Jack Hancher - 13 November 2025

Not our usual type of gig but we were given tickets to a classical guitar gig by Jack Hancher, a lunchtime gig at St Georges. His programme was a series of pieces written for the piano translated to guitar pieces but he did end with an actual Spanish guitar composition, Sonata for Guitar by Jose. The other piece I really liked was I think Homenaje Le Tombeau de Claude Debussey by De Falla. An interesting and enjoyable change.

Nosferatu + live music - 5 November 2025

A second version of this magnificent film with live music - this time with various guitars and similar stringed instruments and the occasional harmonica. Chris Green was the musician and he did a brilliant job. He had a well organised array of instruments and projection links and the arts centre in the old chapel was a good place to see it

Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings - 25 October 2025

We've not been to as many gigs as usual this year but having these two (this and Larkin Poe) in the space of a week has been extremely joyful. We'd made the trek to Manchester because this was the first tour they have done in the UK since we last saw them fourteen years ago. From start to finish the gig was exquisite, Dave Rawlings is an extraordinary guitar player and Gillian Welch writes amazing songs and sings and plays guitar and it is a recipe for a great gig. They also had a double bass player on the majority of songs. The first set included 'Empty Trainload of Sky', a beuatiful version of 'North Country', a Ryan Adams cover (To be young (is to be sad, is to be high)), a version of 'Ruby' with supreme guitar playing The second set started off with 'Lawman' from the recent album and that was one of those cases where a song has real impact live and you realise how much you like it for the first time. Actually a couple of tracks later and the trick was more or less repeated with 'Hard Times' It's perhaps mostly that they deliver a live version, paced and subtle that is somehow an improvement on the recording. The penultimate song of the second set was 'I hear them all' segueing into 'This Land is Your Land' which they also did in 2011. The encores were special - the first comprised 'Elvis Presley Blues' and a great version of 'Look at Miss Ohio'. The second started with 'Revelator' which I realised I very much wanted to hear as soon as they started and they threw in a final 'extra', I think based on audience enthusiasm of 'White Rabbit'. Great gig - very glad we made the effort.

Catrin Finch & Lee House - 8 October 2025

It was a no brainer to get tickets for this unusual gig, one of a short tour of three, one in North Wales, one in Mid wales and one in Cardiff. As we were on holiday in Ceredigion at the time of the mid-Wales gig we went to the Arts Centre in Aberteifi for this. It consisted of Lee House a sound engineer by trade generating sounds from all sorts of devices electronic and analogue with Catrin Finch on harp of course. Each part was preceded by a short piece of spoken word raising questions about what the self is and how to let go of individual constraints and hang ups. A sort of musical therapy I suppose and the proper approach for me was to get lost in it as much as possible. The harp element was secondaryt much of the time but Ctrin had a couplke of starring roles and they were of course magical as usual. No photo of the performers at their request but here's the stage set up.

Larkin Poe 19 October 2025

One of my favourite bands currently touring so to see them at Bristol Beacon sitting down was a welcome change from the last two times I had caught them in smaller venues, I was surprised to note that it is ten years since I first saw them when they were supporting Elvis Costello. First up was Son Little a singer guitarist who was very enjoyable but quite difficult to categorise. An element of soul in his singing, an RandB feel to his guitar playing and interesting songs to boot. He had a drummer and keyboards guy who was also doing the bass and they were both good too. Larkin Poe had a three piece backing band (drums, keyboards, bass - most of the time) and hit the stage high energy and full of confidence banging out 'Nowhere Fast'. Actually they were high energy all the way to the acoustic part of the gig and followed up with 'Mockingbird' and 'Easy Love'. 'Bluephoria' was another highlight early on - basically the sisters are cracking guitarists and Rebecca sings up a storm as well with plenty of vocals backing from Megan. After another great song, 'Deep Stays Down', this from the 'Blood Harmony' album there was an acoustic set, Bluegrass style with all the musicians around a single microphone. This was a beautiful section starting with 'Southern Comfort' followed by 'Little Bit'. Banjos and Mandolins were involved so pretty much a Bluegrass set up. Back to the electric set with 'If God is a Woman' hitting the spot and then the feisty 'Boltcutters and the Family Name' to finish. A quieter encore of 'Bloom Again' and then that was it. Another great Larkin Poe gig. I fear that they will be hitting big venues sooner rather than later unless the words of 'Little Bit' are still meant.

