Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about (N)YTMG but were afraid to ask...

Welcome to (Not) Your Trusted Music Guide: your gateway to cultural events in Southampton and beyond...

This site was conceived in response to requests from actual people in Southampton (and not just the voices in my head) to provide details of the gigs I was planning to attend as some sort of imprimatur of quality. This idea seemed to (a) act as an invitation to stalkers, (b) rely on the assumption that I have any idea what I'm doing and (c) tend to propagate my limited (if relatively broad and still growing) taste. Instead, I decided to proffer a sample of the cultural delights that await the thrice-blessed denizen of Southampton and its environs.

This guide started as a spreadsheet which, via a painful process, was converted to a JPEG and then regularly updated on my blog. However, over time, the range of both time and venues covered by (N)YTMG grew to an unexpected (and unplanned) extent and the published JPEG expanded to cover more than 200 events. A friend suggested that it should move to a dedicated platform which seemed a decent plan.

Thanks to the coding wizardry of gawpertron - coupled with the input of a lot of their time and several beer-and-curry based meetings with the author - an ill-conceived idea which got out of hand has been transfigured into the fully searchable and accessible gig listing that you see today. The idea that there is nothing happening in Southampton should truly have been laid to rest with extreme prejudice and a mistletoe stake driven through its heart. My foolish dream that no-one should have any excuse to miss a gig through ignorance (well, assuming that I have been able to discover its existence - which can be a far from trivial exercise in itself: loose lips sink ships!) is finally rendered a beautiful reality. Thanks to our connected world, wheresoever the family of IEEE 802.11 or at least a couple of Gs hold sway, (N)YTMG can be your companion: nagging you to leave the couch and enjoy more of this glorious city's delights.

The content of this guide is maintained by the author, and its underlying code by gawpertron, as part of some strange expansion of the dictionary definition of 'fun'. We shall consider ourselves well-paid if you use it to support local venues, musicians, poets, theatre makers, dancers and the like.

Whenever the functionality of (N)YTMG is enhanced as we strive to make it easier to seek out (and attend!) interesting events in Southampton (and beyond), this fact will be announced - not in the society pages of The Times – but on (N)YTMG’s own Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NYTMG. This page may also convey other information I feel will be of value to the (N)YTMG user.

At the time of writing, (N)YTMG covers an ever-growing range of events in Southampton and environs, including some coverage of Eastleigh, Romsey, Winchester and Fareham. As it relies on a middle-aged fool for its data entry, mistakes and omissions may occur: should you spot any, you can contact me via the (N)YTMG Facebook page.

Be warned: if you attend any of these events there is a risk that you might encounter the author in the flesh. Should this happen, do not stare directly at him but, equally, never turn your back on him: he may be dangerous (or much worse, talk to you)! However, such a traumatic encounter does give you the opportunity to give any feedback on (N)YTMG in person and he will consider or ignore it based on its perceived utility: the author's opinion is final (however wrong-headed he and it may be).

Stuart Ffoulkes, Southampton 2019-2022