It feels like we're coming to the end of Summer - I guess literally, being as September is fast approaching - but also in that Maybeshewill is done with festivals 'proper' for another year. We've rarely had the opportunity to do many (sticking to our guns on this DIY thing means we don't have inroads in to any of the 'mainstream' festivals) but the ones we've played both this year and last have looked after us well.

Truck earlier in the year was incredible - It's a wonderfully well thought out affair, and literally totally ethical - which makes it a pleasure to be involved with. Where the big festival names are corporately financed, sponsored and focussed, Truck still manages to have food provided by the local rotary club and donates all the proceeds to charities. Astonishing. Despite an early slot, we had an incredible turn out and response - and some people even wrote nice things about us in magazines. Thank you so much if you were there. Especially if you were down the front nodding along.

Last weekend we were invited back for the second time to play the main stage of our local treasure of a festival - Summer Sundae. Playing a stage which over the weekend would be graced by some of our favourite acts is a little intimidating, and as we've rarely had a warm reception in our home town (distance from home is proportional to warmth of response for Maybeshewill) we were reluctant to get our hope up, but as it was we had an awesome outing.

The set itself aside, Summer Sundae is something we can't speak highly enough of. It's an incredible weekend - and not just because of the acts they get to perform, but because it is three days of wandering around a festival bumping in to everyone that's involved in our music scene - and this year it feels like some kind of momentum has been set in motion. Our local scene has a tough time of it - we're from a small city, and we live in the shadow of Nottingham and Birmingham - but for once it feels like people are planning things and working together on projects, and that was never more obvious than late on Sunday night at Summer Sundae sat on the steps of DeMontfort Hall with promoters, photographers, venue owners, musicians and friends talking about what was going on and how we've got the tightest knit music scene in the world.

We're feeling positive about a lot of things at the moment, but about nothing more so than our 'scene'.

What of the future then?

Firstly to Greece for two shows with Crippled Black Phoenix.

In October we're heading out on another mammoth UK and Ireland tour variously with our friends Death Of London (http://www.myspace.com/deathoflondon) and Cats and Cats and Cats (http://www.myspace.com/catsandcatsandcats). We're going to a few places we've never been before, and back to a lot of places we love.

To accompany the tour we will be re-releasing our debut album 'Not For Want Of Trying' which has been out of press for a good few months now. Because we resent the idea of a straight re-issue, we'll be adding a few bonus tracks in the form of the previously-never-available-in-shops-in-the-uk EP 'Japanese Spy Transcript' on the end.

In November we're rejoining old friends And So I Watch You From Afar (who popped in to our local last night for a pint on their way home from Pukkelpop) for an absolutely epic European tour, which will take us as far east as Russia and the Ukraine. I don't think we've ever been more terrified.

In December we will be curating another White Noise Christmas festival in Leicester - but more information on that nearer the time.

Next year? Rumour has it that we're working on a mini-album for release in the first quarter of next year. Rumour also has it that we'll be making a few changes to the way we work that are necessitated by some of the things we want to do with the music... But you'll have to wait and see if those are anywhere near the truth.

See you soon.

Johnshewill
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