Category: Live Music

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

The Youth Play, The Slow Country, HIGHDRIVE & Batmilk at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 26th February 2026

Last week’s Hidden Herd event brought us music from Brighton and London (via Manchester) with an intricate blend of genres and influences. Openers for the evening were relatively new local outfit Batmilk; with the softest of vocals in play it was good to note the lack of chatter in an already pretty busy crowd. The music was complemented by audio of bat calls and night flights. With a smattering of shows already under their belts, it will be interesting to see how Batmilk progress when they inevitably spread their wings and head out to play on the wider circuit.

Another Brighton band followed – HIGHDRIVE clearly taking their lead from the grunge and shoegaze scene of the 90s, mixing fuzzy guitars with textural vocals and varying shades of light and dark. With a couple of singles in hand and making their mark on the live scene, it’s looking like 2026 may well be a busy year for the 5-piece. 

As The Slow Country set up on stage there was only just room for all 7 members and their plethora of instruments. Whichever vintage shop they’d been to, there were some impressive wardrobe pieces on display – a throwback to the kitsch of the 70s mirrored in some of their setlist. However, things switched up throughout their catalogue of songs with forays into alt-folk edged with glam, multi-lead vocals and instrument switches keeping everyone on their toes.

Headliners for the night, The Youth Play managed to serve up a performance that felt raw and accomplished at the same time. Post-punk with hints of shoegaze probably covers it best, but it feels as though the band are evolving their sound as they go and will definitely be worth keeping an eye on as they push forward. A solid end to proceedings and good to see the venue so busy – pictures below.

Hosted by Hidden Herd

Batmilk

HIGHDRIVE

The Slow Country

The Youth Play

Review and photos © Siobhan O’Driscoll 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 2nd March 2026

Meryl Streek at The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, 4th February 2026

The lights go down, a news reel begins, the content is a bleak reflection of poverty and injustice in Ireland, and Meryl Streek makes an understated entrance onto the stage. The understatement however lasts for approximately 5 seconds before he begins the incessant pacing of the floorspace, only interrupted by forays into the crowd, all the better to get his message across at close quarters. While the songs are full of crucially bleak messages, there is none the less a sense of hope that emanates from them, a reminiscence of early punk days where the bands were often considered some kind of threat to society when for the most part they were simply challenging the oppression and inequalities of the world. Fittingly, Meryl is wearing a UK Subs T-shirt (subs an abbreviation of subversives rather than substitutes), the graphic providing the only hint of colour on stage save his signature bunch of red roses.

Swinging a hand held strobe to light his way, there is a clear and close bond between musician and audience, with a solid amount of time spent in the crowd and one of the happiest mosh pits you could wish to see, notably during Death To The Landlord. It’s a full-on, no-frills, frenetic performance and it’s impossible not to be caught up in the energy. Defiant, demanding and vitally important to the integrity of today’s music scene, we need artists right now who are prepared to stand up and shout about the craziness of the current political landscape; thankfully it appears that Meryl Streek still has plenty to say.

Pending tour dates here

Review and photos © Siobhan O’Driscoll 16beasleystphotography.com | Instagram: 16beasleyst

Published 5th February 2026