rag'n'bone
Halifax Piece Hall - 10th July 25
Review & photos - Graham Wokes
On a hot sunny Thursday evening at the Piece Hall, Halifax was the perfect setting for a night of great music. After being told i need to see Rag'n'bone man by my wife and daughter i thought i best give it a go.
Before the main event i was introduced to 19 year old Kerr Mercer, this guy has a bright future ahead of him, from Lanarkshire, Scotland he has the voice and confidence beyond his years, At times he reminded me of fellow scot Paolo Nutini and for someone who's never released a song his songs felt very familiar, it has all probably come from the touring he's done over the last two years, the experience can teach an artist so much and as he said being fair skinned and ginger he needs to bring factor 50 next time. look forward to seeing in the near future and hearing some recordings
Next on stage was Elles Bailey, the Bristolian is a Blues/Americana singer who never stopped from putting her first foot on the stage, with a catalogue of four studio albums, touring and presenting work on Planet Rock Radio she is certainly always busy, her and the band kept the feet tapping with an upbeat set, the band were very
accomplished and along with Elles backing singer Demi Marriner (an artist in her own right) added a touch of glamour and quality vocals, they were warmly received, and the performance enhanced the continued sunshine
The main event arrived, and I watched with an open mind, The big guy appeared to an audience who welcomed him with roars of approval and declarations of undying love. He proceeded through tracks from Lovers in a past life, to Human.
For me things began to look clearer, the image on the stage backdrop has a fearsome looking guy you'd probably cross the road for, but the artist on stage was in fact more warming and even seemed slightly shy, his voice certainly is far from it he carried the crowd along with familiar hits with the odd obscure track. He's lately taken to wearing glasses which takes the edge off the tattooed image and his flirtation with dancing only last seconds as if there's embarrassment of being caught enjoying the music.
He's certainly a vocal powerhouse and the music gets you moving, Got to say i was massively impressed, for an old guy like me anyone who makes spectacles, and dad dancing cool only helps our image, i must say the ladies were right with a voice like that makes the man like his final song title a "GIANT"
paul heaton/Billy bragg
Halifax Piece Hall - 23rd July 25
Review & Photos - John McEvoy
Tonight, the British summer delivered its trademark drizzly weather, but this didn’t dampen the high spirits of the people who were attending the second night of the Paul Heaton/Rianne Downey gig at the Halifax Piece Hall, which was ably supported by a great opening set from Billy Bragg.
Billy Bragg took to the stage first, and delivered his folk-punk anthems, with his distinctive increasingly gravelly voice. Time has certainly not diminished his passionate beliefs and views, which went down well with the crowd, and it me be an oldie, but New England remains a huge crowd favourite. I first saw Billy Bragg back in the 80’s on the Red Wedge Tour and it’s heartening to see that he still burns bright and we really need more people like Billy Bragg!!
It was then down to headliners Paul Heaton and Rianne Downey to keep the damp crowd entertained and what a top job they did.
There aren’t many artists around who have such a vast back catalogue to call upon, and tonight was a reminder of just how many great songs Paul Heaton has written over the years with The Housemartins, The Beautiful South and also his solo material with tonight’s gig also including tracks from his most recent album release ‘The Mighty Several’.
And so tonight the crowd were taken on a journey through an illustrious career, and each song often found the rain-soaked crowd signing along.
Personally I thought ‘Sail This Ship Alone’ was a real highlight of the evening and judging by the reaction of the crowd, I wasn’t alone in this view.
His easy going and amiable charm soon had the audience on his side and throughout his vocal sparring partner Rianne Downey was in fine voice and their harmonies were just one of the many highlights of the evening.
At one point, he regaled the crowd with his comments about getting into Halifax earlier in the week and seeing a pub called the ‘Three Pigeons’, and he also mentioned just how crap he was at dancing, a confession which only endeared him further to the crowd.
There was also mention of a meet up with Ed Sheeran which I won’t go into detail about as doubtless someone, somewhere would be offended!!
We almost went full Coldplay as well with the introduction of huge balloon being thrown into the audience which duly bounced around the venue. There was no Kiss Cam though!!
