Miranda Collinge
Miranda Collinge writes long-form, interview-driven pieces that frame musicians within a wider world of culture and character, rather than as isolated figures on the arts desk. Her music coverage sits inside a broader remit at Esquire, where she focuses on arts and entertainment while overseeing editorial commissioning for the masthead as deputy editor. The work is shaped by access-heavy reporting and by a calm, observant style that lets the subject’s own voice and setting carry the story.
Arts and entertainment features with a music spine
At Esquire, Collinge’s music pieces are built around extended conversations with artists and the circumstances they move in, often tying a new release or career pivot to the emotional and social texture around it. In her interview with Myles Smith about his album My Mess, My Heart, My Life, she uses details such as pints of Guinness with Bono to anchor the narrative in lived moments, then works outwards into the themes of the record and the truth he wants to tell with it. That approach recurs across her culture features: a focus on how creative work is made and experienced, rather than on promotional talking points. Her background in arts and entertainment journalism means the music beat is handled alongside film, television, books and style, and she often connects these forms within the same issue or editorial project.
Celebrity profiles and character-led storytelling
Collinge’s bylines at Esquire include major cover and feature interviews with prominent screen actors, which use similar techniques to her music writing. A pub supper with Alexander Skarsgård is written as a character study that unfolds over the course of an evening, using the setting and digressions to show where his rebellious streak comes from. Her interview work with Tom Hardy for Esquire leans on candid disclosures about his career and franchise commitments, which later surfaced in coverage of his role in the Mad Max films. She has profiled Paul Mescal during a period when he shifted rapidly from relative obscurity to widely recognised lead roles, capturing the tempo and pressure of that change. Across these pieces, the through-line is patient listening and scene-building: she lets pauses, interruptions and minor incidents in the room inform the portrait, a technique that carries directly into her writing about musicians and the environments they inhabit.
Editorial commissioning and cross-outlet cultural work
As deputy editor of Esquire, Collinge oversees editorial commissioning for the brand, giving her a vantage point over how music and broader culture are positioned across issues. The Esquire Better Men Project, which she helps shape, includes her own reporting from a pub supper with Alexander Skarsgård as part of a wider exploration of masculinity and contemporary character. That editorial frame influences her music coverage, which tends to treat artists as full people with social and psychological context, rather than as genre tokens. Outside Esquire, she has written for other culture-focused outlets, including a profile of Paul Mescal for REDEF that fits the same pattern: long-form, cross-referential writing about performers and the roles they play in current culture. Her work also extends into fiction and narrative non-fiction, with stories such as “The Life and Death of an Instafish” taking on themes of evolution, the internet and the narratives people construct around images. Those pieces show an interest in how media, story and persona interact, a concern that runs directly under her music interviews.
Narrative style and recurring themes
Collinge’s style is unhurried and detailed, with a preference for narrative arcs built from real-time observation: dinners, drinks, shared journeys, and the interruptions that happen in the middle of them. She returns frequently to themes of fame, identity and the cost of visibility, whether she is writing about actors, musicians or viral cultural phenomena. Her music coverage fits into that larger pattern by treating albums and careers as chapters in a story about how people manage attention and expectation. Across her roles, she combines editorial oversight with hands-on interviewing, which means she is as concerned with the commissioning logic behind a piece as with the specific scenes that make it feel lived-in.
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.
Alison Brinkworth
Alison Brinkworth is a freelance journalist who treats music as a gateway into place, history and everyday life, often through exhibitions, performances and city-centre events. She covers music within the wider cultural and lifestyle scene, leaning toward accessible, on-the-ground stories framed by familiar artists, venues and local attractions. Her work often focuses on music exhibitions and attractions built around well-known performers, alongside theatre reviews, live events and city attractions. She brings a lifestyle, travel and human-interest sensibility, using interviews and personal stories to show how people spend their time. With over 25 years of experience across print, digital, social media and internal communications, she writes clear, factual, audience-facing articles with dates, locations and organisers, suited to listings, guides and practical recommendations.