words: Telma Mota (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Ricardo Silva
King Dude, or TJ Cowgill, a dark, sombre American Lucifer with an ironic sense of humour, accompanied by Gary Gonzalez, a quiet, shy Orthodox Christian park ranger, delivered a fine concert, as expected, at Armazém 22 in Gaia.
A packed venue, filled with friends from the goth dark folk scene (in this case, with country, blues and metal influences), welcomed this duo with the cult-like devotion and reverence they deserve.
King Dude told some of his stories and shared personal experiences with the warm authenticity that characterises him, in acoustic communion with his loyal audience.
He played eleven songs from his usual setlist, opening with Sunset Skies and closing with Silver Crucifix, leaving the remaining eight songs for the audience to choose.
Iconic songs such as Velvet Rope, Vision in Black and Barbara Anne followed, along with a hellish rendition of I Wanna Die at 69 that definitively stole the last breaths from the most unsuspecting hearts, like a rebel leader of the fallen angels.
King Dude embodies human musical intimacy, with all its fragilities and its crooked, visceral and profound corners.
With his deep, excavated baritone voice, he leaves the true Lucifer’s light on stage, a bard of crossroads whose allegiance remains proudly undefined.
It is always a pleasure to see him, hear him and savour every detail of his songs about love, sex, mortality and spirituality. Love you man!
Distortion, Mosh, and the Macarena: The night MÁQUINA. made Porto shake again
words: Joana Coelho photos: Ricardo Silva
At 10:05pm, with a packed room and a palpable sense of anticipation, MAQUINA. took the stage for a long-awaited return to the Invicta city. Opening hostilities without warning or apology: a raw scream, a wall of distortion, and the immediate launch of a relentless sonic locomotive.
This tour serves as the live crucible for their latest record BODY TRANSMISSION: a devastating fusion where abrasive noise rock, and industrial techno collision-course into heavy, danceable catharsis. By the third song, the venue had already reached its boiling point. Crowdsurfers took over, frenetic dancing spread, and the trio’s signature raw energy turned the space into a non-stop celebration from start to finish. Between continuous dance and a jumping mosh pit, the floor was literally shaking under our feet.
Alongside the hypnotic trance and industrial weight of the new tracks, there was also room for the band’s disarming charisma. Roughly halfway through the set, riding a wave of rhythmic clapping from the crowd, the drummer/vocalist busted out the Macarena moves: because anyone bold enough to drop the Macarena dance earns my absolute respect.
They closed the set with their usual finale, culminating in a collective mosh pit with the entire room jumping in a final burst of catharsis.
Once the show ended, the band once again showed their usual warmth toward fans, welcoming everyone warmly for hugs, photos, and quick chats. After a small pilgrimage to find a pen that would actually write on the album cover, I managed to get my copy of their new vinyl signed by the trio.
Having followed MAQUINA. since the very first concert I caught back in 2023, the level they’ve reached on this album cycle is undeniable. The new material translates into one of the finest live performances I’ve ever seen them deliver: a band at the top of their game, fully committed, and completely tireless on stage. Always an absolute pleasure to watch this trio in action once again.
The Age of Everything, Johnny Marr’s fifth solo studio album came out a week ago.
It’s the first album in a very long time I felt like writing about. Even more surprising, because it’s the first of Johnny’s solo albums I fully click and resonate with.
I danced to it from beginning to end. Sang along to it. Picked up the guitar and strummed something out of pure joy. Played air drums again.
The Age of Everything made me to want to write pop, catchy songs and have a band again.
I like everything on the album. The music, the voice, the production, the mix, the lyrics, the backing vocals – they are absolutely stunning – the cover, the fact that if not all, many or most of the guitars Johnny plays were gone on his Christie’s auction held September 17.
I like that as Johnny put it “Sharp, fast and dynamic, filled with ideas and possibilities.” Particularly the full of possibilities part.
The songs on The Age Of Everything were written in London – you can feel the city bursting through them – developed on the road on tour on the East Coast of North America – there’s a certain East Coast flavour too – and recorded in Manchester at Crazy Face Factory – Johnny’s custom build studio and creative space.
The Age Of Everything is a fresh, danceable, guitar driven with great drums and bass, elegant, pop album with a big sound. Not exactly a wall of sound, more of an expansive fell-good vibe of sound.
There are very audible guitar nudges and lines to Johnny’s trademark guitar playing in The Smiths. Particularly in It’s Time, Ophelia, In And Out of Love, But they are layered with other guitars, and instruments transforming them into their own thing.
My favourite song from the album is the final one, All in a Life.
I deliberately wanted my words about The Age of Everything to be published after the official release. I wanted to let it wrap me, feel it, absorb it. Give it time. The Age of Everything is not an album for a day, or week, or a month. I suspect it’s an album I will be returning to often.
Which fits the idea behind the album, that in the age of everything is immediately available. Which can be overwhelming, and asking for an immediate response. There’s endless benefits of technology, but there’s also value in taking our time.
