First of all, the organisers of this year’s festival deserve credit for a great series of fixtures, with some smart and courageous decisions on artists and staging. Second, they seem to have done a good job with ticketing, with far fewer of the good seats at events going empty (and seat alloca...

Editor's Note: This blog was contributed by Shaun Rogan. Be sure to read his previous blogs for Zoom In Online: A Trip Thru Hell with the C.A. Quintet and Lux Interior (1946-2009): A True Legend of Rock N Roll. read more...

Man, I love it when a band brings the music! Not just the hard driving rhythms, the catchy melodies, or the dynamic conveyance of emotion through dramatic time changes. I love it when a band brings the music with pure passion, an edgy resentment for the status quo, and a bag full of fun! Water is Ri...

Over the last few months I have steered you towards the best Radiohead (or affiliated) albums, the best Bob Dylan songs and the best Bill Mallonee/ Vigilantes of Love albums. As U2's latest opus has been birthed and the reviews have been given, starting with Rolling Stone's 5 star review and tweeted...

When two Irish bands release new albums at the same time, you know it’s going to be a good week.   The differences between these two bands, their albums and the manner of their release, however, could not be more stark.  U2 is pondering their mortality and trying to live up to their past, a...

Fairy tales are a postmodern embarrassment.  Thus the anguish over the success of the film Slumdog Millionaire which was dubbed "poverty porn". Another commentator called this rags to riches story "dangerous".  The film discovers beauty and hope where supposedly it can't be found, perhaps because ...

Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is a bleak and challenging modern opera, which although originally read as a sharp satire of Pre-Soviet Russia, soon fell out of favour after Stalin’s criticism of it’s dissonance and social chaos. This staging brings the opera into a modern, ...

Thursday night saw the Hong Kong Arts Festival move to the unusual venue of St John’s Cathedral in Mid Levels. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir gave a performance that was in equal measures assured, kinetic and brilliant. They overcame the limitations of the space and drew the audience ...

Kirby Krackle: On first spin, the novelty of Kirby Krackle seems better-suited for the convention circuit than a discriminating CD collection. However, repeated listens reveal accomplished songcraft that will reward anyone wishing Weezer's Rivers Cuomo would return to writing about D&D.... From Tucs...

Each week ZIO asks a different musician the same 11 questions via email. Visit Zoom In Music every Wednesday for a new installment or subscribe to the RSS feed. read more...