5 Things We're Excited About For 2023
Published on 06 January 2023
Here we are, friends. Four days into a fresh new year, and we hope you’ve all had a terrific Christmas and New Year time! We certainly did, and a big part of that was the anticipation of all the fun things we’re looking forward to in 2023! From new music to new guitars, there’s lots of fun ahead for us all! Here are five things we are looking forward to especially…
New Guitars! BilT and More
Nothing beats the excitement and joy of new (or new to us) guitar brands showing up! We ordered a batch of BilT guitars absolutely ages ago and have waited with baited breath ever since. A few days ago, they finally arrived and we are beyond thrilled with them! We can’t wait to showcase this boutique American brand to you, with all of their slightly off-kilter charm. Hints of the Starcaster, the Jazzmaster and more collide with precision and class here, making these guitars simultaneously top-tier and pawn-shop funky.
We’re also anticipating some incoming Music Man guitars coming our way, including (hopefully) the amazing new Tosin Abasi model, the Kaizen. There’s a lot more too, but these will have to remain under wraps for now!
New Albums
There are some very hot new albums on the horizon for 2023. The mighty Metallica will be dropping their new album 72 Seasons on April 14th. This will be their first studio release since 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, and if lead single Lux Æterna is anything to go by, we’ll be hearing some proper old school thrash with plenty of furious energy from these veterans. About time, say us! The metal titans have also recently joined the ‘Billion Club’, with Enter Sandman having reached a billion plays on Spotify.
Emo favourites Paramore will be releasing their newest album, This is Why, on February 10th. Coincidentally, Paramore’s lead guitarist Taylor York is a BIlt player, so there’s some nice New Year’s synergy there for us! As one of the biggest non-legacy rock bands out there, it’s good to have Hayley Williams and her team back doing what they do best.
Another artist we always look forward to hearing from is Lana Del Rey. Her forthcoming release, the quite excellently named Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Underneath Ocean Blvd, is due for release everywhere on March 10th. No one does romantic glamorous despair quite like her, and the lead single sounds very promising. As an artist who doesn’t waste time (8 albums since she hit big with 2012’s Born to Die) Del Rey has nonetheless kept the quality levels high so we’re excited for this new one!
Huge Gigs and Small Gigs
Last year had us all blinking at the sunlight as we tentatively crept out from our various caves, somewhat unsure of the world we were coming back to but desperate to grab a hold of some semblance of normality. For many music fans, this meant the cautious return of live music, be it as an audience member or indeed a performer. We got through it, with the help of extra safety measures, but this year is where things feel like they are really taking off again. International tours are happening without (so far) endless cancellations and re-bookings, and the cogs of the great gigging machine are creaking back into life. Rejoice!
We’ll be seeing lots of humongous mega-bands playing too, in suitably enormous venues. Who? Well, a few acts touring this year include Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns ‘n’ Roses and Motley Crue. Not bad!
And it’s not just the massive gigs we’re excited about, either. Many acts whom we collectively love are playing local, smaller venues near you! This is where the real music scene lives and breathes, and it’s where support is needed the most. Go along to a few gigs in your city, buy a t-shirt and remember why you got into all this in the first place!
NAMM 2023
NAMM is back! After being cancelled for the last two years, Winter Namm is back in 2023, albeit at a slightly different time. This year, it’s happening during 13th to 16th April (so it’s hardly 'winter' but let’s not be those people) at its usual home of the Anaheim Convention Center.
Recent years aside, NAMM is the best attended industry convention in the Western world, so for us it’s enormously exciting. It’s around now that we normally hear news about the year’s new models, but with things shunted back a few months, we’re almost at fever pitch as we await the incoming news! New guitar models, freshened up classics, wacky one-offs and more are all part of the punch our industry loves to drink at this time of year. We don’t have too long to wait this year, and of course, we’ll bring you all of the best news about new products as soon as they are announced, so keep an eye on our News pages and social accounts!
Festivals are BACK
Have you seen the festival lineups this year? Whatever genres of music you prefer, it looks like you’ll be treated to a phenomenal range of festival experiences in 2023. In fact, some line-ups are so strong, it’s doubtful that you’ll even get to see every band you love, which is not a bad problem to have at all!
Which ones have we noticed so far? Well, Download (8th-11th June) seems to be pretty hard to beat: this is the festival’s 20th Anniversary, so they are pulling out all the stops to make it an unforgettable experience. How about Metallica playing TWO sets on different nights? We’ll take that! Also on the lineup are Slipknot, Ghost, Bring Me the Horizon and Evanescence, so you’re guaranteed lots of variety with your hard rockin’!
Country fans across the UK will be reaching for their best stirrups as the Country to Country festival brings plenty of Americana across this year! The event, which takes place from the 10th-12th March, actually spreads its musical goods between three locations - London, Glasgow and Dublin - and the full lineup switches about every night so all locations get the full experience! We love the innovation here! If you’re a fan of the Old Crow Medicine Show, the Zac Brown Band, Lady A, Morgan Evans or Thomas Rhett, you’re in for one heck of a weekend!
International festivals are also well worth casting your eye over, as they always are. The big ones for rock fans - Wacken and Hellfest - are particularly packed this year. Wacken is bringing the likes of Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Wardruna and the Dropkick Murphys, while Hellfest has an insane lineup that features KISS, Pantera, Iron Maiden (it’s a busy year for Bruce and the boys), Slipknot, Incubus and Black Flag! Where will you find the energy?
2023: A Year of Promise
It’s early doors still, but we have a lot of hope for the year ahead. The main take away, we guess, is that live music is alive and well, and those difficult times we’ve lived through look set to become things of the past. We think that’s worth celebrating, and we’ll be standing in a muddy field or dark room enjoying the rush of being blasted with triumphant volume as much as we can.
On the guitar front, our world seems raring to go too, and we can’t wait to unveil the glorious new guitars that 2023 has ready for us! As ever, watch this space (and keep an eye on our socials) for all the new gear as soon as it is released!
Here’s to 2023!
