Here Comes Your Jan, Night 1: Imogen and the Knife, Hank and Annie-Dog take over the 100 Club, London

Look, we get it. January isn’t the brightest of months. With post-Christmas bellies full and New Year’s resolutions facing the chilly rain, we understand why it’s not exactly top of the pops. Yet here at Dork HQ, January starts something bigger each year.

With all to play for, it’s about who will shape this year into their own and who’ll be leading the charge for the future. Nowhere is that clearer than at Here Comes Your Jan. Two nights at the iconic 100 Club in the heart of London, stacked with new favourites we’re Very Excited About – see it as a hub for artists ready to become your next obsessions. As Night 1 proves, it can be soundtracked in countless ways.

Opening proceedings, Annie-Dog arrives with sound-bending style that leaves attendees enraptured. Twisting with every move, it’s the sound of an artist expressing every fibre that flows through them. Electronic breakdowns coat fizzing hooks, with ‘Little Italy’ perfectly laying out the world this act builds. Bedroom pop filled with arena-sized ambition, tonight teases what’s to come. Being unpredictable yet reaching for the top – Annie-Dog’s essential.

Drenched in grunge perfection, Hank are bubbling to the fore. With swagger, they turn the 100 Club into their kingdom. Crunching riffs and gut-pulling breakdowns build at every turn, none more so than on ‘DYLM’ which hits like a punch to the gut. They own the stage as if it’s home. Their cocktail has the room switched into their lane, the sound of late-night London streets and dimly lit lights crashing together. Only just starting, they feel ready to hypnotise 2025 with something special and immediate.

There’s a shift when Imogen and the Knife take to the stage. Transforming everything from the first note, tonight feels like the unveiling of an artist ready for the grandest stages. Backed by a band with horns, there’s something fitting with the 100 Club’s history that makes everyone feel they’re witnessing a moment. The silence for ‘Paris Night’ sends shivers, while ‘Dream Died With You, Babe’ stuns and devastates in equal measure.

That balance sits at the heart of everything Imogen and the Knife. It feels both like theatre of the highest order and a confessional story from Newcastle’s pubs. Noting how she’s wanted to play the 100 Club since birth (dream early, folks), her showmanship pulls everyone inward. ‘Used To Beauty’ and a new track (finished just yesterday) tentatively titled ‘The World Over’ sets the path ahead.

Warm, rich and led by a voice that cuts through to something indescribable – Imogen and the Knife have laid down the marker for the show you’ll reference next year, saying, “Look how big things have got now”.