Sidetracked with Annie and Nick

A look back on the biggest musical lessons of 2025 so far with the help of Sidetracked’s guests, including Cynthia Erivo sharing her theory on why we’re created with the ability to sing, Stevie Wonder pondering the concept of retirement, and James Blake standing up for Coldplay. Plus, Michael Eavis’s approach to birthday parties, Alana Haim’s bad habits and Sir Rod Stewart’s Glastonbury budget.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 07970082700 or email [email protected]

Is it ever okay to talk during a gig? Do rock concerts have the friendliest crowds? And can one wear glasses in a mosh pit? Annie and Nick ponder all this and more in this listener curated special about gig culture in 2025 and share their own live music highs and lows.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 07970082700 or email [email protected].

Nick is joined by guest co-host and Fontaines D.C. guitarist, Carlos O’Connell, this week to analyse the concept of recession pop and the positivity rates of popular songs. What impact can the economy have on our listening habits? Elsewhere this week, fans say Justin Timberlake is ruining the tour (the world tour), Madonna’s released her much-anticipated remix album, and Nadia Lee Cohen has directed a music video for Aphex Twin. Plus, Carlos explains the complex themes of Disney’s Frozen to an enthralled Nick and reveals how an encounter with a scammer palm reader in San Francisco helped him get a part on Lena Dunham's Too Much.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]

You can read Mark Savage’s story on music trends here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-052ab668-403d-416f-b5a6-c5692313b9b4

SONGS

Fontaines D.C. - It’s Amazing To Be Young

Aphex Twin – Korg Funk 5      

CMAT – Euro Country

Fontaines D.C. - Boys in the Better Land

Ed Sheeran – Shape of You

Chappell Roan – Hot To Go!

Pharell Williams – Happy

Idina Menzel – Let It Go

ALBUMS

Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel

Fontaines D.C. - Romance

The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me

CMAT – Euro Country

Madonna – Veronica Electronica

Madonna – Ray of Light

Madonna – Erotica

Mên An Tol – The Country

Too Much, Netflix

Annie sits down with musician, author, and actor Jordan Stephens, whilst Nick is on holiday, to discuss some of the ‘globally gas’ headlines from the world of music: the Coldplay CEO scandal and Jess Glynne’s Jet2 jingle. Elsewhere, Jordan and Annie begin to unpick the complexities of AI and streaming platforms and discuss some more positive news about how the industry is (finally) recognising that artists should be paid. Plus, are people too worried to let go and dance at gigs? Tyler, The Creator has dropped a new album about body movement and connection – is it the antidote to the threats facing music culture?

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]

Stevie Wonder is one of the best-selling music artists in the world, he's won 25 Grammy Awards and an Oscar, and his activism has played a pivotal role in historic world events. In this very special episode of Sidetracked, recorded in a makeshift studio in a hotel on the edge of Hyde Park, Stevie tells Annie Macmanus about his approach to song writing, his adventurous childhood and his feelings about the word 'retirement'.

Who had the more life affirming experience this week? From Oasis to Ian’s 40th Birthday Party, Annie and Nick compare notes on a series of events they never saw coming. Elsewhere, after Drake’s Wireless shows, Nick has a PSA for flying pop stars and Annie shares why she drank a cup of tea more expensive than a Heaton Park pint. Plus, Justin Bieber has dropped a surprise album to mixed reviews, and Annie and Nick ask the question: have you ever ditched a mate's birthday for a gig?

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]

What are the key components of a good gig?Off the back of the Oasis tour starting and Fontaines D.C. performing to their biggest audience ever, Annie and Nick discuss the ways we can all create a fun concert atmosphere – and all the things we shouldn’t do. Elsewhere, as if performing at Glastonbury wasn’t enough, PinkPantheress recently won a Chess Grand Slam in Bromley and she’s not the only overachiever in the music world, all seven members of BTS are almost finished National Service and they’re coming straight back to K-pop. Plus, Annie and Nick are preparing for the event of the summer, Ian’s birthday party, and one story has Nick comparing the mystery of a 316-year-old violin to a Jane McDonald TV show.

SONGS

Danny L Harle and PinkPantheress – Starlight

PinkPantheress – Illegal

Underworld – Dark and Long

Oasis - Wonderwall

ALBUM

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life

OTHER

Longitude Festival

Sidetracked Live from Glastonbury: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0lkz02p

Mary Anne Hobbs - Black Sabbath show: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002f7c8

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]

Now that Glastonbury is over, Annie and Nick share their 2025 recovery tactics and analyse their post festival dreams of bread, butter and Jessie Ware. Elsewhere, they’re getting excited for upcoming gigs such as Fontaines D.C. at Finsbury Park, Black Sabbath’s final curtain, the Oasis reunion tour, and Stevie Wonder. Plus, a compelling Wood Pigeon impression from a listener’s son, Sidetracked as a source of oxytocin, and a recent TIME article argues that the concept of the Song of the Summer might be over - but did it ever matter?

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]

From watching CMAT's career defining performance on the Pyramid Stage to bumping into Lily Allen and Rita Ora in Block9, Annie and Nick debrief on the weekend that was.

This episode was recorded live on 6 Music from Glastonbury.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]

For the first time ever, Annie and Nick bring Sidetracked to a live audience.

Get in touch with Annie and Nick! If you’re over 16 WhatsApp 079700 82700 or email [email protected]