The sound of the city: June’s live music highlights

UB40

A stacked month of live music, by Rose Barker

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June is a month when keeping up with Hull’s gig calendar feels like a full-time job!

Blink and you’ll miss something, with venues across the city packed out with everything from indie favourites and heavy bands to nostalgic singalongs and one-off festival nights.

Narrowing it down was no easy task, but here are a few shows I’d be making time for this month:

Things kick off on Tuesday, June 9 as reggae-pop heavyweights UB40 (from £53) head to Connexin Live, celebrating 45 years together with a set packed full of classics and fresh material. Whether you grew up with Red Red Wine or just fancy a massive midweek singalong, expect this one to pull a serious crowd.

Wednesday, June 10 sees Hull of a Night take over, celebrating Hull as a music city with pop-up performances happening across multiple venues. At The Adelphi, Hull’s own Chiedu Oraka and Jodie Langford (£10) join for a standout hometown bill, while over at Social, York indie outfit King No-One make their return to the scene (£8).

Elsewhere, Polar Bear welcomes rising Newcastle songwriter Andrew Cushin (£17.50), while Dive keeps things loud and intimate with Grimsby's Mint (£4). In truth, this is one of those nights where you could happily venue-hop and still not catch everything worth seeing.

Thursday, June 11 brings a more stripped-back moment, with singer-songwriter Beth Pilling performing a free-entry solo set at Molly Mangan’s.

Friday, June 12 then cranks things back up with British grunge outfit CQ Wrestling at Polar Bear Music Club (£14).

Saturday, June 13 brings a change of pace as the City of Hull Brass Band returns to Hull Minster (£12) for their Summer Concert, while Friday, June 19 finds deathcore band Surya back at O’Rileys (£8), fresh from Bloodstock Festival and their winning run at Metal 2 The Masses.

Finally, Saturday, June 27 rounds things off at The People’s Republic with The Zipheads (£12.50), whose gloriously chaotic mix of rockabilly, punk, ska and swing feels like the perfect excuse for a late night out.

June is absolutely stacked, and this barely scratches the surface. Whether you’re chasing heavy riffs, hometown talent or something to soundtrack a warm evening, there’s plenty happening across the city.

I’ll see you down the front! 

Listen now - scan the code using the Spotify app and listen to Rose's picks for this month