Joshua Burnell

Young Thugs, York

1–3 March 2024

Young Thugs is an odd choice of venue. It appears to be a recording studio, with a few rows of chairs added to accommodate an audience. There's no stage, and the band take up about a third of the available floor space, with an audience of maybe 100, most of them standing, crammed into the other two thirds. I'm sure Josh could fill a bigger venue in his home town, so this is an odd choice. But what it has going for it is a grand piano, which I doubt he could realistically expect anywhere else. And if nothing else, that makes the choice of venue worth it, and is just one element that made this a unique (and I've seen several) Joshua Burnell gig. And of course it's a home-town audience of family and friends, 100% behind the band and up for singing and clapping along to anything. A really fantastic atmosphere.

The evening was opened by Frances Sladen (or, as she's now known on stage, So Fe) with half an hour showcasing six of her own songs. She's accompanied by Nathan Greaves and Joshua Burnell on guitar and piano, and delivers a beautiful and confident performance of contemporary ballads. Obviously I've seen her many times singing with the Joshua Burnell band, but this is the the first time she's been able to showcase her own songwriting—and literally her first solo gig—and I'm happy to report she's just a good a writer as a singer, though I'm not going to attempt to describe (or even name) the songs after a single listen. If I had to pick a favourite, it's probably the one she says was inspired by Pink Floyd (and if you know me, you won't be surprised), and she didn't need to tell us about the inspiration—it's all clearly there in the music. An EP is promised by the end of the year, and I'm already in line to buy it.

For her final song, So Say The Crows, which she released on streaming platforms a year ago, she is joined by the rest of the Joshua Burnell band, and ends in strong style.

With no break, the band then goes into Joshua Burnell's set. It's an interesting transition, especially as they open with La Fey, which So Fe sings lead on anyway. But the difference in style is obvious, as she and the band switch from her soft ballads to his upbeat folk rock.

Josh plays piano on most of the songs, switching to guitar when needed. He doesn't have any keyboards other than the piano and a lone, vintage-looking, analog synth tucked away in a corner, which he uses on only one song. It's odd to hear these songs without Hammond organ layered everywhere, but the paino gives them a good sound: it sounds fantastic on the ballads and doesn't stop the rock songs from, well, rocking. Though most of the set is similar to last year's tour, the piano arrangements make everything sound fresh, and there's even a never-before-heard piano-led song that for some reason didn't make it on to the Glass Knight album.

What I love about Joshua Burnell is how many styles he blurs together, going from folk rock to a folkish ballad he sings alone with an almost Dylanesque delivery, to full-on rock with a Wakeman-like synth solo, all in the space of three songs.

There is an interval mid-set, and when they come back it seems that they have got all the ballads out of the way, as the rock factor seems to continuously build over the remainder of the set. They end with the crowd-pleasing glam-rock sing-along of Lucy, followed by the folky Sing for the Island, which Josh says he keeps trying to drop from the set, but which I don't think he ever can. It's just too good, and embodies everything good in folk rock, with thoughtful lyrics, a rocking chorus, and killer violin solo.

They don't even pretend to go off before the "encore" (there's nowhere to go!), they just go into the beautiful Moonlighter's Child. It's a deceptively soft, laid-back song for an encore, but it builds into a rocking climax, with a three-part vocal and a shredding guitar solo from Nathan. This is how you end a rock show.

Best Joshua Burnell gig so far? Yes, definitely.