BEFORE I get properly under way, I feel I need to issue this disclaimer: I love music. With that out of the way, I’ll begin...

I’m all for promoting live music in the local area and enjoy doing it as part of my job here at the Worcester News, but there is one aspect of the circuit that annoys me – the neverending rise of open mic nights in pubs.

Despite it being a potential source of hidden gems, offering the promise of a great night out and a chance to be on centre stage, there just seems to be too many of them spreading to more watering holes and more nights of the week.

It makes the search for a quiet pint pretty difficult, often leading to an inadvertently dry pub crawl when musical notes can be heard drifting from function rooms and bars.

I appreciate this makes me sound like a perfect candidate to deliver a grumbling monologue on Grouchy Young Men but it does seem that every day of the week has some form of live music rattling along in a lot of pubs.

Though the music scene in my home town of Malvern seems to be going from strength to strength, with the number of bands and artists emerging in such a steady stream that it could fill this 400- word column on its own.

This, in part, is to blame for my predicament but they could soon be making the most of a new venue, with the long overdue emergence of Malvern Cube – the artist formerly known as Malvern Youth Centre – as a hub for gigs in Albert Road North.

While the future of the Con Club in Church Street continues to rumble along under the surface in what could finally turn out to be a comeback to rival that of the European Ryder Cup team on Sunday night.

And all of this is being ably supported by a blossoming record store in the traditional mould – ie, one where I spend money that would otherwise be spent frivolously on things such as the weekly shop – that also stages its fair share of live performances.

Worcester is equally blessed in the music stakes but the situation is different as I’m normally making a special visit to seek out new sounds or to see friends take to the stage.

So, the next time you walk into the bar and leave with a long face when your hoped for peace is broken I will feel your pain (or rue the moment I missed an up and coming band).