The year has barely found its feet and already the local scene has been through it.
Chester started 2026 in mourning, gathering itself after the loss of people who shaped the city’s sound and spirit. It’s been a heavy beginning, the kind that makes you stop, take stock, and remember why these small rooms and shared moments matter so much.
But even in the quiet, the music hasn’t stopped.
New singles have landed, new stories are unfolding, and the first sparks of the year are already showing themselves.
From raw alt‑rock to reflective folk, from bands pushing forward to songwriters resetting their compass, the city is moving again.
This edition picks up those threads. The grief, the graft, the new releases, the sense of a scene that keeps going because it has to.
A new year, a new blog, and a community still finding its way through the dark with whatever light it can make.
The Chester music scene goes into mourning at the passing of Paul Hickman:
Chester’s music scene went into mourning on Friday.
News of Paul Hickman’s passing moved through the city with a weight that stopped people in their tracks.
Musicians, regulars, record‑shop lifers, gig‑goers. Everyone trying to make sense of losing someone who quietly held so much of this place together.
Paul wasn’t just part of Grey & Pink Records. He was part of Chester’s cultural backbone. You’d see him at the gigs that mattered, the ones where the room felt alive and the music felt necessary. He had that steady presence, warm and grounded, the kind that made a night feel important just because he was in the room. If Paul turned up, you knew you were at the right gig.
Friday brought a flicker of hope, which made the final news land even harder.
It’s a tough moment for everyone who knew him, worked with him, or simply shared a nod across a venue floor.
Our love goes out to his family, his friends, and the whole Grey & Pink community.
A dark moment for Chester, and for everyone who cares about the music that binds this city together.
Keep an eye on Grey & Pink for updates on funeral arrangements when they’re ready to share them.
Young indie hopefuls Mantle drop ‘Stuck In Crewe’:
Mantle closed out the year with ‘Stuck In Crewe’, a single that hits harder once you sit with it.
On the surface it’s a song about being stranded on a platform, but underneath it’s full of the stuff that actually floors you: poisonous words, worn‑down patience, the kind of argument that leaves a sting in your mouth, and the slow realisation that nobody around you is paying attention anyway.
The track carries that feeling of shifting from foot to foot, wanting to walk away but not quite doing it yet. There’s a bitterness to it, a sense of someone trying to slip out of a conversation that’s already gone sour. The boredom, the resentment, the small humiliations of being stuck somewhere you don’t want to be with someone you don’t want to talk to.
Mantle turn all of that into something sharp and melodic.
As the song builds, the scene widens. A couple falling apart. Someone talking the same old rubbish. Someone else finally walking away. A lad who’s cold, battered, twisted up, left behind again. By the end, the platform becomes something strange and almost holy…not because it’s special, but because it’s the only place left to stand while everything else falls apart.
It’s a strong release from a young band who keep tightening their sound. Mantle have been grafting across the Northwest, from headline sets at Telford’s Warehouse to a growing online following, and this track feels like a clear step forward.
It’s raw, restless, and honest in a way that cuts through the noise.
‘Stuck In Crewe’ isn’t just a travel delay. It’s the moment you realise you’re done, you’re drained, and you’re still standing there anyway. Mantle capture that feeling perfectly.
FOLLOW MANTLE:
Mister Wulf releases new single ‘New Start’:
The year had barely begun when Chester songwriter Mister Wulf stepped forward with a track that feels perfectly timed. ‘New Start’ arrived on the 2nd of January, a quiet release with a clear intention behind it.
No fuss, no grand announcement, just a simple offering: a song about letting go of the old stuff and finally moving on.
There’s something steady about the way he approaches it.
The track opens with that moment when the light shifts and you realise the year has turned, whether you’re ready or not. It’s reflective without drifting into sentimentality, and honest in a way that feels lived‑in. You can hear the weight of the past year in the writing, but you can also hear the decision to stop carrying it.
Musically, it sits in his familiar lane. Warm harmonies, gentle pacing, a kind of clarity that doesn’t need dressing up. Mister Wulf has always leaned toward songs that say exactly what they mean, and new start continues that pattern.
It’s not trying to be clever. It’s trying to be true.
The video, released alongside the track, adds another layer. Coastal imagery, open space, a sense of breathing room.
It fits the song’s message without spelling anything out.
Just a reminder that sometimes you need to step outside yourself to see what needs to change.
As a first release of the year, it sets the tone for whatever comes next. Mister Wulf has been quietly building a catalogue of songs about change, reflection and the slow work of rebuilding, and this one slots neatly into that arc.
A small song with a clear pulse. A reset button pressed gently, but firmly.
‘New Start’ is available now on Bandcamp on a pay‑what‑you‑like basis, as well as across the streamers.
FOLLOW MISTER WULF:
INCOMING:
Friday 16th Me + Deboe – Telfords Warehouse
Friday 23rd Thomas Bradley Project – Telfords Warehouse
Sunday 25th Fantastic Negrito – Live Rooms
(Quiet month!)
As the year starts to take shape, we’ll keep tracking the shifts, the losses, the new releases and the small sparks that keep this scene alive. Chester’s music community has always moved on feeling as much as sound, and that won’t change now.
If anything, it matters more than ever. We’ll be back with more as it comes, but for now, look after each other, keep showing up, and keep the music close.
