Hopefully by the time you read this we haven’t all been wiped out by that Swine Flu business. Nasty stuff. I’ve got lots to tell you this week, so let’s jog on.

There’s a handsome gig on tomorrow evening. The NME’s annual showcase of new music the NME ‘Radar Tour’ will be paying a visit to Central Station in Wrexham. The tour which has in the past given a hefty leg up to the likes of Crystal Castles, White Lies and Friendly Fires features a monster line up this year and will be headlined by one of the most talked about new pop-tarts on the planet, La Roux. The 80’s inspired (both hair, fashion and music) will be joined by Heartbreak, the new saviours of the indie dance floor Magistrates and Teeside quartet The Chapman Family. Doors are 7.30pm, tickets are £9.50 Adv or £11 on the door. The gig is followed by the Indie Rock n Roll clubnight until late.

Telfords Warehouse have the Kryptics playing tomorrow night. They hale from Mid-Wales and have been storming through venues in the area for the past year. They manage to mix up a bit of Queen, The Pixies and T-Rex but bringing it all up to date with an all round indie-esque feel. They’ve been touted as the next ‘big-thing’ to come from Wales, indie-wise anyway and their bio says you need to see them before they start playing the larger venues. So, you’ve been told.

On Sunday ‘Don’t Die Just Yet!‘ will be hosting a Bank Holiday Special featuring another DJ set from musical legend Tim Burgess (he played their Christmas Special last year) and art-rock group S.C.U.M.

Most people will know Tim Burgess as the lead singer of The Charlatans, who’ve been together since 1989 and have some classic hits such as ‘One to Another’, ‘North Country Boy’, ‘The Only One I Know’ and many others. Their popularity was probably at its height during the Britpop era in the mid-late nighties but since then their releases have been tickling the charts. Nevertheless, he’s still a big name in the music world and even though he abandoned the UK drizzle to live in the LA sunshine, the good people of the UK still love him dearly.

S.C.U.M. are the live band entertainment for the evening. They’re not my cup of tips but the Artrocker reading scene kids think highly of them. They’ve been quoted as saying “We are the pure antithesis of all others, a purging force destroying convention, physically turning music inside out”. Pleasant sounding songs then. Tickets for the show are £6 and are available from Yales Cafe Bar or seetickets.com.

Last week chart-hugging London band Athlete announced their mammoth UK tour and will be visiting Wrexham’s Central Station on July 3rd.

The tour kicks off at the Crewe M Club on June 5 and wraps up at London’s Somerset House on July 17. Most people will know them from their single ‘Wires’ which did well for them in 2005 and some might also know them from their first album which spawned the singles ‘El Salvador’ and ‘You Got The Style’. Tickets are £15 and are available from seetickets.com or Yales Cafe Bar.

The Roseville Band have had a busy time so far this year, recording their debut album and gigging up and down the UK. It’s about to get even busier for them. They were featured on a ‘New Artists to Watch’ SXSW CD which was distributed throughout the Texas festival and since then they’ve been invited to play at the Glastonbury Festival and have this week been confirmed to play two industry showcase gigs in London town.

The first is taking place at the legendary Water Rats venue on Tuesday 5th May and the second is yet to be confirmed.

Stokoz to Moscow have been locked away in their rehearsal rooms writing new material and practicing for their big gig tomorrow night supporting Sucioperro at the Barfly in Liverpool. They’ve also been confirmed to support People in Planes (Biffy Clyro’s tour support last year) at Central Station on June 17th.

Stokoz’s quest to win the Road To V competition has become more of a reality. The voting closed last Sunday and they were positioned at Number 5 in the chart (they’ve been in the top 10 since the start). Hopefully they’ve made an impression on the judges and they get some exciting news soon.

There you go, lots of inspiring news this week. Email me any news you have, no matter how uninspiring or indeed dramatically breathtaking to ben@wrexhammusic.co.uk. Take care.