Special mention should be given to Rianne Downey who has replaced Jacqui Abbott on this tour (no idea if this is going to be permanent or not at the time of writing).
Rianne is a singer songwriter in her own right and doubtless has a great future ahead of here either with Paul Heaton or solo. Her debut album ‘The Consequence Of Love’ is scheduled for release on the 17th Oct and you really should check it out when it’s released.
And so it was that a capacity crowd left the Piece Hall, a little damp but happy having enjoyed sets from the Bard of Barking and one of England’s greatest songwriters.
Let’s hope it’s not too long before they come back to this part of the world.
Set list:
· Just Another Family
· Bow Down
· Old Red Eyes
· Sheep
· Bell Bottomed Tear
· Quicksand
· Five Get Over Excited
· Sail This Ship
· DIY
· Fish ‘n’ Chip Supper
· Song For Whoever
· Me And The Farmer
· Small Boats
· A Little Time
· Don’t Marry Her
· Heatongrad
· Build
· Pretenders
· Happy Hour
· Perfect 10
· Let Love Speak Up Itself
· Good As Gold
· One Last Love Song
· Keep It All In
· Rotterdam
· Caravan
· Place In The Sun
leon bridges
Halifax Piece Hall - 24th July 25
Review & photos - John McEvoy
24 hours earlier at The Piece Hall, Halifax, it was a typical summers evening, it was raining!...
Tonight however, the sun was shining, all was well with the world, and it was the turn of Leon Bridges to entertain the crowd at this year’s outstanding run of summer gigs.
First up it was Leeds band, Gotts Street Park who provided a suitably soulful, laid-back set with tinges of jazz which the crowd seemed to enjoy.
Next up was the main act Leon Bridges and I must confess that when I first saw his name as a headliner for this summer, I was somewhat surprised as I wasn’t sure how many people were aware of his material.
However, I’m happy to report that a near capacity crowd proved that I was wrong in my assumptions. Texan born Leon Bridges has been around for 10 years now and his 60’s style soul tinged with a little bit of country was well received by the audience.
Dressed in his signature vintage style, all topped off with a white Stetson, he treated us to a trip through his musical backlog. As expected, tracks from his debut album, and grammy award winning ‘Coming Home’ featured heavily throughout the set.
But it wasn’t just the big hits that stood out. New material, including tracks from his recent album ‘Leon’ showcased his evolving artistry with tracks tinged with funk, gospel, and R&B. “Motorbike” brought a playful, kinetic energy, while “Sweeter” was delivered with a stirring poignancy that moved more than a few in the audience to tears.
The Wall Street Journal described him as ‘a throwback to Otis Redding & Sam Cooke’ and that just about sums up his style perfectly.
Again. I must confess that I was surprised at just how knowledgeable the audience were as they took the opportunity to singalong at any given opportunity.
But it wasn’t just the big hits that stood out. Bridges’ newer material, including tracks from his recent album, showcased his evolving artistry, with songs tinged with funk, gospel, and modern R&B sensibilities. Set opener “When A Man Cries” was a perfect example of this.
Credit should also go to his backing band who were as tight as a drum and provided the prefect foundation for Bridges vocals to soar throughout the evening.
Bridges is one of the rare artists who despite the size of the venue is able to create an intimate atmosphere throughout the evening, and ‘Lisa Sawyer’ during the encore was a perfect example of this and was a great way to end a sublime performance from an artist who’s growing band of fans loved every minute of.
Set list:
When A Man Cries
Panther City
Better Man
Flowers
Laredo
Coming Home
That’s What I Love
Never Satisfied
Mariella
Steam
Ain’t Got Nothing On You
Texas Sun
You Don’t Know
Bad Bad News
If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)
Hold On
Can’t Have It All
God Loves Everyone
River
Peaceful Place
Smooth Sailin’
Lisa Sawyer
Beyond
texas/rianne downey
Halifax Piece Hall - 25th July 25
Review & photos - John McEvoy
After the rain of earlier this week, the summer evenings finally came back to welcome Texas onstage with their first appearance at The Piece Hall, Halifax.
