Category: Gig Gallery

Jawdropped, Tasska, Polite Bureaux, Formal Sppeedwear & Solid Pleasure, Brighton 14th-15th May 2026

Whilst The Great Escape takes place, there are always a huge number of shows running in alternative venues across Brighton. To be honest, if you only attended those, you’d still have been spoilt for choice. As we were covering the main event, I didn’t have time for too many but managed to still catch a few of the best on offer…

Jawdropped at The Hope & Ruin

Visiting from LA, Jawdropped were part of this year’s No Friends in the Industry event, which has become a popular annual feature hosted by Love Thy Neighbour. Finding its home downstairs at The Hope & Ruin, the bar area is the perfect spot for an informal but busy showcase of local and touring acts. The four-piece, who have recently joined the Transgressive roster, pulled in a decent crowd and impressed with their fuzzy power-pop songs. Dual vocals and the indie essential tambourine brought upbeat tunes that reminded me a little of Martha, and that’s no bad thing.

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Tasska at The Pink Moon

Always nice to check out what Strong Island Recordings are bringing to the alt shows; this year one of their collabs was with Miohmi Records upstairs at The Pink Moon – a good space though apparently later in the week numbers had to be cut as the ceiling below was bowing! Brighton locals Tasska gave a polished performance of guitar-driven indie folk that had the crowd dancing. Easy listening and a clearly strong connection between the trio.

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Polite Bureaux at Alphabet

Onto three acts brought to us by Slack City. Alas no longer Brighton based after returning to Bradford but still with a loyal fanbase here, Polite Bureaux’s set at Alphabet gave another opportunity to hear their socially aware musings. The second recent outing with Jo playing solo and honestly, it works so well, allowing the freedom to take over the whole stage and adding potency to the visual impact. The increased confidence is absolutely justified and there are some beautiful tracks in there amidst the frenzied forcefulness of the performance. Queues outside as the room was full? Well deserved.

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Formal Sppeedwear at Alphabet

With rhythm sections reminiscent of Talking Heads and jagged layers running throughout their songs, Stoke-on-Trent’s Formal Sppeedwear are stealthily making a name for themselves and definitely seem to be upping their game. Artsy and veering into experimental, their sound forms a cohesive blend of multiple elements. Expect bigger things.

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Solid Pleasure at Alphabet

Last show of the week for me with Solid Pleasure’s electro darkwave transforming Alphabet into underground clubland. The venue proved to be an impeccable sparring partner with its theatrical history and dimmed lighting, and the duo continue to polish their live shows with the swell of vocals drenched in reverb, and the introduction of occasional acidy synth hits, saving the purer dance tracks for the latter part of the set. Pretty perfect way to end 3 days of live music.

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Review and photos by Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 20th May 2026

Bloodworm at Green Door Store, Brighton, 7th May 2026

Word is spreading about Bloodworm, and rightly so. Having recently been handpicked to tour with Suede, the trio are currently out on their own headline shows around the UK. On Thursday, they took a trip to the coast and impressed the Brighton crowd in style. From the opening notes, their set showed a formidable cohesion of sound. With reminiscence of the heady days of 70s/80s goth and alt-punk scenes, their songs have clear shots of the likes of Bauhaus and The Chameleons topped with their own modern day twist.

The quality never dipped; it’s clear that their art is well practised and real, and it will be interesting to see how things shift over the next year or so. It feels like what Nottingham may be sharing one of its finest acts with a whole lot more people to come very soon. Check out the band’s recently released EP Blood & Lust for some premium angst with atmosphere that makes the darkness a little brighter.

(Bonus points for having The Fall’s Totally Wired as the walk on track).

Setlist: The Crown, Depths, Back Of A Hand, Nothing, Alone In Your Garden, 100 Lifetimes, Jangle, The Ground, No Face, Bloodlust, Cemetery Dance, Clairvoyance

Review & Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 9th May 2026

White Magic For Lovers, Catrin Vincent, Platonica Erotica & Charlie Keen’s Silver Birch at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 24th April 2026

Hosted by Hidden Herd

A night filled with ambience and alt-folk waves as a well matched collection of artists graced the stage at The Hope & Ruin on Friday night. First up, Charlie Keen’s Silver Birch took the ancient art of the ‘one-man band’ in a new direction. Not often that a trombone makes an appearance at gigs and nice to see it taking the spotlight here, sharing duties with a synth and another rarely spotted device in the shape of a Shruti Box. A very cool way to begin, with the room quickly starting to fill up throughout the set.

Charlie Keen’s Silver Birch

Some dark, dreamy and delicate tunes next from Platonica Erotica, offering up elfin dance moves with a languid performance evocative of a 1940’s underground jazz club. Simple but effective, proving that sometimes less fuss does indeed reap more flavour.

Platonica Erotica

Another accomplished solo set to follow from Catrin Vincent. Love to see the confidence to wait for people to stop talking before embarking on the first song, and it was with good reason that the chatting didn’t rekindle other than between tracks, when tales of being stuck on a boat and past band adventures with Another Sky were shared. The purest of vocals kept the crowd enthralled; an impressive delivery start to finish.