The Age of Everything Tracklist: 1. Spin 2. Beyond the Rain 3. It’s Time 4. How Come 5. Ophelia 6. That Feeling 7. In and Out of Love 8. Just Once More 9. Fire with Fire 10. All in a Life
Personnel: Johnny Marr: vocals, guitars, songwriting, production James Doviak,: guitar, keyboards, co-writing, production Iwan Gronow: bass Jack Mitchell: drums Meredith Sheldon: backing vocals Nile Marr: backing vocals Claudius Mittendorfer: mix Frank Arkwright: mastering
Recorded at Crazy Face Factory, Manchester; and Mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London.
The Age of Everything is released by New Voodoo Limited/BMG
I week ago I was sitting in the front row, right in the middle of the stage, when Heavenwood began their 30th anniversary concert at the Coliseu Box in Porto.
The stage was framed by beautiful sculptures by Helder Cabral, creating something that felt entirely at home with Heavenwood. It was theatrical, completed by the backing vocals and elegant movements of Beatriz Mariano and Sandra Oliveira, without ever taking away from the songs and music. It gave the concert another, ethereal, fairies-and-deities dimension.
I have known Heavenwood since the very beginning, when they were still Disgorged, and have watched them travel a very long way from those early days. Thirty years is a considerable stretch of time for any band. Standing there watching them, the number itself became less important than what was happening in the room.
Heavenwood are often described as melodic heavy metal, and there is certainly a great deal of melody in their music. But there is groove too. A strong physical movement underneath the songs that makes them work not only as something to listen to, but as something to inhabit.
From the beginning, the set moved through different periods of their history, with Death, Moonlight Girl and Morning Glory Clouds giving way to The Empress, The Moon and Since The First Smile, beautifully sung by Beatriz Mariano.
This was particularly amusing for me because Tarot had already been appearing repeatedly in my own life in the days leading up to the concert. I pull a card every day, by hand, from my Giger Tarot, and The Star has been the card that has appeared more than any other over the past four years.
Then, there I was, at a Heavenwood concert celebrating 30 years and found myself surrounded by The Empress, The Moon, The High Priestess, The Sun, The Hanged Man and The Stars, as the band moved through the music of The Tarot of the Bohemians cycle.Sometimes life does have a sense of humour.
The Hanged Man brought Sandra Oliveira to the stage for lead vocals, adding another change of texture to the evening, while Ricardo Dias dos Santos, Eduardo Sinatra and Walter Teixeira carried the band through a set that had both weight and atmosphere.
And the sound. Oh! The sound! By the latter part of the concert it was so powerful that I could feel the floorboards moving with it, and the vibes and frequencies emanating from the stage wrapping me.
I was also having a rather wonderful time air-drumming.
My the eldest of my brothers, who is an actual drummer, was beside me tapping his legs to the music, while the drummer on the other side of the aisle was air-drumming too, even more enthusiastically than him. So there I was, sitting in the middle, flanked by two drummers and joining in.
On the encore there was a great singalong to the magistral and catchy Suicidal Letters, and by the time the curtain was about to fall, Heartquake arrived, and the room had changed completely.
Everyone was standing up and dancing.The seated concert had become a moving room.
That is one of the best things about seeing a band that has been around for thirty years. The history is there, certainly, but it is not a museum piece. It is alive when the songs still move people, when old songs are sung back at the stage, when a room full of people gets up and dances.
Heavenwood’s music has always carried a particular atmosphere, gothic, dark, melodic, poetic, sometimes symphonic, sometimes heavy as hell without ever losing itself.
At the Coliseu, with Helder Cabral’s sculptures surrounding the stage, it had the space to become something else again.
This was not simply a band’s concert marking thirty years.It was Heavenwood inhabiting three decades of music in one of Porto’s most special concert venues.
Heavenwood: Ricardo Dias dos Santos – founder/guitarist/composer/vocals Band Members: Eduardo Sinatra – drums Walter Teixeira – guitar Special Guests: Beatriz Mariano and Sandra Oliveira – backing vocals and lead vocals on Since The First Smile (Beatriz Mariano), The Hanged Man (Sandra Oliveira) Sculptures: Helder Cabral
Setlist: Death Moonlight Girl Morning Glory Clouds The Empress The Moon Since The First Smile – lead vocals Beatriz Mariano 13th Moon The Lightning-Struck Tower Shadowflower The High Priestess The Sun The Hanged Man – Lead vocals Sandra Oliveira Rain Of July The Stars Frozen Images
Our coverage of Sonic Blast 2026 continues. Tomorrow we will bring you the report of the festval’s last day.
words: Joana Coelho photos: Ricardo Silva
Day 2 of Sonic Blast 2026 kicked off at the Second Stage with Jesus The Snake, who mesmerized the early afternoon crowd with their hypnotic blend of progressive synth-rock and spacey passages. A decent crowd gathered to take in the performance, with many festivalgoers taking the opportunity to ease into the afternoon while still recovering from the intense marathon of Day 1.
