Category: Gig Gallery

Richard Hawley at Brighton Dome, 9th June 2024

There are a few select artists who you could see at any point in their career and be sure that they’d never disappoint. Increasingly, Richard Hawley stakes his place as one such artist, his current tour showcasing his songwriting talent and velvet-smooth vocals in equal measure. He’s funny too, an added bonus. 

The opening trio of songs, She Brings the Sunlight, new tracks Two for his Heels and Prism in Jeans, set the pace nicely and just as the crowd start to relax into the set, he throws in big favourite Open Up Your Door. Hawley’s latest album In This City They Call You Love is well represented and seems popular and recognised already; he has the ability to make his sound pioneering and familiar at the same time, a depth of accomplishment disguising itself as effortless and breezy.

Plenty of space for the old songs too. Ahead of Just Like the Rain, he says, “This is probably the oldest one we do. I wrote this many years ago, on my 16th birthday in fact, which just goes to show I was a miserable fucker even then”. And after some back and forth with the audience about the failings of the government and Sunak’s absurd trip down national service lane, his announcement of, “Tonight Matthew… the streets are ours” receives an expectedly huge cheer.

Having already played for close to 90 minutes, the set ends but the lights stay down, and a 3 song encore ensues with People, I’m Looking for Someone to Find Me and Ocean. A serious display of talent from the whole band, an excellent night of music, and a reminder of why so many other artists cite Richard Hawley as an influence.

Richard Hawley

Words/photos by Callum/Siobhan

Published 12th June 2024

His Lordship at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 30th May 2024

Following the release of their thundering self-titled debut album in January, His Lordship are back on the road (it seems they rarely take a break). Blending exceptional musical ability with an enigmatic performance, their show at The Hope & Ruin in Brighton Thursday was another runaway success, including all the by now familiar favourites and featuring a poignant new instrumental track written for Shane McGowan. An fusion of rock ‘n’ roll with punk undertones, the sound is all their own and getting slicker by the minute – a great night’s entertainment.

Hosted by Stay Sick  

Photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 3rd June 2024

Low Island, ELI & Moon Idle at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 23rd May 2024

Amongst the relatively small stage at The Albert and huge chunks of equipment set out for the headliners, Moon Idle managed to carve a space to start the evening off with some delicate trip-hop tunes – a band seemingly growing in confidence and maturing with each performance. Joining the line-up next, singer-songwriter ELI brought a soulful leaning to proceedings. With a mention of wanting to move to Brighton, and a response suggesting this would be warmly welcomed, the set was polished and effortless. And completing the evening, lots of love in the room for Low Island and their electronic-fuelled catalogue. Playing sophisticated indie-pop, the quartet’s energy was infectious and left a happy crowd heading out with smiles on their faces. Gallery from all three sets below.

Hosted by Hidden Herd

Moon Idle

ELI

Low Island

Photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 29th May 2024

Lonnie Gunn, Soft Top & Sasha Assad at The Prince Albert, Brighton, 25th April 2024

Another trio of talented artists showcased by Hidden Herd at The Prince Albert on Thursday night – first up Sasha Assad demonstrated a skilful mix of indie-rock with some serious riffs, a great start to the night creating lots of chat in the crowd from people heading off to find more of their music. Next on, Soft Top may look familiar, buying into my theory that if you’re in a band in Brighton, you’re likely in several Brighton bands. This formation led by the songs, musings and vox/keys of Miles Goodall, offers up hypnotic harmonies with a genre-mash of pop and folk rock – worth looking out for live if you get the chance.

Grabbing the soft rock mantle, Lonnie Gunn played for Hidden Herd at The Hope back in November last year, and returned to take the headline slot this time round. There were clearly many fans along for the ride in a by now packed room and, despite having had to rest her voice prior to the gig, the vocals were on point and the band, a very tight knit unit, gave cohesion to the overall sound. An unexpected closing version of Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack brought an accomplished evening of music to an end. Lots of good stuff going on in Brighton right now, and good to see the artists and independent venues getting this kind of support. Gallery below…

Sasha Assad

Soft Top

Lonnie Gunn

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 29th April 2024

Big Special, Grandma’s House & Saloon Dion at Green Door Store, Brighton, 6th April 2024

Taking a hand-picked selection of acts out on the road across the UK, DIY Magazine’s Now & Next Tour laid on an impressive line-up in Brighton on Saturday night. Kicking thing off, we were keen to see the valiantly named Saloon Dion and as it turned out, even two of the five piece made a big impression, the remaining three unceremoniously stuck en route with a vehicle unwilling to make the journey south. Still, if they are this good at 40% strength with an acoustic set, we’ll definitely be looking forward to their return trip to the city for The Great Escape. 

Next up and continuing to rep the Bristol scene, Grandma’s House provided a blast of zest with some pounding riffs and full force drumming, the crowd filling out with their infectious energy. Plenty to enjoy in a solid live performance.

And so to the headliners and purveyors of poetry-infused punk with a hard hitting message, Big Special looked to be enjoying every second of their recent rise to fame, and deservedly so. A strong selection of songs now in their armoury, they have the confidence and ability to jump between brooding musings on life with a soul-drenched vocal to gnarly spoken-word offerings backed with pummelling drums and spurts of melody. There’s a clear camaraderie between the pairing (Joe Hicklin on vocals and Callum Moloney on drums) as they share an obvious appreciation of each others’ input, a fine selection of tattoos, and an underlying dark humour that segues between tracks and through the crowd. Is Morrisons the best supermarket or does everyone in Brighton shop at Waitrose? Will everyone just waste their money on drugs if they don’t buy the album? Lots of rapport, lots of crowd interaction, and best of all, lots of powerful music to take in and take home. There’s some good stuff going on musically right now and Big Special just jumped right into the ring feet first. Debut album Postindustrial Hometown Blues is set for release on 10th May – you can pre-order here (and you should).          

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 8th April 2024

Maximillian, Skydaddy & Opal Mag at Fabrica, Brighton, 4th April 2024

With debut LP Surrender released into the world last week, Brighton-based singer-songwriter Maximilian fulfilled his ambition to hold the album launch in a church, with a special set at Fabrica last night. Surrender is brimming with songs filled with emotion, and takes the listener on a journey from anguish to acceptance, through a myriad of haunting vocals and layers of musicianship on a tracklist that has been in the making since 2018. Fabrica proves the perfect venue. With much of the original church structure and artefacts still in place, it gives a more ambient feel than many live rooms and adds to the atmosphere of the music.

The Brighton music scene is quietly gaining momentum again, and a good number of its creators are present, both on and off stage. And a deserved shout out to all present for not being one of those crowds that’s come along for a chat; it shouldn’t be noteworthy but it was a real pleasure to only hear what was coming from the stage. The setlist ran right through the album start to finish, recent singles Kill Time and Red Wine already getting some singalongs from the audience. This may be a project that’s taken years to complete, but the quality of the material and production, both recorded and live, suggests that some things are worth waiting for.

Maximilian was very ably supported on the night by the talented Skydaddy (kudos to anyone who starts their set in the pulpit), and a heady sprinkling of dream-pop from Opal Mag – gallery below.

Opal Mag

Skydaddy

Maximilian

Review and photos © Siobhan – 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram

Published 5th April 2024