Bill Ryder-Jones at Chalk, Brighton, 19th March 2024

With his ever-growing collection of songs full of heartache and hope, Bill Ryder-Jones is back out on tour across the UK and Europe. An always understated performance, his ability to connect with the crowd through the simplicity of occasional chat and beautiful tunes is something that he excels at.

Last night’s show at Brighton’s Chalk offered up a mix of songs old and new, tracks from latest album Iechyd Da comfortably rubbing shoulders with the old favourites. This was highlighted by renditions of both A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart (2013) and A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart part 3 (2024), noting the full circle journey these reflect. Wild Swans and Wild Roses appeared back to back, and the band stepped into the shadows for a mid-set solo acoustic rendition of Seabirds. In contrast to the intensity of the music, there was an unexpected impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Hendrix-esque riff to follow a quick tune-up on the guitar. 

The show closed with This Can’t Go On, lead single from Iechyd Da, testament to how far Ryder-Jones has come since co-founding indie favourites The Coral back in the mid 90s. Singer-songwriter, musician, producer and film score composer… West Kirby should be proud.

Further dates announced for this year and links to buy Iechyd Da in the format of your choice can be found here

Review/photos by Callum/Lola

Published 21st March 2024