Acclaimed live act to headline Lancaster Music Co-op fundraiser

A quartet who have created quite the stir with their gripping live performances and socially aware songwriting headline Lancaster Music Co-op’s latest monthly fundraiser this week.

The Zoffs - Blundell, Brearley, Pye, and Skorge - hail from Lancaster and Morecambe and are known for their fusion of classic guitar-driven energy with modern psychedelia.

They top the bill at a free night of music in the upstairs room at The Pub in Lancaster, from 7.30pm on Friday 27 June. It is the latest fundraiser as the music co-op, homeless since 2018, saves to fit out its non-profit rehearsal facility, recording studio and music space on Lodge Street, which has been undergoing major repairs.

The Zoffs balance lyrical depth with infectious melodies, drawing influences from British rock heritage and post-punk revivalism.

Their debut album As Above So Below, released earlier this year, explores themes of personal turmoil, political unrest, and the beauty found in everyday life.

Supporting them are Dubinski, four inseparable siblings - Eugene, Fergus, Donal and Eoin Gaine - who were born in rural North Yorkshire and raised in the Scottish Highlands.

The Gaine brothers forged a share love of music during a childhood spent in atmospheric and social isolation, spending their adolescence writing and performing songs for the sheer joy of it.

They moved to Edinburgh, having decided to raise the bar of their childhood music ‘hobby’ to make a proper go of it.

Using their late mother’s maiden name as their moniker, the band received acclaim for their eponymous debut album in 2022 and took their high-energy show on the road as an international touring act. They re-enlisted Grammy Award winning producers Mike Horner and Robbie Nelson (The Rolling Stones, Hot Chip, Hozier, Deaf Havana) to record their new album What Is Your Definition Of Happiness – which they describe as a ‘record of love, happiness, pain, sorrow, grief, healing, growth and acceptance’.

Opening the night are Glass Phantoms, a fuzzy, bluesy, desert rock band paradoxically hailing from the Lake District. With relentless pounding rhythm, driving guitars, and howling vocals, they have been an underground staple of the alt rock scene in the north west since forming in Lancaster Music Co-Op in 2015.

Co-op director, Holly Blackwell, one half of city psych-punk duo The Lovely Eggs, said: “We are thrilled to host another truly eclectic night of free music with some immensely talented musicians from the Lancaster district and further afield.

“There can be few better ways to kick-off a weekend and we’d urge local music fans of all ages, including people who haven’t done so before, to come along.

“People’s attendance and support means such a lot to everyone involved in the co-op because it helps show just how much this facility is needed and loved by the local community.”

Co-op merch will be available on the night. There will be donation points and you can also donate to the campaign here.

The co-op’s home has been undergoing major structural repairs funded by £1.2m from the government’s Community Ownership Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Lancaster’s High Street Heritage Action Zone and Lancaster City Council. The works are spearheaded by Carnforth-based Duckett Building Services. Repairs to the roof are finished and much of the exterior is complete, with interior rooms now taking shape.

The council, as building owners, had previously deemed the premises unsafe, but after long delays eventually granted the co-op a long-term lease.