Author: Matthew Connolly
“At my best, I lose myself in my writing.” Melvyn Bragg talks to Northern Soul
Self-doubt can be one of the biggest battles for writers.
Read the full story..Review: New Light Prize Exhibition – Shining a Light on Northern Art, Tullie House Museum and Gallery, Carlisle
A metaphorical torch is now shining its ‘New Light’ in some of the North of England’s artistic corners, and a few of them are surprisingly dark and desolate.
Read the full story..Review: Macbeth, The Lowry, Salford
The woman behind me sat up at the interval and said to her friend, “I fell asleep, I’m going home”.
Read the full story..Review: Gypsy Queens, Harrogate Music Festival
The heatwave well and truly hit Harrogate on day three of the town’s five-week Music Festival, which runs to July 29.
Read the full story..Review: Chamber Music Festival, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
The words ‘chamber music’ can turn off many perfectly open-minded people.
Read the full story..Jane Austen at Home: Northern Soul talks to TV historian Lucy Worsley
“She was very intolerant of foolishness, vanity, empty talk, obsequiousness, time-wasting, cruelty.”
Read the full story..Review: Morrissey, First Direct Arena, Leeds
For such a towering musical icon he looked small, but anyone would from the back row of the upper tier of a vast, fan-shaped arena accommodating 13,000.
Read the full story..Film Review: The Post
You may well blanch at the thought of yet another Hollywood ‘based on a true story’ film whose needle is stuck in the vinyl of JFK, LBJ, Vietnam, Watergate, Nixon etc etc – that endless broken record the Americans play while they gaze into the grubby bits of their political navels.
Read the full story..Review: Julie Fowlis, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
There’s a YouTube video featuring folk singer Julie Fowlis on the BBC’s Transatlantic Sessions 3 in 2008 which has the Scotswoman sitting surrounded and attended – like some young folk goddess – by middle-aged men all doing her musical bidding, while she sings Bothan Àirigh am Bràigh Raithneach (A Sheiling On The Braes Of Rannoch).
Read the full story..Book Review: Ghost Stories, M.R. James
It’s stating the obvious, when reading something written over a century ago, to say that it sounds a bit outdated for the modern day.
Read the full story..Editor's Picks
Advertising and Sponsorship Opportunities
Is your organisation interested in supporting quality journalism about culture, life and enterprise in the North of England?
For advertising and sponsorship opportunities contact Northern Soul’s Founder and Editor Helen Hugent at helennugent@northernsoul.me.uk.
Sign up for Northern Soul newsletter
The Northern Soul Poll

Recent Tweets for @Northern_Soul_
Tynemouth - one of our favourite places. twitter.com/jollybeggars/s…
"While there’s a glut of garden shows on TV and radio, very few tackle gardening north of the Watford Gap." In a new series, our Editor Helen Nugent writes about starting a garden from scratch, its mental health benefits, and gardening in the north. northernsoul.me.uk/gardening-… pic.twitter.com/iYFkcNJPx6
Right Good Mid-Week Read: The Diary of Fanny Burney pic.twitter.com/RgIcoE7F0S
"Make no mistake: this show is not about social commentary at the expense of top-drawer art." Northern Soul's Fran Yeoman sees The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. northernsoul.me.uk/art-review… pic.twitter.com/W7daYd9dAe
"If the library in which it’s housed is Enriqueta Ryland’s gift to Manchester, the British Pop Archive is Manchester’s gift to the world." Review: British Pop Archive, John Rylands Library, Manchester northernsoul.me.uk/review-bri… @desmondbullen @TheJohnRylands pic.twitter.com/Nk3dndVntT