Guardian Music — Meltdown festival, LondonA man blessed in many ways, but never with a sunny disposition, it sometimes seems as if Ray Davies spent the entire 60s complaining. The most recurring of his grumbles involved the Kinks's record company. Not only did Pye Re... more info

Guardian Music — Southbank Centre, London"I was on acid when I saw the Kinks for the first time," Ron Sexsmith mutters. Ray Davies – former Kink and current Meltdown curator – slings on a guitar, preparing to accompany the Canadian troubadour on a version of the ... more info

Stopcryingyourheartout.com — When you’ve shot your mouth off and claimed that your band is the best in the world, what do you say when that band dissolves and you form a new one?“We’re the second-best band in the world.”So says Liam Gallagher, singer from ’90s Britpop ... more info

Stereogum — When first writing about BTW Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the glammed-up, psychedelic, punked-out project of Oregon (via New Zealand) resident Ruban Nielson, I mentioned the Kinks, Sly Stone, and Syd Barrett, noting the self-titled debut sounds like “... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, LondonAn indie institution 27 years in the making, Yo La Tengo are gloriously unpredictable. It's often said that no two shows by the New Jersey trio are alike. This is nowhere more apparent than at Sunday's Meltdown show, titled... more info

DrownedInSound — The Sonics were basically the germ that spawned punk rock. 40 years after they split up, they've reformed to play Ray Davies' Meltdown festival. As a thank you to Ray for picking them at his curated event, Rob Lind and Jerry Roslie from The Sonics ha... more info

Guardian Music — Kicking off his festival, the former Kinks frontman was in giddy formGiven his authorship of Waterloo Sunset, chances were always high that Ray Davies playing the Southbank Centre in his capacity as curator of this year's Meltdown was going to be spe... more info

Guardian Music — This week we've been getting in gear for Ray Davies's Meltdown festival and listening to a lot of albumsThree reasons why we're excited about MeltdownRay Davies will be playing, just like he is here As will Anna Calvi, Suggs and Geno Washington And, ... more info

Guardian Music — Soul man Geno Washington promises to get the party started, while Suggs plans a classical 'Baggy Trousers'Anna Calvi, singer-songwriter (performing 16 June)What do the Kinks mean to you?I remember my dad putting on "Waterloo Sunset" and being struck ... more info

Guardian Music — Controversial former BBC 6 Music DJ to host three-hour show on Saturday and Sunday nightsGeorge Lamb, the former BBC 6 Music DJ, is joining TalkSport from Sunday to present a new 9pm weekend show revolving around sport and celebrity chat.Lamb, whose ... more info