Emma Wilkes
Specialist in underground and mainstream rock/metal crossover
Emma Wilkes focuses on the intersection of underground metal scenes and mainstream rock culture, with particular expertise in metalcore, post-hardcore, and alternative rock movements. Her coverage consistently highlights how emerging artists navigate the transition from DIY spaces to major festivals and venues, as demonstrated in her reporting on Ice Nine Kills' O2 Arena announcement. She identifies artistic evolution within established bands while maintaining authentic connections to their scene roots through technical analysis of musical composition and cultural context.Album review authority with technical insight
Wilkes demonstrates deep musical knowledge in her album critiques, analyzing both technical composition and emotional resonance within the rock/metal spectrum. Her five-star review of Svalbard's *The Weight Of The Mask* examined how the band "sounds like Heaven and Hell all at once" while precisely documenting the October 6 Nuclear Blast release date. She approaches male // gaze's *TOO LATE NOW* as a boundary-pushing work in "extreme pop" where "sounds interlock into bright new shapes and absolutely no rules apply". These reviews consistently include specific label information and release dates that industry professionals rely on for accurate planning.Firsthand festival documentation and analysis
Having attended numerous festivals including Download Pilot at Donington Park, Wilkes documents the live music experience with both historical context and immediate impact. Her coverage examines how events reshape artist trajectories and fan communities, particularly in the post-pandemic landscape as seen in her reflection on "the mini version of Download used to help bring back live music after Covid". She has covered multiple festival cycles, providing continuity in documenting how these events evolve while maintaining their cultural significance within alternative music scenes.Artist development chronicler
Wilkes tracks artists' career progression with particular attention to how bands grow from underground acts to festival headliners through staff-end-of-year lists that highlight emerging talent alongside established acts. She has written cover stories examining dedicated fan experiences, such as following Sleep Token across 16 North American tour dates, demonstrating her commitment to documenting the full artist-fan relationship continuum. Her inclusion of bands like Lowen in Kerrang! staff lists shows consistent attention to artists at various career stages within the alternative music ecosystem.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.