SHOWNOTES: THE BRAND NEW PRINT MAGAZINE COMING TO A MUSIC VENUE NEAR YOU SOON
NEWS | MUSIC VENUE TRUST & DROWNED IN SOUND REVEAL SHOWNOTES | 22nd September 2026
Amid stories about music publications shuttering at a rate matched only by the closures of grassroots venues and bands cancelling tours, a new print title celebrating live music is set to launch in the UK.
50,000 copies of SHOWNOTES will be available for free at over 500 live music venues across the UK from the beginning of November. From Belfast to Bognor, Swansea to the Isle of Skye, music fans will be able to pick up 64 pages packed with gig recommendations, interviews, and essays by some of the best music journalists in the world. This was made possible by a launch grant from Music Venue Trust, the charity that aims to protect, secure and improve UK Grassroots Music Venues.
Edited by award-winning writer, author, and editor Hannah Ewens (Rolling Stone, Vice, Vogue, etc.), the magazine will give a voice to fans alongside covering acts playing stadiums and arenas who support the grassroots levy, cult heroes thrilling crowds, and rising acts playing small local venues.
Designing the magazine and joining the Drowned in Sound team as its new creative director is Raissa Pardini, the go-to poster designer for bands from Rolling Stones and Blur to Bikini Kill, whose other clients include Apple, Adobe, Kim Kardashian’s Skims, Nadia Lee Cohen, and the Lost Venues exhibition currently on display at the V&A in London.
Editor Hannah Ewens says:
“Our small editorial team – which I’m really proud to say is all-female, and includes Edinburgh-based Arusa Qureshi, who specialises in hip-hop and R&B, and rock and post-punk specialist Kate Jeffrie, who runs her own print music magazine, Negativland – has done a great job of shaping the first issue in just a few weeks. Music journalism can feel static and drained of life, especially after years of rolling staff cuts and publications folding. The concept of a magazine that uses something as visceral and immediate as the live experience as the lens through which to understand and celebrate music is a perfect antidote to that.
“I believe that the dominance of short-form video and filmed content, at the expense of quality writing and print, doesn’t serve artists or fans. Being able to sit with beautifully written, intimate profiles, esoteric long-form thinking, and curious investigations still matters. SHOWNOTES will be something fans can leave with after a gig, relive the excitement through at home, and use to start planning their next show. On a personal note, I’m obsessed with print, and being able to commission my weird ideas and some of my favourite writers and photographers is a pleasure I feel blessed to indulge in again.”
Publisher Sean Adams says
“For 26 years Drowned in Sound has shared our infectious passion for music. We’re really grateful that Music Venue Trust believes in our vision to make a magazine for fangirls who race to the barrier and (BBC Radio) 6 Music dads dancing in the back row of the Barrowlands. SHOWNOTES is a magazine for every music lover and, in a time of media apocalypse, where finding trusted human voices is harder than ever. Whether you’re a trad folkster or operatic metaller or both or neither, having glimpsed the first issue and knowing the plans going forward, you will find something in the magazine to pique your curiosity.
“My hope is that the editorial and recommendations will inspire fans to discover their local scenes and take day trips around the UK to check out genres of music outside of their algo-bubble. Our mission is to get more people to go to more gigs and, beyond just recommending shows, we have some projects beyond the magazine up our sleeves…”
SHOWNOTES will be available from November 1st across the UK. Sign up at http://drownedinsound.org for further updates.
