Tag Archives: Corn Exchange

Suzanne Vega, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 27 October 2025

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A sold-out Cambridge Corn Exchange welcomed Suzanne Vega to the venue for the fourth time in her celebrated career. Opening the show was Katherine Priddy, with a short set of her thoughtful original songs. ‘A Boat on the River’ is a gorgeous melodic meditation then ‘Eurydice’ has a more sinister and dreamlike atmosphere. New single ‘Matches’ recalled the persecutions of women in medieval times while the final two songs had more personal stories attached. It was a fine performance from an upcoming indie-folk talent.

Suzanne Vega draws on a rich catalogue and has the relaxed performing style that brings the tales to life. Starting with ‘Marlene on The Wall’, complete with black top hat Suzanne’s voice is in fine form. She was accompanied for this show by her own acoustic guitar and additional electric guitar and occasional cello to give texture to her quite varied song styles.

Many familiar tracks featured as well as material from her acclaimed new collection ‘Flying with Angels‘, including the superb Dylan tribute ‘Chambermaid’. Finishing the main set with the timeless ‘Luka’ and ‘Tom’s Diner’ we were then treated to an encore including ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and the beautiful ‘Galway’ ending the show on a high.

https://www.suzannevega.com/

http://www.katherinepriddy.co.uk

Andy Bell, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 19 May 2025

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Andy Bell completed the initial UK leg of his solo tour with an electrifying set featuring material from his new solo album ‘Ten Crowns’ as well as many Erasure hits from their extensive back catalogue. First on stage was the golden voice of David McAlmont accompanied by collaborator Hifi Sean, with a good combination of electropop, atmospheric beats and emotive vocals.

Opening with ‘Breaking Thru the Interstellar’, Andy Bell immediately showed that he continues to strongly connect with his appreciative audience. The backing band with live drummer added extra heft to the Erasure songs, especially to a pulsing, strident version of ‘Drama!’, ‘Chains of Love’ and one of their best, ‘Love to Hate You’. They also contributed their own empathetic version of ‘Breathe’.

‘Always’ and ‘Dance for Mercy’ were more highlights as was new track ‘Heart’s a Liar’; the recorded version is performed with the legendary Debbie Harry and tonight backing singer Hailey Steele stylishly re-created the bittersweet exchanges of this fine song.

With the final encore of ‘A Little Respect’, this was a great show…

Public Service Broadcasting, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 25 October 2024

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Halo Maud opened the show, singing in English and French with a three piece instrumental line-up that rapidly changed from pulsing energy to dreamlike atmosphere. A fine, dynamic set featuring many tracks from 2024 album ‘Celebrate’.

Public Service Broadcasting returned to the Corn Exchange with a set drawing on what is now a substantial back catalogue, but of course with an emphasis on recently released ‘The Last Flight’; movingly describing and commemorating the achievements and disappearance of pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart. The stage was like a giant plane control panel, with screens to show the archive clips. The four regular members of the band were stunningly augmented by the vocals and keyboards of EERA and a sound quality and volume that balanced the voice samples and music perfectly.

There were tracks from all their full-length albums – ‘Sputnik’, ‘Spitfire’, ‘Go!’, ‘Progress’ all featured strongly with the rarer ‘Korolev’ as a bonus too. The encore of the glorious ‘Night Mail’, the electropop of ‘People, Let’s Dance’, the dancing astronauts of ‘Gagarin’ and the thought-provoking history lesson of ‘Everest’ were a great distillation of the band’s depth and endeavour at the end of this brilliant show.

https://www.publicservicebroadcasting.net/
https://halomaud.bandcamp.com/

The Unthanks in Winter, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 19 December 2023

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Katherine Priddy opened the show with her warm and atmospheric songs infusing the wide spaces of the Corn Exchange, delivered by her gentle voice and empathetic guitar work. From ‘Wolf’ to ‘Letters from a Travelling Man’ to the mythical ‘Eurydice’, Katherine brought style and emotion to these subtle vignettes.

The Unthanks were previewing a seasonal suite that will eventually be recorded; an amalgam of classical and folk influences blended by the timeless harmonies of Rachel and Becky Unthank. This mostly continuous performance featured dreamlike renditions of traditional pieces such as ‘The Coventry Carol’ and ‘The Cherry Tree Carol’ interspersed with wintry instrumentals.

