_{Stiff Little Fingers celebrate their 40th anniversary with a special concert in Custom House Square in Belfast on 26th August, supported by The Stranglers. On 23rd June their new label earMUSIC releases their live album and film “Best Served Loud – Live At Barrowland” on CD, DVD, 2LP and Blu-ray. They also re-release their 2014 top 30 UK studio album “No Going Back” on vinyl, CD with bonus disc of demos and digital.}

_{British metal band Absolva have released a free mp3 download of the song 'Life On the Edge' taken from the band's forthcoming double album 'Defiance' which is set for official release on 28th July 2017 via Rocksector Records. Fans can stream or download the 'Life On The Edge' free mp3 at this link now via Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/rocksector/absolva-life-on-the-edge}

_{The track was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show uploaded on 15th June.}

_{Queens Of The Stone Age have announced their Irish return as part of the Villains World Tour at 3Arena, Dublin on Friday 24th November 2017. The tour follows the release of the new album “Villains” on 25th August. Tickets priced from €50.65 including booking & facility fees go on sale next Thursday 22nd June at 9am via Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.ie}

_{Napalm Records have revealed detail of a new band called Exit Eden which features four female lead singers including Amanda Somerville (Trillium & Kiske Somerville). The band will release an album called “Rhapsodies in Black” on 4th August. The press release about the new band and the album has been copied below. You'll find an interview that I recorded with Amanda Somerville back in May 2015 on the Rock Radio NI website and on our MixCloud page -http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1974-ni-rocks-interview-with-amanda-somerville.html}

_{“Apex” is the fourth studio album from Canadian metal band Unleash The Archers and it was released on 2nd June via Napalm Records. I’d seen the ‘death metal’ label applied to the band in the past, but that really doesn’t reflect what I’d heard from the band recently. Listening to the album I really liked what I heard – definitely more heavy metal than death metal and definitely worth checking out. I played the opening single “Cleanse The Bloodlines” on the Friday NI Rocks Show uploaded on 3rd May and “The Matriarch” on the Show uploaded on 17th May. An interview with lead singer Brittney Slayes will be featured on the Show next week along with more tracks from the album.}

_{I first heard of the Nashville based band Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown on Twitter a few years ago and have followed them ever since. They have become more widely known of in Europe recently following their tour with AC/DC in 2016 and the current string of dates supporting Aerosmith and Guns n Roses. When the band played a show in Voodoo, Belfast on 13th June ahead of their support slot with Aerosmith in Dublin the following night, I took the opportunity to chat with Tyler Bryant and find out more about the band. You can hear what we chatted about along with some tracks from the band on the Friday NI Rocks Show that was uploaded on 15th June - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html}

_{“Raised on Rock” is the debut album from Swedish melodic hard rock band Stormburst. The band formed in 2014 and recorded the album earlier this year. It was released on 26th May via AOR Heaven and is well worth checking out. I’ll be featuring some tracks from the album on the Friday NI Rocks Show and NI Rocks A-Z Show over the next few weeks.}

_{German guitarist Rolf Munkes and his band Empire released 4 albums between 2001 and 2007 with a host of musical guests. The Pride & Joy label is in the process of re-releasing all four albums – possibly ahead of something new from the band. The first album re-released on 24th February, was the debut “Hypnotica” from 2001and I played the track “Fool In Love” from that album on the Friday NI Rocks Show back in January and “Bad, Bad Boy” in February. Empire’s second album “Trading Souls” was re-released on 26th May and I featured the track “One in a Million” on the Show on 12th May.}

_{I’ve been a big fan of Aussie rockers Airbourne since their album “Runnin Wild” appeared in 2007 and I’d been at 5 of their 6 previous gigs in Belfast. So when I was asked if I wanted to record an interview with the band ahead of their latest show in Belfast on the 7th June, I jumped at the opportunity. The interview with drummer Ryan O’Keeffe was recorded in The Limelight and can be heard on the Friday NI Rocks Show uploaded on 8th June. The Show is available from the On Demand Player and as a podcast on iTunes. http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html}

_{We chatted about the latest album, the band’s new guitar player, the tribute to Lemmy, the likelihood of some kind of “best of” album, a future live album and more. Also on the Show is an interview with New Zealand band Devilskin who were supporting Airbourne.}

_{The first track that I ever heard from New Zealand band Devilskin was “Little Pills” sometime around 2013/14 and it was one of those tunes you love instantly. I’ve followed the band since then and was delighted to find out that they’d been added as support for the Airbourne gigs in Dublin and Belfast in June 2017. I arranged to meet with the band to record an interview when they arrived at The Limelight for the gig on 7th June. I chatted with “Nail”, Paul and Nic about the band’s two albums (“We Rise” from 2014 and “Be Like The River” from 2016), touring, future plans and more.}