The Bros. Landreth / O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire / London

Sep 7

Sep 7 The Bros. Landreth / O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire / London

A trip to the big smoke and a new venue to tick off the list, at the wonderful O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Opening as a music hall back in 1903 it’s still going strong today, with a gloriously ornate interior and a modern event capacity of 2,000, it really is a special place ! First impressions were great, easy to get to on the underground, incredibly friendly staff, good lighting and amazing sound. I’ll certainly be looking for more shows here in future.

First up, in support we had Canadian singer Mariel Buckley. Her style is firmly rooted in country and folk, playing acoustic guitar accompanied by pedal steel. Mariel explains that her music has a simple formula, songs about driving, sex or drinking !

I really enjoyed her short set. A strong powerful voice, she delivers expressive lyrics on her favourite subjects (listed above!) Perhaps the highlight of the set for was the track Driving in the dark and Driving Around. Modern country is my dirty secret musical thrill, and Mariel really hit the spot tonight.

The it was time for The Bros. Landreth to hit the stage. Guitarist and principal vocalist Joey and bassist David Landreth have been playing together since they were kids in their father’s band, and have had extensive careers as parts of other bands as a duo and for Joey a solo career. The tour is promoting their 2022 new album “Come Morning”. As a result all the album tracks feature here, except for (I believe) Back to Thee. The rest of the set comes from their earlier albums “87” released in 2019 and “Let It lie” from 2015.

And we were in for a real treat tonight, as they flawlessly delivered their signature brand of Americana / roots-rock. The set starts with Runaway Train from 2015’s “Let it Lie” which gets the Apollo crowd moving. The musicianship is fantastic, and as you would expect having played together all their lives, Joey and David have a connection, the guitar playing is effortless and the timing is spot on.

I’ve really been enjoying their new album, and it’s a regular repeat for a few weeks. Early in the set we get Stay and Drive All Night which is an outstanding track. More tracks from the new album follow with You Don’t Know Me, Corduroy and Come Morning, before we head back to the 2020 single When I Call Your Name which goes down well with the large crowd.

As the main part of the set draws to a close we got What in the World my favourite track from “Come Morning”. It’s a wonderful track, and the lines of lyrics are delivered in a way, very similar to Marty Ray’sBare feet (well it sounds like it to me) and that’s no bad thing at all. Both incredible moving tracks !

Then as the set finishes we head back to 2015’s “Let It Lie” for the excellent tracks I Am The Fool and Our Love.

Luckily there is more, and the boys return to the stage for two more songs, giving us I Can’t Win, and a cover of Little Feat’s Two Trains.

I love a bit of Americana / Country, and the genre has such a wide range of styles. Recently seeing The Cadillac Three and their all action more rocky sound, The Bros. Landreth have a more relaxed, but nevertheless excellent style. A band certainly worthy of your attention !

The UK tour still has a couple of dates, so if you’re in the area, get yourself to either Manchester’s Academy on 8th or the Oxford Academy on 9th September. Trust me, you’ll love them !

Set List

Runaway Train

Gone Girl

Stay

Drive All Night

Made Up Mind

You Don’t Know Me

Corduroy

Come Morning

When I Call Your Name

Don’t Feel Like Crying

After the Rain