First up though it was Rianne Downey who was onstage at the venue for the third time this week, having sung alongside Paul Heaton for his two-night residency earlier in the week.
This was a chance to play her solo country/folk material along with a couple of Beautiful South tunes which were warmly received by the crowd. She also took the chance to play some new tunes from her forthcoming debut album ‘The Consequence Of Love’ due out on the 17th Oct, in what is a ‘busy’ genre of music, she is clearly talented enough to stand out from the crowd and a promising career undoubtedly beckons.
During the short break more people poured into what was now a packed arena for Texas, and in short, they didn’t disappoint!
The band arrived on stage and opened up with the first bars of ‘Lover’, and after a few moments Sharleen Spiteri bounded on stage to a huge roar from the expectant crowd and powered through the opening track. Note needs to me be made of her guitar as well, which was one of the nicest looking guitars I’ve seen in a long time. (I clearly need to get out more!!)
Charleen Spiteri has been doing this for almost 40 years since Texas first got together in 86, and she knows how to work a crowd. ‘We’re here to party’ was her comment to the crowd and they certainly were…
Her inter song banter was a genuine highlight of the evening and after some back and forth with the crowd, she managed to establish that it was a ‘Fat Rascal’ she was trying to buy when wandering around Halifax, but unfortunately the queue was too big.
The party mode continued throughout the night, and the crowd took every, and any opportunity to singalong when the chance arose.
With the band having been around for so long and with 10 album releases to their name, they had plenty of material to choose from tonight, but I think it would be fair to say that this gig was like a run through of their greatest hits, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Charleen and Johnny McElhone on bass are the two original members of Texas still in the band, but the current line up including an occasional brass section delivered a high-octane quality performance.
There was of course the obligatory phone lights moment when they went into ‘In Demand’ which I have to say looked effective within the Piece Hall courtyard.
There is no doubt though that the star of the show is Sharleen Spiteri and it’s good to see that she shows no signs of slowing down, and her voice is still as strong as when the band first go together.
She has a unique talent in that one moment she can play the ‘Rock god’ and then be delighting the audience with a tale of talking to people whilst in a lift at a York hotel, all traits which further endeared her to the Halifax crowd.
I must confess that I was surprised they used ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’ as their opening track tonight, but I think set closers ‘Inner Smile’ and ‘Suspicious Minds’ didn’t disappoint and a capacity crowd had clearly loved every minute of what had been just one of s series of quality gigs throughout the summer at The Piece Hall, Halifax.
Set List:
Lover
Halo
Hi
Lifetime
Keep On Talking
Conversation
Let’s Work It Out
When We Are Together
In Demand
Mr Haze
Black Eyed Boy
Say What you Want
Inner Smile
Suspicious Minds
deershed festival
Baldersby Park - 25th/27th July 25
Review & photos - Neil Milner
Deer Shed, founded in 2010, remains a haven for families. Its atmosphere, pleasant, inclusive, and unfailingly friendly, is shaped by the children who play a central role in the festival’s identity. That identity is underpinned by a wealth of activities: tree climbing, wild swimming, DIY woodwork, art, science, crafts, kayaking, and a sports arena, all designed to keep young minds curious and hands busy.
Older generations find their own corner of joy too, with comedy, film, spoken word, yoga, roller disco, vintage stalls, a pop-up record shop, and yes, even a sauna!
But for me, it’s all about the music. The three main music venues are the main stage, in the dock and the lodge stage.
Friday Highlights
Curtis Miles opened the main stage with a mellow blend of bluesy folk, easing the crowd into the weekend. Over at The Dock, Dilettante’s angular art-pop impressed, with Francesca Pidgeon juggling sax, guitar, and vocals in a set tinged with Kate Bush-like energy. Saxophone, incidentally, was nearly as common this weekend as guitars!
The Pills brought punk attitude and playful anti-misogynist jabs to the main stage, earning admiration despite their nightmare journey getting here. The None followed with abrasive power tempered by Kaila Whyte’s powerful vocals.
