Those Damn Crows / The Drill / Lincoln

Mar 24

Mar 24 Those Damn Crows / The Drill / Lincoln

A trip into Lincoln and a first visit to the Drill on Free School Lane to catch Those Damn Crows on their spring 2025 UK tour, to promote their forthcoming album “God Shaped Hole”. A huge queue right down the road indicated this was going to be a busy one and indeed the ‘sold out’ signs were up.

On entering the venue I was impressed and it was clear the financial investment in the venue by new owners Lincoln College has been worth it. The main hall retains its old brickwork heritage but has been brought up to date well, with great lighting and an incredible sound system. It’s a venue I’ll be checking on regularly to see what coming to town !

First up in support we have a set from James Bruner a singer/songwriter from Springfield, Illinois. Picking up the guitar at 15, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2020 to develop his sound. further. Influenced by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Bowie and James Bay, he’s developed a crisp guitar style delivering beautiful harmonies and delivering emotion in abundance through his storytelling.

James is a born performer, with a style that exudes confidence, as he struts around the stage. The music has a distinct blues rock feel and is upbeat engages the crowd right from the off, boosted by his energetic performance.

The musical skills are obvious, and I was impressed with his songwriting and skill with lyrics. James has the air of a headliner about him, and the band delivered a solid and thoroughly enjoyable set. One to watch in the future.

Setlist

Switchblade

Endless

Eye in the Sky

Wait for You

Alibi

Red Light

Hotshot

Better Says

Then, following a short break, it was time for tonight’s headliners, the Welsh rockers Those Damn Crows hailing from Bridgend. Formed in 2014 Those Damn Crows are

Shane Greenhall (vocals), Ian "Shiner" Thomas (guitar), Lloyd Wood (bass) and Ronnie Huxford (drums). The name apparently comes from Huxford’s dad who feeding the birds in the garden one day exclaimed "Those damn crows!" Ronnie took the idea back to the rest of the band and the name stuck !

Those Damn Crows have release three studio albums, “Murder and the Motive” (2018), “Point of No Return” (2020) which reached #14 in the UK and “Inhale/Exhale” (2023) which reached #3. Their latest album “God Shaped Hole” comes out on 11th April 2025 and is available to pre-order HERE.

The band rush out onto the stage to huge cheers from the packed out Drill and they dive right into Let's Go Psycho! and the title is so apt as Shane Greenhall rushes round the stage whipping the crowd into a frenzy. The energy levels are off the scale. At the end he talks to the crowd and points out its their first show in Lincoln, reminded it’s a Wednesday night, he revels in the fact that The Drill has sold out which brings a huge cheer from the crowd.

It's so obvious the band have a large and faithful following, and the crowd are loving every second of the performance, singing along to all the choruses, chanting lines back at Shane and bouncing, the place is roasting! The performance itself is rock solid, Ian is a powerhouse on guitar throwing out riffs with ease as Shane struts his stuff, the perfect frontman.

The set just flies by as they roll through hit after hit. In particular I enjoyed Kingdom of Dust, No Surrender, Glass Heart and Sin on Skin. The 14 song setlist is gone in a blink of an eye, and we end with the fittingly named See You Again, and finally the bangin’ rock anthem Rock 'n' Roll Ain't Dead!

I’d not seen Those Damn Crows live before and I came away wondering how I’d missed out. From first note to last, the band were on fire, delivering energy filled classics that had broad smiles on the bands and the crowds faces.

A stunning live performance, that cements their reputation as one of the bets rock night’s out going. Those Damn Crows are one of those bands every rock fan needs to see. You won’t be disappointed !

Setlist

Let's Go Psycho!

Man on Fire

Find a Way

Kingdom of Dust

Blink of an Eye

No Surrender

Glass Heart

Dreaming

Who Did It

Sin on Skin

Go Get It