Catrin Vincent

Headliners for the night were White Magic For Lovers, creating an intimate staging of their laid-back lounge sound, incorporating velvety sax and lithe flute lines. A masterclass in sophisticated restraint, their playing felt effortless – the perfect conclusion to end proceedings.

White Magic For Lovers

Review & Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 28th April 2026

Bibi Club, Solid Pleasure & Hi? at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 7th April 2026

Hosted by Love Thy Neighbour

Hi?

Having met 2/3 of Hi? at multiple gigs in Brighton, it was a pleasure to finally catch them live, opening up at The Albert on Tuesday night. Drawing from noticeable influences including The Cocteau Twins and Wire, their set included a mix of jagged and ethereally delicate vocals, layered with hints of psychedelia and dream-pop. Their EP days of sunshine and seashells, released towards the end of last year, is aptly titled to reflect their sound and the sense of nostalgia and harmony that the songs bring. 

Solid Pleasure

Consistently perfecting their own brand of darkened synthwave sprinkled with a beautifully transient deep to falsetto vocal range, Solid Pleasure are firmly digging their heels into the heart of Brighton’s live music circuit. Always an inspired addition to any line-up, 2026 looks like a promising year for the two-piece with hopefully many more live dates to come. If you could place Solid Pleasure into a TV show, they’d be playing Lynch’s Red Room in Twin Peaks, and ultimately who doesn’t want to be in Cooper’s dreams?

Bibi Club

Headliners Bibi Club were new to me and many others I spoke to, so it’s fair to say that the huge reaction they received was spontaneous approval – understandable given the Montreal-based duo’s performance; their energy fuelled dancing and futuristic projections both visually entrancing. I’m sure it’s been said before but there’s a definite parallel with Stereolab’s Dots and Loops era, and a real connection between the two as they seem to play off each other with absolute synchronicity. An excellent end to the evening.

Review & Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 9th April 2026

Shtëpi, Kitchen Lover, CHITCHAT & Nagasaki Dog at the Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 1st April 2026

Volume up to the max for Wednesday’s latest showcase from Hidden Herd at the Hope & Ruin, with four acts giving animated performances over the course of the night.

First on, and with bonus points for a Cribs T-shirt, Nagasaki Dog got things off to a lively start with some sharp indie guitar hooks. Following close behind, a solid mix of heavier riffs and softer melodies from alt-rock ensemble CHITCHAT. Bringing their own sparkly floor covering (as you would), Kitchen Lover  opted for the well established tradition of head banging and a mosh pit – kudos to the crowd for maintaining this throughout their set.

Finally to Shtëpi and the dilemma of how best to describe them – art punk maybe? Stacked instrumentation including a telephone and a tambourine against guitar, bass, drums and keys will give you an idea of the set up and energy involved. A great night, April Fool if you weren’t there.

Hosted by Hidden Herd 

Nagasaki Dog

CHITCHAT

Kitchen Lover

Shtëpi

Photos by Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 3rd April 2026

The Cribs at Concorde 2, Brighton, 27th March 2026

Storming into the first of a two-night run at Brighton’s Concorde 2, The Cribs were back with new songs, great jackets and a light show worthy of the brightest fairground in town.

With a set spanning their whole career but not just reliant on the big singles, there was lots to enjoy – good to hear the likes of City of Bugs and Direction making an appearance and, after kicking things off with their latest album Selling A Vibe’s opening track Dark Luck, they went straight into classic tracks I’m A Realist and Hey Scenesters!

The band of brothers have a deservedly loyal fanbase and their live shows have always been an integral part of building that community. Despite their 25 years playing together, they’re still as good to watch as ever and seem completely comfortable in their own skin, doing their own thing. The stage size and layout offered a welcome opportunity to see Ross nearer to the front of proceedings, with Gary and Ryan criss-crossing the rest of the space.

Selling A Vibe (released in January) is a confident and cohesive piece of work that reflects their standing and longevity; their authenticity and family chemistry ever apparent as noted in Brothers Don’t Break (‘but we’ll keep it from an honest place and the brothers won’t ever break’). 

They’re great storytellers between songs too, not just in their lyrics. With a nod to the hosting seaside city, Gary recalled having a bit of an existential crisis at the end of the New Fellas campaign and coming down to Brighton for the week, resulting in the writing of a track now synonymous with the band in Be Safe.

To close, a big final three songs in Men’s Needs, Mirror Kissers and Pink Snow sent the crowd home more than happy and safe in the knowledge that their loyalty was a sound investment. At this stage, The Cribs have nothing to prove but still work harder than most – always a pleasure, never a disappointment, roll on the next time.

