Band tips

On Location is a column that lifts the curtain on the destinations behind the season’s most exciting new releases, from film and television to music.

Myth distorts any city’s musical history, and in Manchester myth looms as large as the new Co-op Live, a £365m, 23,500-capacity mega-venue that opens today and will soon be staging big-name acts, including Take That. So, for every occasion a music fan mentions the hit-making boy band or, for that matter, 10cc or the Hollies, a thousand more bark back: Joy Division, the Fall, Happy Mondays. Not that 10cc were a small Manc band, but they peaked before punk and a wall went up at the end of the 1970s that relegated all that had passed prior to 4 June 1976 – the night the Sex Pistols performed at the Lesser Free Trade Hall – to prehistory, as in dinosaurs, fossils, folk musicians. New hagiographies about music impresario Tony Wilson (1950-2007) are no doubt at the printers as I write. But how about we spend half an hour mooching round the Rainy City aboard the free buses and trams in search of the underplayed, surprising and tangential – with a few Gen X/6 Music standards for when we’re stuck at the lights.

As a travel writer, I spend a lot of time in other people's beds. While that statement is not nearly as salacious as it sounds, the reality of being on the road half the year is that I fall asleep on hotel, Airbnb, and friends' guest room mattresses just as often as I do my own. And lucky for me, I'm often checking in to five-star properties outfitted with the cushiest bedscapes. Over the years, I've developed a habit of pulling up the sheets on the most comfortable mattresses to get a peek at their label. All of this experience has made me a bit of an expert at judging what makes a genuinely superior one, which recently came in handy when my husband and I purchased a new home and needed to furnish it virtually from scratch.

When I first started running, I put on a decade-old sports bra and began pounding the pavement, figuring that the girls bouncing around was simply something I’d have to get used to. But as my mileage increased, I found myself chafing severely—once, after an 18-mile run, I had a blood-stained outline of my bra on my skin. Needless to say, it was time for a serious upgrade.

With a diaspora in the millions, Ireland’s national holiday has become an international phenomenon. 

On a Tuesday evening last December, the singer-pianist Michael Feinstein was at Café Carlyle on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in a sparkly silver blazer, making his way through the audience to the little stage, wherethe members of his four-piece band were taking their places. The audience erupted into applause. A few people stood and reached out a hand to greet him. As he launched into George and Ira Gershwin’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” some sang along, others swayed a little. Written in 1937, the American songbook standard is full of nostalgia, wit and romance. The same might be said for Café Carlyle.

Iceland blows away concerns. Its small population isn't worried about isolation or continuous winter darkness, instead focusing on its glowing passion for music and all things cultural.

Before you board the chairlift at one of the continent’s most unusual ski areas, a sign tells you exactly what’s in store: “Steep Slopes. Cliff Bands. Exposed Rock Formations.”

Beads at the ready – Mardi Gras is just around the corner.

When you walk into Baldwin & Co., a bookstore and coffee shop in New Orleans's lively Marigny neighborhood, you feel not only at ease but also inspired. Owner DJ Johnson was intentional in his curation of the hybrid space, which has hosted community gatherings since it opened in early 2021. “I wanted to provide nourishment for the soul of New Orleans,” says Johnson, who spent several years in Atlanta pursuing a career in information technology before returning to the city where he grew up. He's done just that by turning the lovingly renovated storefront, once a po'boy shop, into a hub for the city's Black and Brown writers, artists, and creatives. Johnson finds his own sustenance in the city's eclectic and ever-expanding art and music scenes, from dancing along to big, brassy jazz bands to visiting galleries that celebrate the city's enduring African American heritage. Here's how he spends 48 hours in the Big Easy.

There's no question that parents, especially moms, are more stressed out than ever. And the toll on their mental health is becoming alarmingly clear. The New York Times recently shed light on this escalating crisis, reporting that a staggering 79% of working moms are battling anxiety. Plus, a study from the University of Illinois reveals a direct correlation between the mounting demands placed on working mothers and heightened rates of anxiety and depression. These findings underscore a troubling reality: strained mothers are not only more prone to mood disorders but also suffer from chronic stress, severely impacting their overall well-being.

Situated in the German Alps, Kehlsteinhaus, aka the Eagle’s Nest, offers incredible views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. It’s a strange sight, this squat stone building perched on the edge of a cliff. It was liberated at the end of WWII by Easy Company, made famous by the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Today, it’s predominantly a restaurant, its dark history mostly obscured by modern kitchens and dining rooms.

The radishes grown for La Noche de Rabanos (The Night of the Radishes) in Oaxaca, Mexico, are a world away from the small, thin, red and white sliced radishes that are commonly found alongside lime wedges and bowls of salsa on the tables of most taco restaurants in Mexico.

Is there an outdoor lover in your life? Perhaps a hiker, biker, camper, or other adventurer? Need a gift for them?

With Thanksgiving in the rearview, today is one of the most magical days of the year for Black Friday deals on everything from flights to hotel stays and even AirPods. It's also the start of the most magical time of year at Disney parks, and if you love saving money as much as you love visiting Disney World or Disneyland, today is your day to shine.

I’m in a good old-fashioned pub, drinking beer over wooden tables and tucking into a hearty meal. Except the wooden tabletops are covered in red checked cloths, the decor is Balkan folk.

He wore a goalie mask on the ice but outside the rink you were just as likely to find Henrik Lundqvist on the pages of GQ as Sports Illustrated. Born in Sweden, he moved to New York in 2005 and spent his entire 15-year NHL career as a goaltender for the New York Rangers. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2012 and was just inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Now retired, the well-dressed Lundqvist is still a proud New Yorker and involved in numerous projects, including being a part owner of the restaurant Tiny's & The Bar Upstairs in Tribeca, launching a new fragrance ‘Next Chapter’ and hosting the ‘ Club 30 ’ podcast. Over Moscow Mules at Tiny’s, made with his favorite Ole Smoky Moonshine , I spoke with Lundqvist about his first drink, his love of New York and his talk with Paul McCartney about the difference between hockey and music fans.

Crowned with an impressive royal castle and dotted with church spires and world-class museums, Kraków combines the historic with the cosmopolitan.

The most famous of New York City’s five boroughs is Manhattan. The hippest is Brooklyn. There’s the forgotten one (Staten Island) and the one that tourists only visit to go to a Yankees game (the Bronx). Then there’s the most interesting one: Queens, a borough of two-million-plus people and among the most ethnically diverse swathes of land in North America.

The Venetian Hotel is known for its nostalgic gondola rides and its plazas, bridges and painted sky evoking Venice. The resort is also known for its Grand Canal Shoppes, which encompass top brands in clothing, personal care, dining, drinking, entertainment and more.

Passengers who were on British Airways’ Flight 112, from Kennedy International Airport in New York to Heathrow Airport outside London, received some good news early Thursday morning. The flight, which normally would have taken about six hours, was going to arrive 50 minutes early.