The band conjured up snowbound landscapes and distant comforting lights using an array of acoustic instruments and the fluid vocal line-up of this gifted ensemble. Ending with the haunting anthem ‘Tar Barrel In Dale’ and the valedictory ‘Dear Companions’ it was a show to linger long through the Christmas season.

http://www.the-unthanks.com

https://linktr.ee/katherinepriddy

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 29 November 2023

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Seasonal songs, greatest hits and new tracks from latest album ‘HANA’ laced with brio and style by national treasure Sophie Ellis-Bextor was a show not to be missed. Opening act Holiday Sidewinder performed a set of summery electro-pop and managed to quickly reduce the echoing confines of the Corn Exchange to an intimate space with her confiding lyrics on tracks like ‘Leo’ and ‘Casino’.

It was a bit early in the year but Sophie and her band brought the Christmas spirit to a cold evening; ‘Last Christmas’, ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ and ‘Christmas Wrapping’ all featured but it was the mighty ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’ and ‘Get Over You’ that showcased her pop delivery to the max. Covers of ‘Like a Prayer’ and ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie ignited the crowd and euro pop belter ‘Hypnotized’ was a real highlight for me.

‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ ended the main set but of course we wanted more – ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’ was followed by an acoustic rendition of the pensive ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ sung from one of the theatre boxes, a thoughtful and emotional end to a show that was a celebratory delight.

https://sophieellisbextor.net/

https://www.holidaysidewinder.com/

Ward Thomas, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 10 April 2023

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Charlie Worsham opened the show; soon connecting with the audience with his combination of guitar, mandolin and warm vocals. Tales of Nashville and his extensive musical journey (including a performance in Cambridge in his college days) introduced his thoughtful songs; highlights being ‘Young To See’ and ‘Old Time’s Sake’.

Ward Thomas have many excellent songs; their extensive set featured most of their new (fifth) album ‘Music In The Madness’, starting with the mid-tempo ‘All Over Again’ and they later included my favourite new ballad ‘If It All Ends Today’; a casually beautiful melody and sentiment delivered to perfection.

The album is mostly their confident country-pop but ‘Justice & Mercy’ is rich story- telling Americana, joined on mandolin by Charlie Worsham to augment the superb band. A cover of Razorlight’s ‘America’ fits in neatly and there was plenty of time for older classics, especially the heartbreak double of ‘Cartwheels’ and ‘Guilty Flowers’.

Catherine and Lizzy’s vocal harmonies combine with strength and subtlety, showcased especially on the quieter or slower songs like ‘One More Goodbye’ or the acoustic stillness of ‘Safe’.

An encore of the celebratory ‘Carry You Home’ followed by the gentle ‘Love Does’ was the perfect end to this excellent evening.

https://www.wardthomasmusic.com/

https://www.charlieworsham.com/

The Proclaimers, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 5 November 2022

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John Bramwell (former frontman of I Am Kloot) opened the show with a combination of intriguing lyrics and intricate acoustic guitar lines, delivered with warmth and clarity. His sparse and thoughtful songs made an instant connection with the audience.

Two thirds of the way through a huge sold-out tour The Proclaimers return to Cambridge and as usual they deliver musically and emotionally to a packed hall of adoring fans. The show started with the title track from their new album; the duo continues to record and featured new songs throughout the set.

‘Over and Done With’ and ‘Should Have Been Loved’ are up-tempo fun songs boosted by their appearance in the excellent ‘Sunshine on Leith‘ movie, but it is the irresistible swirl of ‘Let’s Get Married’ and their debut hit ‘Letter from America’ that first raise the roof. At the heart of the show are many hidden gems; going back to their guitar/vocal roots for ‘Misty Blue’, the simple beauty of ‘Make My Heart Fly’ and spiritual intensity of ‘Sky Takes the Soul’. The political messages are still strong too, with the independence theme of ‘Cap in Hand'(from 1988) and especially the moving description of immigration ‘Scotland’s Story’ (2014) sounding bang up to date.

Craig and Charlie Reid have created a huge back catalogue of memorable songs with the contrasting giants of ‘Sunshine on Leith’ and ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)’ being the best known. Towards the end of the set these were of course received with massive enthusiasm as the superb band sound soared into the rafters of the venue. Finally, the party atmosphere of ‘The Joyful Kilmarnock Blues’ sent us away happy into the rain and fireworks until the next time…

https://the.proclaimers.co.uk/

http://www.johnbramwell.com/

The Shires, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 15 May 2022

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First on stage at this sold out show was Kezia Gill; with her strong vocals and witty lyrics she won the audience over playing her opening track ‘Country Song’, featured on her 2021 EP ( reviewed here). From the tender reminiscence of ‘Local Man’s Star’ to the partying ‘Whiskey Drinkin’ Woman’, Kezia was a shining opening act.

