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From pubs to festivals to arenas, out and about with tQ
Minnesotan power trio Babes in Toyland have reunited for their first dates in 20 years, encountering fans old and new in the UK, Europe and the USA. Kiran Acharya meets Maureen Herman and Lori Barbero in Italy to find a band – and festival – worth celebrating. Photography by Francesca Sara Cauli
Gather some of the world's finest electronic musicians and DJs, scatter them around two gargantuan sites in Barcelona and fill in the gaps with electronic wristband-donning people slowly getting basted by Estrella and sunshine, and you've got Sónar 2015, one of the festival calendar's consummate highlights. Christian Eede and Laurie Tuffrey report back
Birmingham is a tale of two cities: the commercial centre around the Bullring and the post-industrial zone of Digbeth, where Supersonic is held every year. Between ear-heartening encounters with the Bug and Flowdan, Gazelle Twin, Richard Dawson and Holly Herndon, Tim Burrows ponders the festival and its city
As British Sea Power revisit their debut album at a series of concerts up and down the land, Simon Price argues that this is no exercise in nostalgia but, as ever with this magnificent group, proof of their continuing significance. Photography by Valerio Berdini
A sunlit summer park in East London might be a million miles from grimy 1970s New York, but Chris Roberts finds true wonder in Patti Smith's performance of Horses on the Quietus/EYOE main stage at Field Day. There's life in the old nag that is rock & roll yet. Photos by Valerio Berdini
Ben Graham wonders if the tornados and storms battering Austin's Levitation Festival are the work of time travellers heading to witness the return of true psychedelic pioneers The 13th Floor Elevators. Photos courtesy Briana Purser (group) and Roger Ho (jug)
Tristan Bath heads to the Danish city of Helsingør, home of Hamlet's dad's castle, to try and stay up for 24 hours and watch music from Rhys Chatham, CTM, Ellen Fullman, Keiji Haino, Bjørn Svin, Carl Emil Carlsen and Lee "Scratch" Perry
Endless is the party incubating London's most exciting new producers, with the likes of Lexxi, Shanti and Kamixlo cocking a snook at barriers of genre. Seb Wheeler reports from a recent outing south of the Thames, and far outside convention
Luke Turner heads to the Norwegian city of Bergen for the annual Borealis Festival for a wonderful weekend featuring composition, experimentation, melting ice, Russell Haswell, Lucy Railton and Richard Dawson, recontextualised rap and more. All photos thanks to Borealis and Henrik Beck.
Bloc Weekend returned to Butlins Minehead last week, for its first festival at the venue since 2011. Rory Gibb and Ed Gillett journeyed out west to report on a weekend of techno-heavy delights, spaced-out cosmic drifts and several killer DJ sets. Photographs by Beth Marsh and Jake Davis
Sophie Coletta, Luke Turner and Sonja Matuszczyk visited Berlin last month for the sixteenth edition of CTM festival. Here's what they saw, in and amongst their thankfully edited out moments of debauchery. Photos: Udo Siegfriedt, Fausto Caricato, Benjamin Renter and Marco Microbi
Late last year Tom Hawking flew across the Atlantic just to see the Manic Street Preachers play The Holy Bible at the Camden Roundhouse. Here he reflects on a record that had the power to change his life. Thanks to the Manics for the use of images.
Sand Avidar travels to Diksmuide for the first performance of Einsturzende Neubauten's Lament, their commemoration of the First World War. In it, he argues, can be seen and heard not just the history of 20th century warfare, but of Neubauten themselves. Photography by Valerio Berdini of Liveon35mm