot through Jayne’s other project Me Lost Me, their involvement in the project is where their similarity ends. I hear all kinda stuff in these lot, from B52s to Kleenex to ESG to a dark Stereolab, all the vibes.. love em. Wish I grabbed myself a copy of their tape before they flew out.. Repress for the fest? Yes please..
SUEP (London)
“perfect pop music.” Marc Riley said of their debut single Domesticated Dream, he’s not wrong. Suep’s new wavey art pop smarts glisten and refract through the lens of oddball synths, drum machines, harmonies and otherworldly arrangements that tread their own path, leaving other projects, Porridge Radio, The Tubs, Garden Centre, PC World etc at the door. Their debut Mini Album (EP?) has just been released on Memorials Of Distinction (Kiran Leonard, Shovel Dance Collective etc) to instant acclaim.
SAVAK (New York, USA)
Driving indie rockin art punk supergroup (ftmo Obits, Holy Fuck, Small Brown Bike, Silver Jews etc) with nods to Polvo, Mission of Burma, Firehose, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, so much rad formative stuff for me but still sounding like their own thing. So prolific, 6 LPs in and they’re still kicking em out, all killer.
DRAGGED UP (Glasgow)
The Velvet Underground, Pavement, Birthday Party, The Raincoats, all the art punk, free rockin, psychy poppin good vibes rolled into one. Since 2018 this Scottish 5 piece have been sharing the stages with/lauded by Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, Hard Quartet), John Deitrich (Deerhoof), Acid Mothers Temple, Bo Ningen, The Nightingales etc rocking stages at home and abroad. Their 2 killer LPs are soon to welcome a 3rd, out in Sept on Canadian Label Obscura and UK’s Cruel Nature (Moloch, Sly and the Family Drone etc). Can’t wait to hear it!
THE CHOP (Glasgow)
Dancer, Order Of The Toad, Robert Sotelo, Thick Syrup, I could go on, the collective back catalogue of this duo is firmly embedded in my record collection/mind. The Chop might be my fave, ticking all the Young Marble Giants, Solid Space, Drinks, Early Magnetic Fields boxes that so often feel neglected. The drum machines, plinky bass, casiotones and softly spoken sung poetry of debut album, It’s The Chop, out on Wrong Speed Records, is high on my best of 2025 list.
EBBY (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Their incredible record, abcde, was listed on Thurston Moore’s best of 2025, that doesn’t surprise me one iota. Produced by Mickael from Lewsberg and reminiscent of Drinks, mid era Cate Le Bon, Lithics, Breeders, The Shaggs etc it’s the perfect combo of arts and smarts, sweet and sour, harmony and dissonance yada yada yada. This dutch 4 piece have been touring with Horsegirl, The Bug Club and recently played shows with Tortoise. First time over in the UK!
THE COOL GREENHOUSE (London)
Repetition is a form of change, Eno said it, TCG proved it. Bizarro driving post punk crammed with fables, japes, perfectly aimed diatribes and a heap of heart. I’m not gonna mention The Fall in this description. Made a couple of LPs with em, released on Melodic Records (Bogshed, W.H. Lung etc), so much fun. They’ve DJ’d the last couple of festivals, Tom even did a guest spot with Buffet Lunch last year, and now, they’ve graduated, to the early evening Sunday slot. First show in 3 years! Last show until TBC. Bit of a special one off jobby this one..
UCD (Falmouth / Manchester)
Brand new project from the folks behind Holiday Ghosts, Jeuce, Jennifer Reid, Ubiquitous Meh etc.. still not played a show (at time of writing) but I’ve had a sneak peak at their album and oh gee, dark garagey jangly surfy organ laden boppers with hints of Modern Lovers, The Clean, B52s, Desperate Bicycles, The Mummies etc.. so so good..
PICT (Nottingham)
Lush homegrown indie rock, formidable dynamic live act melding nuanced trumpets, sweet n gritty harmonies, gnarly americana-isms, hints of Wilco, GBV, Ida, Big Star etc.. bit of jangle, bit of chaos and heaps of heart.
Aaaaaaaaaand some other bits and pieces (DJs, Food venders, Comperes) TBA… I’m gonna say if ya get tickets and fancy some bonus good times… keep Friday 30th free too….
Thanks for reading my sprawling spiels…
Looking forward.
Phil x
Event Venue
The Old Cold Store, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Tickets
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