Rick Pearson is a music critic for the Evening Standard who has written for MOJO and the Royal Society of Arts Journal.

Rick graduated from Cardiff University in 2006, with a joint honours in English Literature and Philosophy. During his time at the university, Rick wrote music reviews for Quench – the student newspaper’s arts supplement – and played guitar in a seven-piece soul group.

After graduating, Rick edited the live reviews section on Up Magazine, a monthly online publication. Six months later, he started work as one of the Evening Standard’s live music reviewers.

During his time at the newspaper, Rick has reviewed artists such as Madonna and U2, as well as covering all the major music festivals. He’s represented the newspaper on international press trips, assisted with its coverage of the Edinburgh Festival and written the occasional theatre review.

Away from music, Rick enjoys backpacking, Beat literature and following the fortunes of his football team, Crystal Palace