Selling A Vibe is available to purchase here

Review by Callum
Photos by Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 29th March 2026

Whitelands, Helen Ganya & Alphabet at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 25th March 2026

A busy live room at The Hope & Ruin with four acts taking the stage. Due to other commitments I missed openers Dirtsharks but heard good things about their set from friends. So first up for me were Alphabet, a London based 4-piece with previous links to Brighton, their dual vocals and melancholic soundscape reminiscent of Disintegration-era The Cure. A fitting scene-setter for what was yet to come.

Next, an artist I haven’t seen before – Helen Ganya brought a sweet sense of calm, dipping into her Thai heritage to include a collection of hypnotic tracks with stories to add flavour. Sonically, the trio of musicians gave an intricate performance with vocals that had notes of Kate Bush but remained clearly a very personal offering. It’s hard to capture in words so take a listen and enjoy it for yourself.

Following the recent release of their album Sunlight Echoes, headliners Whitelands shared some of their beautifully crafted new songs with the sold out crowd on Wednesday. I am No God, an Effigy and Golden Daze made a big impression, showcasing the subtly different shades of shoegaze, melodic and layered with dreampop guitar riffs. Back at The Great Escape in 2023, I saw Whitelands play an accomplished set at The Paganini Ballroom championed by Steve Lamacq; they impressed then and even more so now – great album, great set.

Alphabet

Helen Ganya

Whitelands

Review and Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 27th March 2026

 

 

Polite Bureaux & Table Football at Green Door Store, Brighton, 21st March 2026

Hitting home that Brighton’s loss is Bradford’s gain, Polite Bureaux were back in town at the weekend delivering a vibrant and forceful performance at Green Door. I’ve seen them play with multiple live line-ups and this time it was just Joe and Maya on stage which worked perfectly with the venue size. A lot of local support built during their time in Brighton was evident from the packed room, and brilliant to see how their ever-growing catalogue of songs has developed to include poignantly reflective tracks alongside the more forthright confrontations. With Broke Biscuits, Bodyrocker, Bradford and Dyslexic Cycling Proficiency all in the mix, it was a treat of a set – they’ll be welcome back any time.

Strong support too from Table Football, giving a really confident show and definitely putting themselves on people’s radar as ones to watch. Gallery from both sets below.

Table Football

Polite Bureaux

Review and Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 24th March 2026

Ashnymph, Francis Pig & Solid Pleasure at The Rossi Bar, Brighton, 19th March 2026

A night full of underground electronica and art-punk as The Rossi Bar was filled with three acts all making waves on the local scene.

Only a few months since we first caught darkwave duo Solid Pleasure and already it’s clear to see the progression in their live performance. The layered synths sit sweetly alongside the reverb splattered vocals which dip into echoes of The Cramps, The Associates and The Sisters of Mercy in turn. We remain suitably impressed.

Solid Pleasure

Next up, Francis Pig are equally fond of pushing their performance forward with much crowd interaction and floor writhing in place. Channeling The Slits and The Mary Chain, their catalogue of confrontational avant garde tracks is reaching the stage of audience singalongs, and they have the makings of a little army of regular fans visible at their shows. Another impressive set.

Francis Pig

Headlining the evening, Ashnymph drew the crowd back from the bar for more synths married with drums and guitar. A little reminiscent of Scaler but with more light and shade, they provided a solid end to the line-up curated by Hidden Herd and Parallel Lines.

The next Hidden Herd show is this week on 25th March at The Hope & Ruin with another great bill featuring Whitelands, Helen Ganya, Alphabet and Dirtsharks – limited tickets here.

Ashnymph

Review and Photos by Siobhan O’Driscoll – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 23rd March 2026

Franz Ferdinand at Brighton Dome, 4th March 2026

Following the release of their sixth studio album The Human Fear last year, Franz Ferdinand are touring across the UK and Europe and still deservedly pulling in big crowds. It’s a reflection of their back catalogue and continuous progress that there were three, maybe four, generations gathered at Brighton Dome to see them play, each of which were contentedly singing along to the songs old and new.

The band have somehow managed to retain that tricky combination of cool artsy attitude mixed with absolutely belting tunes. Not withstanding their mountainous debut Take Me Out which clearly remains a firm fan favourite amongst the whole venue, they’ve amassed so many instantly recognisable songs that many of us would probably choose something different to place at the top of our wish-list. Aside of the absence of tracks from Always Ascending, there was something from every album on the set list tonight so odds of hearing your favoured era were high; the show kicking off with the scholastic romance of Dark of the Matinee followed by the contemplative regret of Walk Away. With tracks from the latest album including Audacious and a hugely well received Hooked, a selection of past hits also found their way into the party encompassing No You Girls, Jacqueline, Darts of Pleasure and the now standard final showcase of the mighty This Fire.

A hefty light show covered minimal stage design which was worked to the max. It’s apparent that the newest line-up have played together consistently, as they sync like a well oiled machine kicking out tunes that will inevitably be stuck in your head the next day.

Ultimately, and in contrast to the old adage, Franz Ferdinand’s songs are both big and clever. A pleasure to hear them live – get along to one of the shows if you have the chance.

Review by Callum
Photos by Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 6th March 2026