Roy Harper - 2 October 2025

I foolishly assumed that when I saw Roy Harper six years ago when he was a mere 78 years old that I would not see him live again. Wrong - here I was at the Symphony Hall seeing part 2 of his 'final tour'. I had been warned that he was having trouble with singing the high notes but things looked bleak when he came on stage with a heavy cold but this is Roy Harper and he still managed to deliver an admirable performance assisted by son Nick on guitar. Highlights for me were 'Another Day' early in the set, 'Hallucinating Light' (those two are my favourite Harper songs), 'When an old cricketer leaves the crease' and surprisingly 'I hate the white man' which he had brought back for the times we live in. It was a curtailed version with a couple of verses missing but good to hear all the same. Nick was excellent fitting in with Roy's sometimes unpredictable delivery and playing some superb guitar solos on a couple of tracks including 'Same Old Rock' which was a great finish also because it is a great song and Roy's voice seemed to cope really well with most of it. A slightly maudlin encore of a new song 'I've enjoyed my life' and then there was a raptorous reception before heading off into the Birmingham rain of storm Amy. That must be the last Harper gig I see and I'm glad I did.

Rheingans Sisters - 15 May 2025

This was a third gig we've seen of theirs and I think the best one. They basically played the whole of their new album straight off which I enjoyed. As before there were a variety of instruments deployed - a lot of violins, but Rowan also played guitar and banjo and some sort of foot operated drone thing whilst Anna had her mediaeval French stringed thing played with a stick and banjos. They both sang and the whole concert is a fusion of folky styles delivered faultlessly and beautifully sung. An excellent night out.

Catrin Finch and Aiofe Ni Bhriain 4th May 2025

I think I will take every opportunity to see this duo - it is always a mesmerising experience. Aiofe's otherworldly fiddle sound, enhanced I think by the Hardanger violin she plays with nine strings is perfectly aligned to thge magical sound of thge Welsh harp as played by Catrin Finch. This gig was the closing act of the Bristol Folk Festival and first up was Suntou Sissou, a Kora player from The Gambia. He was good and the Kora played well is always a joy to listen to. He was joined after a while by a second Kora player/ drummer. If I had a criticism it would be a little too much wish for audience participation (see Manics for how that stuff works well). No such distraction from our headlining duo who mostly played stuff from 'Doubleyou' their album. There were a coupkle of tracks I didn't recognise one of which they said was new. It was a brilliant 'riff'on the harp accompianied as ever by ethereal Hardanger fiddle. The stuff from the album was brilliant, 'Why' in particular and 'Waves', 'Woven' and 'Whispers' also featured as superb. I'll just keep going if they keep appearing.