From the USA, Eric Paslay has an impressive CV of collaborations, hit songs and awards. Tonight his engaging performance of these carefully crafted tracks brought the listeners into his world of subtle disquiet and emotional celebration.

It has been a long delay before headliners The Shires arrived in Cambridge for this tour but tonight’s show made up for the wait. The duo were supported by a spot-on band for a set that alternated rockers (‘Lightning Strikes’), grand ballads (recent single ‘I See Stars’), and the emotional pull of very personal statements (not a dry eye in the house for ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’). Ben and Crissie are an instantly likeable pair, with the great strength that the two individual vocals can carry a song brilliantly but the combined harmonies of both voices are on another quite magical plane.

In a show of many highlights, by the time we reached the big finish of ‘A Thousand Hallelujahs’ the combined hands of the audience were definitely waving up to the heavens…

https://www.theshiresmusic.com/

https://www.ericpaslay.com/

https://keziagill.com/

Public Service Broadcasting, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 11 November 2021

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It was a full venue for the return of Public Service Broadcasting to Cambridge, along with opening act EERA, also part of PSB for this tour. EERA’s free-flowing sensuous songs build around sparse instrumentation and her echoing voice, especially on the low-fi ‘Christine’. She moved into rawer territory for ‘Ladder’ when PSB surprisingly appeared as a rocking backing band towards the end of this well-received set.

Public Service Broadcasting have broadened their distinctive sound with longer instrumental pieces on their new Berlin concept album ‘Bright Magic’, strongly featured tonight and described by the band; ‘….the album’s theme is light… the light bouncing off of Dietrich’s cheekbones, of neon signs in the rain. I wanted to celebrate movement, colour and joy in an urban environment….’

Decked out in white suits and with of course a brilliant sequence of lights and visuals their long set maintains unstoppable momentum.

The ‘Every Valley’ mining community tracks take on a distinct poignancy this evening as the Glasgow Climate talks were taking place at the same time, but the older ‘Sputnik’, ‘E.V.A.’, ‘The Other Side’ seem to be a timeless slice of history. 2014’s ‘The Race For Space’ also provides two of their showstoppers; ‘Gagarin’ complete with dancing astronauts and the manic energy finale of ‘Go’.

EERA’s vocals soared throughout, particularly in the glorious ‘Blue Heaven’, probably my favourite song of the night out of so many highlights. As the brass section added textures to the last song ‘Everest’ there was no doubt that PSB continue to be a formidable live attraction.

https://www.publicservicebroadcasting.net/

https://www.eera.co.uk/

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Penguin Cafe, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 30 September 2019

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Rising from the ashes of the late Simon Jeffes’ pioneering ensemble Penguin Cafe Orchestra his son Arthur has now built on the legacy with his own compositions and re-imagined versions of earlier pieces performing as Penguin Cafe. The first half of the show featured the new LP ‘Handfuls of Night’, based on Arthur’s Greenpeace trip to Antarctica, embracing the mysticism of the landscape on tracks like ‘Winter Sun’ as well as the characteristics of four of the penguin species to be found there.

With a rock band lightshow and flanked on stage by two watching Emperor penguin head sculptures, this seven-piece incarnation of the band is a string quartet with added percussion, bass (electric and upright), harmonium and of course those rippling piano figures that drive many of the pieces. ‘Chapter’ is a perfect example of this, a lengthy meditation likened by Arthur to a 70s TV cop show theme (he carefully introduced each of the tracks played) whereas ‘Pythagoras On The Line Again’ is an experiment using beat frequencies, octave resonance and dialling tones.
My favourite is ‘At the Top of the Hill, They Stood’ with gorgeous impressionistic chord changes and a gradually building sound.

The second half was a trip through the Penguin back catalogue, with the familiar ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ and ‘Music For A Found Harmonium’ being very popular with the audience. A cover of Simian Mobile Disco’s ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ was an unexpected excursion and the show ended with the evocative ‘Rescue’, a soundtrack for a film yet to be made.
The Cafe in full flight is an immersive experience but perhaps the most affecting moment in the show was near the end when Arthur Jeffes played ‘Harry Piers’, a solo piano piece simply described as being ‘…written for my Dad…‘. This musical innovator died in 1997 (aged 48) but his musical inspiration is certainly living on.

https://www.penguincafe.com/