Take the Stage

OLUND/LIRIELLE/THE BRIDGE/ST BRIGIDS

Duffy's 26th February 2026

I always enjoy visiting Duffy's Bar, always warm and friendly... and last night was for Luke's "Take the Stage" event... a bit of a mixed bag, but a thoroughly enjoyable evening... and good to see Luke himself back

First up was an artist totally new to me, Olund... I am not a fan of the use of laptops and backing tracks... however well constructed the backing tracks they seldom sound fully connected with the singer, more like karaoke. In this case the backing tracks sounded harsh and loud and Olund just shouted his way through a batch of songs... quite theatrical in style, but with no real substance... The overall sound was just loud and unappealing... sorry but i saw nothing whatever to enjoy about this performance.

Next up things got a bit better, Lirielle was playing only her 4th ever solo gig... Although the nerves showed through, she has a really lovely voice and sings well... her songs are also pretty good and she delivered a fine performance. Unfortunately, she doesnt play an instrument so also used a backing track... much better then the predecessor, but for me totally at odds with her own quite delicate performance. Lirielles voice and singing is relaxed and quite pastoral and would, in my view, be heard to much better advantage accompanied by an empathetic musician, maybe an acoustic guitar, keyboard or violin...in a more compatible setting the obvious quality of her voice and songs would be able to stand out.

Third up... someone i'd heard of but never seen... and what a revelation the Bridge were. The Bridge band formed from music sessions with Luke Broughton at The Bridge "Homelessness to Hope" project and are a real collective of individuals, all dealing with their issues and coming together in the universal language of music... Their material is all original and whether song or poem is delivered with care and sincerity... The musicians are never all on stage at the same time, but come and go and perform in different combinations, each one taking various different roles in the band. Luke himself is up there with them, performing and encouraging.

I absolutely loved this performance... totally inspiring and i cant praise Luke too highly for his work in creating and maintaining this ensemble... do yourself a favour... look out for the Bridge at a local venue and go and see them.. be inspired

Closing the show some high quality raucous rabble rousing in the form of the superb St Brigids... high on the punk attitude, their music ranges from quite poppy, to rock and punk... all played with massive energy and style and a real sense of fun... The material is all original and of a high quality, and having 4 of the band taking lead vocals, as well as harmonies and joint lead vocals, there was great variety in the styles from song to song, but all delivered with the same high quality and infectious energy... fabulous set, loved it!!

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Charm of Finches

CHARM OF FINCHES

International Music Venue 23rd February 2026

First visit to the International Music The International Music Venue for a while, last night to see CHARM OF FINCHES.

They are Australian sisters, i believe now resident in the uk and touring to promote the single and album.

They concentrate on their own songs but include an excellent cover of "Army Dreamers" by Kate Bush.

Both sing well and harmonise well. Mabel plays guitar while Ivy plays keyboard and on some songs, violin. The overall sound is gentle and pastoral but for me lacks any real spark or depth, bordering at times on twee. On the other hand in some songs later in the set the playing got more robust and sparky and were very enjoyable.

Overall an enjoyable, if not exciting evening

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Govannen/Kellys Heroes

Govannen/Kellys Heroes

International Musiv Venue 8th February 2026

Back to the The International Music Venue on sunday afternoon for another wonderful afternoon celebrating St Brigids Day with celtic music from two of the best bands in ther business... Kellys Heroes and Govannen

First up were Kellys Heroes, a band steeped in traditional irish song and tunes, mainly familiar songs, which with the band deliver with massive spirit and musical excellence.

They opened with a cracking version of "All for me Grog" followed by a hymn to the heroes of the building trade "Building up and Tearing England Down" totally setting the joyful tone of the set. The band were firing on all cylinders playing and singing brilliantly and the audience loving it

The pace slowed briefly for a beautiful performance of John Tams "Snow Falls" (originally written as part of "Lark Rise to Candleford") before picking up the pace again with more upbeat material including "New York Girls".As Tony said, he sings chorus songs rather fast... indeed virtually the whole set is delivered with massive energy and style. The band enbded with another relatively new (by their standards) song in Ewan's "Dirty Old Town"

The whole set was wonderful... absolutely heartwarming irresistable irsh magic delivered by a truly great band... Huge thanks to Helen, Patrick, Steve and Tony for wonderful exhilarating set.... follow that!!!...

