GAVIN & Stacey star Mat Horne hosts another of his live music showcases in Shoreditch on New Year s Eve and we ve got a pair of tickets to give away. Up-and-coming indie bands State of Emotion, from Rainham, and Jayways, from Benfleet and Raleigh, play at

GAVIN & Stacey star Mat Horne hosts another of his live music showcases in Shoreditch on New Year's Eve and we've got a pair of tickets to give away.

Up-and-coming indie bands State of Emotion, from Rainham, and Jayways, from Benfleet and Raleigh, play at his latest Sessions party, which also features DJ sets from The Libertines and Florence & The Machine.

The comedy actor could be sitting back and relaxing as the third and final series of the cult sitcom unfolds on BBC1.

Instead, his budding DJ/promoter career has taken off, and as well as his successful monthly Saturday night event, Sessions, at the Queen of Hoxton, he's about to launch sister nights in Manchester and Brighton.

That's on top of another new monthly student night at The London School of Economics, simply called Economy, and a whole host of weekend gigs/personal appearances at universities and clubs around the UK.

Mat told me: "I guess you could say that I don't need to do the DJing or promoting - it's more a hobby, a labour of love...but it's also a great release and nice to get away from the acting.

"We've done eight so far at the Queen of Hoxton and it's apparently their most successful night, so that's amazing."

Of Gavin & Stacey, Mat, 31, says: "The way this third series has been written, it certainly feels like the end to me and things seem to have been tied up nicely at the end. I can't see there being any more one-off specials in near future, but who knows, maybe in five or 10 years' time it might be more appropriate."

Mat has various other acting projects and offers in the pipeline, and in the meantime, when not putting on his own nights, has been hitting the road regularly for university bookings, taking his pal and resident DJ Brad Lucke with him for "technical and moral support".

Originally from Hornchurch, Cut & Shut Disco promoter Brad, 30, has been visiting up to three different campuses on spare weekends with Mat.

They met backstage at a Macabees gig at The Astoria, Charing Cross Road, three years ago, and Mat went on to book the Macabees for several parties.

Musically, Mat plays a mixture of cutting edge indie and electro. He says: "The Queen of Hoxton is great because it's got two floors, so we have live bands in the basement, and then I play an indie set afterwards, while Brad and various guests will play electro and disco upstairs."

- MATT TROLLOPE

We're giving away a pair of tickets to Mat Horne's Sessions at the Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch on New Year's Eve, with those live sets from State of Emotion and Jayways and DJ sets from Florence & The Machine and The Libertines.

Email your name, address and phone number to Lindsay.jones@archant.co.uk no later than 9am, December 22. Put Mat Horne in the subject box.