Gig review: Billy Marrows & Grande Família – The Penelope Album Live at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho
Apr 30 2025- Celebrity Interviews
- Last Updated on 30 April 2025
- Monica Costa
On a strangely hot spring evening in Soho, the atmosphere inside the intimate, candle-lit Pizza Express Jazz Club was one of warmth, anticipation, and musical reverence. Guitarist and composer Billy Marrows brought his 12-piece ensemble, Grande Família, to the stage for the London leg of their album launch – The Penelope Album Live. What followed was a masterclass in heartfelt, large-ensemble jazz, brimming with emotion, texture, and familial joy.
Gig review: Bootleg Blondie at The Half Moon, Putney, a night of Rock Nostalgia & local tributes
Apr 24 2025- Celebrity Interviews
- Last Updated on 25 April 2025
- Monica Costa
Last night, (23 April 2025), The Half Moon in Putney hosted Bootleg Blondie, the UK’s premier Blondie tribute band, for a memorable evening that paid homage to rock legends and local icons. The band, led by the dynamic Debbie Harris, delivered a nearly three-hour performance that captivated the audience from start to finish.?
Show review: Speakeasy at the Adelphi Theatre starring Karen Hauer & Gorka Márquez
Apr 16 2025- Celebrity Interviews
- Last Updated on 16 April 2025
- Monica Costa
Last night, as the drizzle gently fell on the West End pavements, I walked out of the Adelphi Theatre feeling spellbound, uplifted, and wrapped in a soft haze of theatrical magic. Speakeasy, the new dance production by Strictly Come Dancing stars Karen Hauer and Gorka Márquez, is more than a dance show – it’s an intoxicating time-travelling journey through the rhythms, moves, and moods of the 20th century.
Having had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Hauer ahead of the tour for the London Mums Magazine winter print edition, I knew this would be special. But Speakeasy exceeded every expectation — a rare blend of artistic storytelling, technical mastery, live music brilliance, and good old-fashioned charm.