Joan As Policewoman offered a ballad-heavy main stage set, technically strong, if lacking dimension. Antony Szmierek, however, was Friday’s standout: high-energy, inclusive, and utterly compelling.
Wunderhorse headlined, arriving to Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan”, in tribute to Ozzie Osbourne. It was a solid set that warmed the crowd up nicely.
The unexpected triumph came at the Big Top with Oh My God! It’s The Church: a funky, genre-bending spectacle, loaded with humour and potent political commentary. Led by Reverend Michael Alabama Jackson, he was scathing about Dopey Donald’s attacks that he has inflicted on swathes of his own people in the first 6 months of his already tortuous second term. By the end, people were waving their footwear in appreciation, but only because the Reverend said that shoes have soul!
Saturday Highlights
Cowboy Hunters opened at The Dock with raw, minimalist noise and closing with a crowd-wide Macarena. Tommy Wa’s chilled African folk-indie fusion soothed the main stage, though his under-employed drummer barely broke a sweat.
Sick Man of Europe’s goth-tinged electronica leaned heavily on Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy without much reinvention. Honeyglaze offered subtle, English Teacher-style arrangements and melodies on the main stage.
DJ and producer, The Anchorsong’s set was okay but self-indulgent. Jacob Alon, like Tommy Wa, evoked Jeff Buckley and early Radiohead. Adult DVD added a competent, industrial edge in The Dock. They brought back memories of a Curve single review in about 1990, where the journalist warned us that one day all music will sound like this!
Hamish Hawk, theatrical and baritone-rich, delivered drama and dark humour, especially with his epic single The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973. Maruja followed with an intense, sax-fuelled Rage Against the Machine-esque set. Anger well-articulated.
Ibibio Sound Machine lit up the main stage with their joyful rhythm heavy sound; vocalist Eno Williams was visibly moved by the roaring reception they received. The Unthanks were unsurprisingly beloved over at the Lodge stage, with folk-rooted storytelling connecting the past and present in ways more appealing than any politician’s backward-facing dream.
Kae Tempest headlined with poetic finesse. So many words to remember and all cleverly constructed. Not my usual taste, but their inclusive message, powerful performance, and minimalist beats were striking, especially under clear skies, a stark contrast to their previous storm-soaked Deer Shed gig!
Sunday Highlights
Chris Brain’s Lodge Stage opener was intimate, blending originals, covers, and acapella folk. Child of Prague offered a fresh take on Irish folk with more sax in the mix!
Silver Gore veered between erratic and epic, at times channelling Cocteau Twins, with ethereal pop potential. Mandrake Handshake, an Oxford-based eight-piece (yes, more sax), served up theatrical pop, occasionally chaotic but ultimately joyful.
Benefits turned up the volume, shouty, political, and confrontational. “Free Palestine” chants echoed throughout the weekend, including here, which I’m supportive of, but I found myself craving more balance, and a spotlight on domestic injustices like NHS support and economic fairness. Still, the chant resonated widely and stirred the crowd.
The Bug Club brought nonstop rock ‘n’ roll, a genuine antidote to the world’s madness. Welly, in the Dock, delivered Blur and Pulp vibes but mostly reminded me of Art Brut’s sprechgesang vocal swagger.
Bodega kicked off their main stage set with Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, again in tribute to Ozzy. They also paid tribute to the Ferris wheel riders across the field, and delivered a spiky, energetic performance, which the crowd loved.
Idlewild were majestic. Vocalist Roddy Woomble ambled around the stage like US military personnel marching at Dopey Donald’s recent birthday parade, but obviously with more alacrity and interest. Their performance of top ten hit ‘You Held the World in Your Arms’, was my personal high point of the festival.
Big Special, closing The Dock, were loud, brash, humorous, sweary and brilliantly engaging. Not for me, but I recognise they are infinitely better role models for young people than misogynist influencers.
The Big Moon wrapped the weekend up on the main stage. They were pleasant but predictable. Still, hearing Cupid and Trouble reminded me: not every band must rival The Fall. Sometimes, joy and relatability are enough.
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