The fabulous musician and artist Cheapskate writes about the relationship between album cover art and the music itself. Can you judge an album by its cover, and does the changing format of digitally produced and distributed music mean that the traditional relationships change? Read on, and find out...

Here's the set list from the Bambi Kino gig tonight in fabulous Hamburg. It recreates the songs sung by The Beatles the first time they played ago, on August 17, 1960.

FIFTY years ago tonight, the Beatles played their very first concert at Indra, a Hamburg music club. Over the following two and a half years, the band played 281 gigs in Germany, and laid the foundations of their career. Now, 50 years later, the all-star band Bambi Kino, which includes members of Maplewood, Nada Surf and Moby, will bring pop history to life by performing the exact set-list of the Beatles from that very day.

A couple of years ago, you couldn't move for Wombat fever. Everywhere from on the roof of St George's Hall with Ringo for the launch of Liverpool Capital of Culture year to the MTV Awards, the quirky trio were on top of their game. Now, after a break to tour and record their second album, it seems they're back...

Liverpool's world famous Albert Dock will celebrate one of the biggest music parties of the year with the creation of an Albert Dock Family Stage in Salthouse Dock, and I'm helping to judge a competition to select the bands...

Here's what happened when I went to draw the winning ticket at the raffle for Elvis Costello's guitar, with thanks to Arthur Diamond for pictures...

In the second installment of backstage gossip from T in the Park, we have Ellie Goulding, The View, Daisy Dares You, Eliza Doolittle, Biffy Clyro, Delta Maid and Groove Armada...

I MAY be tied to my desk this week, with no hope of an escape, but our spies at T in the Park have been interviewing the stars and getting the best backstage gossip. Here's our pick of the best...

Metal as a musical genre is a mystery to many, and something to avoid at all costs to others, but it is also the music of choice to those who have it as the soundtrack to their lives. In any musical genre, there is always more going on than meets the eye. After I put my two pennyworth in, we will bring you an insider's guide to Metal, in their own inimitable words...

Picture thanks to David Munn: www.davidmunn.co.uk

Long before the sun went down, the stars were shining in Liverpool for the Sound City music festival. An unexpected warm night in Liverpool brought the crowds out in droves for the Liverpool Sound City festival, with a host of great bands and solo artists playing at dozens of venues across the city. Music spilled out onto every street and a smile on every face, Summer came in with a rush, and the city's heart beat with a kind of magic that is Liverpool's very own.
The glitterati were out in force at Static Gallery, with members of bands such as The Farm and Amsterdam coming along to watch and lend their support. Eagle-eyed culture vultures will have also spotted the likes of the festival's keynote speaker, music legend Seymour Stein, music photographer Francesco Mellina and festival director Dave Pichilingi, whose presence added to the excitement that crackled through the venue, as the first performer of the evening got the evening underway...