Skinny Lister / Rescue Rooms / Nottingham

For many, a Sunday night is for relaxing, for reflection and to prepare for the week ahead. Nah ! This Sunday night is all about the Shanty Punk shenanigans of Skinny Lister, as they hit the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham on their Winter 2024 tour.

We have two support acts on offer tonight and first up is singer / songwriter Ben Brown from Manningtree in Essex. I almost saw Ben earlier this year on the Music Venue Trust tour, I believe he was supporting the Meffs in Leicester, but I was unable to go at short notice and so was looking forward to seeing what I had missed out on.

Ben was fantastic, I really enjoyed his set, and his unique style mixing humour and fantastic song writing. Just Ben, his acoustic guitar and his human trumpet impressions, we delivered a fun and engaging set. His bearskin hat was thrown into the audience and made the trip back and forth a number of times and he talked at length between songs with the audience. His sense of humour is quirky. Having been a gardener in the East of England, I had no idea how good farm supply shops were for clothes buying lol.

As many do, before the final song he told us where to buy his merch (which he modelled stylishly) and how we could contact him. Reciting his address we were invited to go round and sit uncomfortably with his for a tea and a chat, and he gave us his dad’s mobile number and asked us to drop him a line and let him know what we thought.

Incredibly likeable, its hard to see how Ben could be anything other than happy. But the don’t let the tom-foolery distract you….. Ben is a very talented singer and songwriter. His songs were bright and engaging and announcing he will be headlining his own tour in 2025, I can’t wait to catch him again for a full set.

Next up is another new band to me, Rusty Shackle, a six-piece folk rock band from Caldicot in Monmouthshire, Wales. Mixing electric guitar and bass with more traditional violin and mandolin, they delivered a set of their own unique brand of folk, a fusion between classical Celtic folk, with strong punk and rock influences and a touch of good old US Bluegrass sounds. Rusty Shackle are Alex McConnachie (Guitar), Baz Barwick (Guitar, tenor guitar, mandolin), George Barrell (Drums, vocals), Liam Collins (Vocals, guitar), Scott McKeon (Fiddle, banjo) and Ryan Williams (Bass, trumpet, piano).

As with Bern, Rusty Shackle were at ease with the audience talking between songs about their meaning and telling tales, stirring up the divide between England and Wales with some interpretations of old myths and legends.

The songs has a great fast tempo that made them catchy and lively, made to be sung live, and the melodies were infectious and yearned to be song along to and to stomp your feet too. It was clear many of the audience tonight had seen them before, with many a voice in the crowd singing along to the chorus sections which was great to see.

A really good set from a band I certainly will be checking out again. IN the meantime, I’ve been spending some time listening to their latest album “Under a Bloodshot Moon”. Well worth a listen, give it a listen !

Rusty Shackle will be back, headlining at the Rescue Rooms on 4 October 2025, we’ll be there !

Ben and Rusty Shackle had done a fine job warming the room up, and there was a wonderful happy vibe going on, as Skinny Lister stepped out into the Spotlight. Formed in Greenwich, London in 2009, the band grew from the thriving folk club scene. Skinny Lister are Dan Heptinstall (lead vocals & guitar, Max Thomas (accordion, mandolin & vocals), Lorna Thomas (vocals), Scott Milsom (double bass & bass) and Tim Hillsdon (drums). Dan and Lorna are married, and Lorna and Max are brother and sister !

The place feels alive as they walk out and pick up their instruments. The thing with Skinny Lister is, its not just a gig – it’s a riotous singalong in a lock-in down the local with your best mates kinda night.

Every single song is delivered with a passion for their music and craft, with Max and Lorna dancing round the stage, interacting with the audience at every opportunity, their energy seems utterly limitless !

A couple of songs in, Dan pauses to point out the possible health and safety hazard on stage, as a four way plug adapter swam in a pool of spilt beer or water. Gingerly I reached up and moved the socket off the stage as Lorna knelt down and rubbed up the liquid. Dan laughed and suggested I get a photo quick or Lorna working, resulting in some choice words in Dan’s direction and a soaking cloth hurled in my direction lol, and this wonderful natural vibe / interaction between the two ran through the set, making everyone smile and laugh.

I have no idea where Max gets his energy, not stopping bouncing and reaching out into the crowd, or down in the crowd dancing away. The guy is a whirlwind.

They mix traditional folk with their own brand of shanty-punk perfectly, the tempo switches at ease from mellow, thoughtful ballads to fiery raucous anthems with ease. They deliver a stunning cover of the classic John Kanaka which has the whole place singing along to.

Their own songs tell of a life on the road, a mischievous life on the road, with tracks such as Hamburg Drunk, 13 Miles and Arm Wrestling in Dresden, for which Lorna climbed down into the crowd and offered to arm wrestle anyone who was up for it.

Highlights for me were the wonderful Cathy and George’s Glass a brilliant drinking song about looking at life through the bottom of George’s Glass.

As the main set drew to a close, they ended on their iconic track Trouble on Oxford Street, a story of drunken antics on a night out in London. It’s a rip-roaring drinking song up there with the best and has the whole audience singing along and hollering out the “ba-ba-ba” lines with energy.

Then to close the night, there was only really one song they could play, and they were joined onstage by Ben Brown for a heartwarming rendition of the brilliant Six Whiskies A wonderful drinking ballad, set at the end of the evening, at throwing out time with the most brilliant chorus there is “Six whiskies in me, I stumble through this pretty city. I sing it until they arrest me, And I declare my undying love for you “. It sums up perfectly a brilliant night out.

And that’s exactly what this was – brilliant. I’ve seen Skinny Lister many times before, and this won’t be the last. I’ve seen many many great bands live, but NONE come close to creating the atmosphere, and sense of belonging that Skinny Lister do. It’s like a night on the ale with your best mates…… pure magic !

Setlist

Wanted

Set Us Straight

George's Glass

Colours

38 Minutes

Unto the Breach

Tragedy in A Minor

Forty Pound Wedding

Bold as Brass

John Kanaka ([traditional] cover)

Rollin' Over