It’s fair to state that we have been singing the praises of St Leonards-on-Sea based rising star Cordelia Gartside ever since catching her performing at last year’s ‘Homegrown Festival’, in Brighton when she performed a set with her band at The Hope & Ruin on 13th April 2024. Back then our reviewer Mark Kelly reported thus:
“Sometimes it’s just not good enough to have preconceived ideas about an artist. All the music I’d heard by Cordelia Gartside featured her singing with an acoustic guitar. But wait! As she takes the stage at The Hope & Ruin she is accompanied by a band! In addition to herself on electric guitar, she has a lead guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. Yes – a proper band!!! Not only that, her lead guitarist (who I believe is called Amy) is playing a PRS, which is the kind of guitar that only serious guitarists play, and as Amy shows in pretty short order, she is a serious guitarist. Cordelia is another great singer, extraordinary in fact. Her songs are grungy and emotional, with Amy unleashing peaks of crystalline notes throughout the set. Cordelia and her band remind me of Heartworms, but without the gothic overtones. Each song has a character of its own. You can tell that the songs are related, but they in no way sound the same. ‘Tonal’ is one of Cordelia’s newer songs that she has written as a ‘band’ song. It has quite a few time signature changes and reminds me of Throwing Muses, Belly and The Breeders. She should be on 4AD! ‘Hospital Corners’ is the last song. Cordelia tells us that after it finishes they’re “just going to run away”!!! Tellingly, throughout the set the audience don’t make a sound while the band is playing. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but Cordelia is another ‘find’!”.
Our next encounter was at the ‘Loud Women’ bash at Daltons on 1st June 2024, where I was sharing reviewing duties of the six acts on the bill with my colleague Jess Kemp. That night Jess reviewed Cordelia’s set and her key observations included that “Gartside’s beautiful and skilful vocal drifts over the listener with a lightness of touch. Gartside is the master of her instruments employing her (brand new) effects pedals sparingly, using the strength of her vocals to hold the audience. There are few musicians who have this skill, the only thing breaking the audience’s rapt attention was their own applause at the end of each song”.
Our last encounter of 2024 with Cordelia was for her headline show at The Rossi Bar on 17th December. This was covered by Christian Le Surf and he ended his review by informing us that: “Following rapturous applause and cheer from the audience, I simply had to approach Cordelia post-haste and congratulate her on a wonderfully remarkable performance”.
Our first encounter with Cordelia in 2025 was at the sadly defunct Family Store Records on 24th January which was covered by Peter Greenfield, the first of several encounters, as the spark had been lit for him!
Wind the clock forward to 1st March and we again had the pleasure of witnessing another set from Cordelia, this time it was for the ‘Hidden Herd All-Dayer’ at the Green Door Store. This featured no less than nine acts and the reviewing duties were split between myself, Ian Holman and Peter Greenfield. Peter wanted to review Cordelia’s set and he concluded his report thus: “For me, Cordelia Gartside was a standout performance among some exciting artists at Hidden Herd’s all-dayer. I wasn’t alone in thinking this, as a commonly heard phrase throughout Saturday night was “Did you catch Cordelia Gartside’s performance?”.
We were supporting Cordelia several days later for her headline set at the Green Door Store on 9th March, where I (Nick Linazasoro) concluded my review by stating:
“Well what can I say after our 36 minute encounter this evening? If there was real justice in the world, then Cordelia would be headlining Glastonbury and dueting with Paul McCartney! She’s honestly that good! We just need the world to catch us up, just like they did with Dua Lipa, who I reviewed playing at a not even full Hope & Ruin pub, before she was famous!”.
The word on Cordelia was well and truly out now and several of our team managed to witness Cordelia’s performance at this year’s ‘Great Escape‘ festival, where she and her band performed to a rammed WaterBear Venue on 16th May. Peter Greenfield’s review reads as thus:
“Cordelia Gartside’s ‘lo-fi creep rock’ show was one of the most dramatic and memorable of my Great Escape Festival. Cordelia was joined by her band of Willow Simpson (guitar), Max Garner (drums) and Tom Ironmonger (bass). They started with ‘Pay By The Hour’ with a beautifully haunting start, which reminded me a little of Julee Cruise and Twin Peaks, before exploding into a rock track with screamed vocals. On that opening song and many others, the volume and tempo may have changed, but the intensity was unwavering. Cordelia mostly sang with a piercing gaze as if emphasising her vocal delivery. Cordelia’s set had variety as well as quality with slower softer songs such as ‘Machine’ and my personal favourite ‘Hospital Corners’ which were sung with so much emotion. The show’s finale ‘What The Heart Wants’, was their fastest and loudest number. Cordelia gave her band space to shine, such as the great distortion and rock breaks from Willow’s guitar. Willow wandered into the crowd to play towards the end and Cordelia played bent backwards on her knees. Not idle posing, but totally fitting the music and occasion. Cordelia mentioned in her set that she grew up in Brighton and it was her first time playing The Great Escape. She and her band definitely made the most of their debut with a spectacular show”.
Peter also caught up with Cordelia at Daltons on 4th July and then again at Alphabet on 16th July, and was both times thrilled with the sets.
We now have another Cordelia concert to attend and enjoy as it has been announced that she will be performing a headline set at The Hope & Ruin on Thursday 13th November. The support artists are to be confirmed. This event is being organised by JOY. promoters, who are also very much singing Cordelia’s praises. Their announcement reads as thus:
“Gartside’s alt-rock is a captivating mix of fragility and force. Stark lyricism, compelling melodies and striking dynamic range are amplified by her band’s invigorating energy. Together, they transform venues into intimate, emotionally charged spaces.
Gartside’s electrifying live shows – often compared to PJ Harvey and Radiohead – have quickly built her a loyal following in London and Brighton. Sold out headliners at The Lexington and Paper Dress Vintage have established Gartside as one of the most gripping new acts on the scene.
With new music on the horizon and an ever-growing reputation, Cordelia Gartside is swiftly becoming one of the most compelling new voices in post-rock”.
Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased HERE.