... and of course Govannen did that... slightly changing their set they started with the beautiful tune "A stor mo chroi", as a touching tribute and memorial for Neil Segrott, led by Adele and her wonderful fiddle playing...

With Govannen the focus falls on each of the musicians in turn, and next up was Roger with his more robust fiddling style, playing a couple of his own tunes.

Following on, the mood changed for a beautiful version of "Salley Gardens" song by Chris, before switching to Dan for a rousing "Matty Groves....

Roger was back next with his song "Indian Tea" based on a Robert Frost poem.

Adele had a rare outing on vocals singing "Spancil Hill and showed what a great singer she is, and what a lovely voice...

For me, one of the highlights of any Govannen set is Dan singing his powerful song of the Clovelley fishing fleet, "The Storm" which he delivered as ever with passion and real class.

A couple more tunes then Chris delivered his classic "Jazz Potato" outlining the fact a jazz pianist plays in a ceildh band... through the set Chris is more than a keyboard player/singer as he adds low pipes, whistles and kalimba to several pieces.

After this Dan was just starting an announcement, when Roger burst into the final rousing song, "The Beggar"

Dan was then able to offer his thanks to all before the band left us with another set of up tempo tunes...

Five brilliant musicians/singers, Neil staying at the back adding subtle and sensitive perciussion throughout ans well as backing vocals

Another scintillating and brilliant set....

Huge thanks to both bands for two terrific performances and a really fabulous afternoons entertainment...

Absolutely great stuff!!!

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Wild Daisy & the Blackhearts/John Berry-Johnny Cash

Wild Daisy & the Blackhearts/John Berry-Johnny Cash

Victoria Bikers Pub 7th February 2026

First visit to this highly rated venue to see Wild Daisy & The Black Hearts and a Johnny Cash tribute act.

Arrived early and was delighted to catch up with Hannah and Dan Nick & Sian before the gig...

Disappointingly however we learned that the Cash tribute had had to pull out but they had a different Cash tribute to replace the band.

So, the music... first up were Wild Daisy & The Black Hearts , i loved their debut performance and every time i've seen them since they have grown tighter and stronger. Built around Hannah's high class vocals and the powerful twin lead guitars, ably assisted by first rate bass and drums they power through a set of Southern Rock pieces, everyone a gem!

Kicking off with "Never going to Stay" which rocked and soared setting the pace in great style... the band then rocked through their set, clearly loving playing together, Hannah smiling broadly throughout...

A few songs in the addition of a lap steel for a few songs adds a different dimension. The band was really rockjng, playing superbly, with Dan's slide work excelling... until a minot blip when his bottleneck fell and shattered... happily he had a spare and was able to continue... as the set progressed the band were turning up the heat and building up to the climax... penultimate song was The Damn Truth classic "Love"... which i was flattered and honoured to have dedicated to me again... which started gently and built and built to a wonderful crescendo, followed by "Take Me Down" which carried on where the previous piece left off and brought the set to a superb climax... the band looked as though they wanted to play on for hours... and i really wish they could have done.

Super set... rocking, joyful and full of power, energy and great musicianship and vocals... loved it.

Just a word for the venue... when Dan's slide fell to the floor and broke, they were instantly on the case clearing away the broken glass... well done guys...

The the replacement CASH, i believe John Berry/Johnny Cash... and loving Johnny Cash i wish i could be more positive.

The guy played with a backing track of ponderous clunky drums and indifferent musicianship... all but drowning the vocals... there was no attempt to match Cash's vocal style or mannerisms... after massacring Bob's "Dont think Twice" and Kris' "Sunday Morning Coming Down" it was just poor karaoke over a poor backing track... dismal... cant do a full revue as after about 15 minutes i couldn't take any more and left to chat again with friends...

Great performance as ever by Hannah and Wild Daisy & The Black Hearts and a really good venue!!

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues