Derbyshire Live
Derbyshire Live covers music as part of a wider local news operation, focusing on how notable musicians, ceremonies and local projects become news events on its patch. Its reporting treats moments of performance and commemoration as stories in themselves, rather than limiting music coverage to listings or reviews. A piece on Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan leading a ceremony enshrining some of Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister’s ashes exemplifies that approach, putting the ritual at the heart of the coverage.
Rock heritage and on-stage rituals
Derbyshire Live’s music coverage pays close attention to the ways rock history is marked and performed in the present. In the story about Duff McKagan leading a ceremony to enshrine some of Lemmy’s ashes, the emphasis falls on who is involved and what they are doing, turning a tribute into a newsworthy focal point rather than treating it as a minor detail around a show. By making the ceremony itself the headline, Derbyshire Live foregrounds rock heritage and the cultural rituals that surround major artists, offering a lens on music that is grounded in narrative moments and acts of remembrance.
Local musicians and the regional music business
Alongside coverage of globally recognised rock figures, Derbyshire Live also reports on the work of local musicians and promoters. One story highlights a busy city musician and promoter whose latest project is a first full-scale music management company, drawing attention to the business infrastructure that supports the local scene. This kind of piece shows an interest in the entrepreneurial side of music, following how individuals on the ground build organisations, launch ventures and shape opportunities for artists. The blend of performance-related stories and business-focused reporting gives a fuller picture of the ecosystem around live music.
Music within a fast-moving local newsroom
Derbyshire Live is the online edition of the Derby Telegraph and forms part of Reach plc. It is described as an important and trusted source of news, reflecting its role as a general newsroom rather than a dedicated music outlet.
Its app promotes breaking news from Derby, including video interviews and traffic and travel reports, underscoring that the team works in a fast-moving, multi-format environment. Within that context, music stories sit alongside other local news, benefiting from a reporting culture geared towards timely coverage, clear headlines and accessible storytelling.
The result is music journalism that treats gigs, ceremonies and industry moves as integral parts of the broader news agenda, connecting what happens on stage and in the local music business to everyday civic life.
4 more music journalists.
Abigail Kellett
Abigail Kellett is a news reporter at the Halifax Courier who stands out for visually led coverage that shows how culture, nightlife and local life play out on the ground. She documents gigs, festivals and major live shows at venues such as The Piece Hall through curated photo sets that capture atmosphere, crowd and setting as much as performers, and she uses extensive image galleries to tap reader nostalgia for nights out in Halifax town centre. Her beat spans arts, entertainment, going out, heritage, books and literary events, along with community life, people stories, local challenges, milestones, transport, regeneration, lifestyle and food. She reports through photographs, checklist-style features, reader-driven lists and roundups of most-read stories, turning announcements, programmes, author events, festivals, shop lists and everyday characters into stories about place, shared memory and how people spend their time.
Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose work links big-name gigs, new venues and cultural flashpoints to everyday fan culture and inclusion. He covers music, nightlife and the wider cultural scene for the Manchester Evening News, focusing on how concerts, openings and immersive events land with real people and communities. His beat spans live music, arenas and stadiums, new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, exhibitions, street art and nightlife infrastructure, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ audiences and neighbourhoods. He reports on venue ambitions and problems, cultural institutions and equality issues, and franchise-led experiences, using straightforward, on-the-ground reporting and clear description. Drawing on a background in community reporting, he looks for underrepresented perspectives and uses social media, analytics and local sourcing to find stories where culture, identity and place meet.
Alex Rigotti
Alex Rigotti is a freelance music and culture editor and journalist who joins fast-turnaround music news with detailed reporting on artists, fandom and politics. They report breaking stories and live music updates for NME and Paste Magazine, covering pop, rock, club music, underground scenes and cultural debates around art and identity. Their live-music beat includes setlists, tours, festival appearances, cancellations, ticketing, venues and onstage collaborations. They previously served as a contributing editor for NME’s Radar section, supporting coverage of emerging artists and new scenes. Rigotti also writes features on rap lyrics and criminalisation, Eurovision and politics, queer feminist bodybuilding, astrotherapy and contemporary art. Their reporting is direct and specific, using clear quotes, concrete details and artists’ own words to explain what happened and how music fits into wider cultural and industry trends.