(Review by Max Tollworth)
BRÒGEAL + SAMUEL NICHOLSON – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 19.7.24
Brògeal (pronounced ‘Bro Gale’) made a welcome return to Brighton this evening having previously played a couple of gigs at this year’s ‘Great Escape’ new music festival, where they got the crowds boppin’ along on Brighton Pier at Horatios Bar on 16th May and then at Brighthelm Centre the following afternoon. Unfortunately, with something in the region of 500 acts on offer across the whole event, it’s certainly not possible to witness them all in action, and so tonight at The Prince Albert we rectify this situation by taking in the joys of this rising Scottish quintet for their sold out show, which is their ninth date of a 13-date tour. They have already won over new fans in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Nottingham, Norwich, Southampton and London, and no doubt they will be doing the same here in Brighton! After tonight, they’re off to Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and finally Manchester.
The outfit hail from Falkirk and consists of Daniel Harkins (guitar and vocals), Aidan Callaghan (banjo and vocals), Euan Mundie (bass), Sam MacMillan (accordion) and Luke Mortimer (drums) and they are heavily influenced by Irish and Scottish folk and punk music. The lads dropped their debut 4 song EP ‘Dirt And Daydreamers’ on their own Craic Den label in 2023 and the follow-up 6 tune self titled EP dropped this year.
Now I must confess that I normally stick behind the camera, on this occasion I have decided to dip into the world of reviewing, due to this gig being a special one and one to be able to tell the grand-kids about in decades to come!
I made my way to the ever-popular Prince Albert (which is located a stone’s throw away from Brighton’s mainline railway station) and as I walked into the venue one of the first things I saw was a fellow gig goer wearing a Pogues T-shirt which I must confess did not surprise me, and will most certainly be a common site at future Brògeal gigs!
Support act Samuel Nicholson starts the night’s proceedings and he mentions that his songs were written for a full rock band, but to be honest they didn’t sound out of place with him playing solo tonight. He clearly plays with his full heart, and you can see his face is wretched with emotion as he belts out his very personal songs! Thus far he has dropped a couple of albums, 2020’s ‘Missing Persons Report’ and last year’s ‘Birthday Suit’, both of which can be found on Spotify. It was a great start to the night!
Spotify – Samuel Nicholson – Discography
Brògeal entered the stage with swagger with 3 out of the 5 wearing sunglasses. They start the proceedings with ‘Fly Away’, a song about a girl leaving to escape a nasty habit and disappearing, which has a chorus that would suit an arena singalong. The band kept the party vibe going throughout the set, asking the crowd to pogo and dance which they dutifully responded to.
In between songs, the band are hilarious, commenting that Brighton is about as far away as they can get from Falkirk, and that the Brighton weather is tropical compared to what they are used to in Scotland, they aren’t wrong, tonight the venue is a sweaty one! They eventually work out with the audience’s help how to turn the venue’s fans on, which I’m sad to say seems to be a regular occurrence! But the lads then realise that this makes them look like they are in a Beyoncé music video with their hair being blown across their faces! There’s only one thing for it and the electric fans end up being moved in another direction.
The set is packed with future hits and classics, a lot of them about Falkirk life and getting drunk! In fact the opening tune from their self-titled EP is ‘Roving Falkirk Bairn’, and this is delivered mid-set and is packed with their trademark Irish sound which incorporates their Scottish interpretation.
Brògeal’s set does not slow and is jam packed full of folk/indie/Irish punk songs! The band wears their influences on their sleeves, the banjo adding atmospheric sounds to their compositions! The set features their Spotify songs such as ‘Girl From New York’, ‘Witchy Emerald Eyes’, ‘You’ll Be Mine’ and the aforementioned ‘Roving Falkirk Bairn’ which I highly recommend.
By the time the gig ends, they have 100 or so inside the venue firmly in their pockets! Before the final three songs, they tell us at this point in proceedings that they can walk off and then come back on after, or we can simply chant “one more song”, as in all honesty they don’t really have anywhere to go! “One more song” it was then, except it was the three ‘Man Accused Of Murder’, ‘Sunday Morning’ and ‘Lonesome Boatman’.
As I was leaving the venue the general mood was that we had just witnessed a band that was about to explode onto the scene! Go and see them in a small venue whilst you can! The great news is that they will also be featuring at next year’s ‘Great Escape’ festival in Brighton in May 2025, and as a teaser for that, they will be playing in East London at the Shacklewell Arms, 71 Shacklewell Lane, London, E8 2EB on Wednesday 13th November 2024 as part of ‘The Great Escape’s’ First Fifty. Also playing that night are Curtisy and Queen Cult. Purchase your tickets HERE.
Brògeal:
Daniel Harkins – guitar and vocals
Aidan Callaghan – banjo and vocals
Euan Mundie – bass
Sam MacMillan – accordion
Luke Mortimer – drums
Brògeal setlist:
‘Fly Away’ (from 2024 ‘Brògeal’ EP)
‘Lady Madonna’
‘Vicar Street Days’
‘Turn And Walk Away’
‘Girl From NYC’ (from 2024 ‘Brògeal’ EP)
‘One For The Ditch’
‘Witchy Emerald Eyes’ (from 2024 ‘Brògeal’ EP)
‘Draw The Line’
‘Elevator Music’ (from 2024 ‘Brògeal’ EP)
‘Roving Falkirk Bairn’ (from 2024 ‘Brògeal’ EP)
‘Dirt & Daydreams’ (from 2023 ‘Dirt & Daydreams’ EP)
‘Hill Is High’ (from 2024 ‘Brògeal’ EP)
‘Local Hero (One For The Geordies)’
‘You’ll Be Mine’
‘Tuesday Paper Club’
(encore)
‘Man Accused Of Murder’
‘Sunday Morning’ (from 2023 ‘Dirt & Daydreams’ EP)
‘Lonesome Boatman’