Manic Street Preachers - 26 April 2025

It is always a good gig with the Manics and this was top notch. It's 33 years since I first saw them and they have a huge back catalogue to choose from. First up were Slate a Cardiff based foursome playing high energy dense indie music. I liked the sound and the band particularly the guitarist but the singer was a bit of a dick. The Manics came on after a vid mix of 'Critical Thinking' with some ultra widescreen footage on a screen at the back of the stage which featured during the whole set. There was one rhythm guitarist and a keyboards player to add to the original core of three. I was expecting the new album to feature largely in the first half of the gig but instead the gig was a trawl through their catalogue. There were five songs from the new album but actually the majority of the tracks were released in the 1990s. Throughout James Dean Bradfield's guitar playing and singing were exemplaryand Nicky Wire and Sean Moore were excellent as ever. The other two members of the band fitted right in and the whole sound was flawless. After half a dozen tracks the band went to a three piuece for a couple of songs and a few songs after that the rest of the band went off leaving JDB to play solo for a few tracks with the band rejoining to finish off 'The Everlasting' from 'This is my truth tell me yours' Of course they finished with 'If you tolerate this your children will be next' and went off eschewing encores as they do. The gig was enhanced by the vids at the back of the stage and also the enthusiasm of the audience. Looking down on the standing masses you could see how much they were enjoying the gig. I dislike it when artists try to get an audience to sing along but this audience required no encouragement to chip in ion various choruses of the most well known songs and it actually sounded and felt good. Decline & Fall Enola/Alone La tristesse durera (Scream to a Sigh) Australia Critical Thinking You Stole the Sun From My Heart She Is Suffering (Performed as a three piece) Peeled Apples(Performed as a three piece) Motorcycle Emptiness Ocean Rain(Echo & the Bunnymen cover Hiding in Plain Sight Autumnsong A Design for Life From Despair to Where(Acoustic - first two verses+first chorus Ready for Drowning(Acoustic - first verse/second chorus in Welsh) Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky(Acoustic) The Everlasting(James solo, joined by full band towards the end) Dear Stephen Sleepflower Your Love Alone Is Not Enough International Blue People Ruin Paintings Motown Junk(Rebel, Rebel intro.) If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Javier Girotto & Aires Tango + Ekletic Duo - 28 March 2025

A trip to Terni in Italy provided an opportiunity to see a gig in an ancient building. The support were very interesting and different. A cellist with an electronic cello plus a pianist played a variety of tunes from classical to Australian Pop in unusual arrangements. The main band were essentially a jazzy tangoish band with Javier leading the band on alto sax. All four (sax, piano, bass and drums) were good musicians but I particularly liked the drumming. The others all got solo spots and then with the final tune he also got a go and did an excellent solo. The tunes I particularly liked were one called '2nd April' (a Falklands reference) which was somewhat downbeat and a tango near the end.

Juan Martin - 9 March 2025

Juan Martin is a veteran flamenco guitarist and it was a privilige to see him in such an intimate setting (the Acapela Studio) without any other flamenco activity or players - just him and his guitar. He played a selection of pieces from different regions and styles. One was a gypsy piece, another a burla (sp?) and another a canciones de amor. It was all spellbindingly intricate and perfectly executed.

McCusker, McGoldrick, Doyle - 20 February 2025

Another appearance at the Beacon for this trio and another treat for the audience. I will say though that they saved the best for the beginning! The opening track led by Mike McGoldrick on bagpipes was a gorgeous air, mournful and yearning that was just beautiful. Actually the rest of the gig was excellent too. Perhaps more of John Doyle leading songs this time and a bit less of Mike McGoldrick but he delivers those folky songs with gusto. It was a nice ambience too exemplified when John McCusker decided to play a song they hadn't played for years and then let John Doyle hang in the wind as he tried to cover his confusion by changing guitars and tuning. They played the usual mix of mainly Scottish traditional tunes with Irish folk songs led by John Doyle. He led the encore in a rousing version of 'Billy O'Shea'. It was a shame that Transatlantic Sessions didn't come to Bristol this year but this gig helped make up for that.

Andy Fairweather Low - 15 February 2025

Another ALF gig at The Savoy, which are always worth seeing. Now 76 he seems to enjoy playing with his band the Low Riders and this is of course a local gig for him. It turns out it was more than five years since he was last at the Savoy and the band was the same (I think) with the excellent Nick Pentelow on tenor sax and Pete Cook on bass sax plus bassist, keyboards and drummer (Ian Jennings, Richard Milner and Paul Beavis respectively). During this gig AFL enjoyed messing with the band (and the guitar tech) by surprising them with what was next to be played. There was the usual mixture of classics like Shazam and Peter Gunn from the Duanne Eddy songbook, Route 66 and some other early instrumentals and pop songs. He also played some new stuff that he had recently recorded - fair play given his age. My highlights apart, from the Duanne Eddy obviously, were a Jimmy Reed cover 'TV Mama' which featured some superb guitar from ALF, 'My Baby Left Me', 'Nobody Knows you when you're down and Out' and a blues he played near the end with a white guitar that I don't know the name of. Of course he included the three big Amen Corner hits which the audience loved. I hope he doesn't leave it so long next time.