Offering an immediate contrast, Hög took the stage with a barrage of fast riffs and heavy rock, injecting a burst of energy that quickly invigorated the fans as they arrived. Confirming that a new album is right around the corner, the band treated the crowd to a brand-new track from the upcoming record.
Over on the First Stage, the afternoon brought a sudden lineup change due to a last-minute cancellation by Dead Meadow. Stepping in on short notice were Australia’s Clamm, returning for their second performance of the festival after playing Day 1.
With the crowd initially taking advantage of the shaded areas to rest – and having already caught their set the day before – the turnout started modest, but the grounds filled up significantly as their punk-rock set unfolded, culminating in a well-deserved encore, devilering a performance that was considered by many as better than the day before.
Voivod drew a massive turnout, with the Canadian sci-fi thrash veterans instantly warming up the audience as they launched into a set that quickly generated headbanging and loud singalongs across the Second Stage. Despite the vocalist mentioning he was dealing with a headache, the band delivered a relentless performance, and energy peaked near the end with the musicians sharing fistbumps with fans in the front row.
Up next, Conan delivered a massive, intensely packed set. Bringing their trademark caveman battle-doom with crushing weight and agonizingly heavy vocals, the British trio had the crowd completely engaged from the first note. The performance triggered massive headbanging, continuous crowdsurfing, and a massive circle pit that tore through the crowd towards the end, all set against mesmerizing visuals projected on the backdrop.
Despite brief sound issues right at the start, street-punk legends The Casualties wasted no time tearing the Second Stage apart the moment they kicked off. Demanding movement from the get-go, the band ignited a wild circle pit by their second song, greeting the audience in Portuguese with a loud “Como vocês estão?”. The crowd responded with overwhelming enthusiasm as the frontman leaped off the stage, plunging directly into the middle of the pit before climbing back up to finish the chaotic set.
Hailing as one of the most anticipated acts of the entire festival, Kylesa made a triumphant return, hitting the stage with pure heavy sludge power. Delivering their charismatic, dual-drum-driven sound, the band marked the festival’s first performance led by a female vocalist. Expectedly for a Friday night, attendance peaked dramatically during their set, with the grounds feeling noticeably more packed than on any previous day.
Following a minor ten-minute delay – the first real schedule bump of the day – Turbonegro took the stage as the night’s absolute headliner. Dressed in their signature glam-punk style, surrounded by a sea of fans wearing sailor hats, the Norwegian deathpunk icons were met with an explosive reception. The band shared a brief nod to their history, with Thomas Seltzer recalling his first visit to Portugal 40 years ago, before tearing through a set that reached absolute euphoria when the entire crowd sang All My Friends Are Dead in unanimous chorus. Delivering an encore, the band delivered what was considered by the majority to be the best show of the day.
Deathchant kept the adrenaline at a maximum, stepping out to a fully packed Sonic Blast grounds. Pushing the crowd to give everything they had left, the heavy rock outfit delivered an explosive, raw set, highlighting their brand-new single Enemy – released that very day from their upcoming album Kova. Calling Sonic Blast their “home away from home,” the band fed off the audience’s unmatched energy.
Moving to the Third Stage at around 2:00 AM, Goya delivered heavy, fuzz-laden stoner doom to a remarkably large and surprisingly energized late-night crowd, keeping the festival’s heavy momentum rolling well past midnight.
Closing out the night at 3:00 AM, N8NOFACE delivered a wildly unique finale, blasting the grounds with a chaotic fusion of industrial electronic beats, synth-punk, and raw, growling vocals. Despite the extreme hour, the energy remained sky-high, turning the front of the stage into a massive, late-night dance party to wrap up an unforgettable Day 2.
Our coverage of Sonic Blast 2026 goes on and we keep bringing you daily reports of the festival.
words: Joana Coelho photos: Ricardo Silva
The first official day of the 2026 edition of Sonic Blast Fest opened with Free Ride that stepped out to a remarkably full Third Stage right from the early afternoon. Delivering a set packed with psychedelic, stoner-tinged heavy rock, the band drew intense headbanging and a great reception from the crowd, making for a perfect festival kickoff.
Meanwhile, travel-related logistical issues with Clamm caused a last-minute schedule shift, leading Elephant Tree to step up and play an earlier slot. Due to health issues that prevented guitarist Jack from traveling, the British group was forced to perform as a trio.
Even without their usual vocal harmonies and offering a raw, stripped-back take on their signature melodic stoner/sludge sound, the band offered a sincere apology for the situation, and the sympathetic crowd welcomed the performance with open arms.
When Clamm later took to the Second Stage, the Australian group brought their energetic fusion of punk and garage rock, unleashing high-octane, danceable riffs full of attitude as the grounds and the audience were just beginning to warm up.
Trash Talk ultimately crowned themselves as the standout band of the day in what was their absolute debut in Portugal, drawing a significantly larger crowd. A quick question from the frontman during the set revealed that the vast majority of those watching were international festivalgoers.
The blistering speed of their hardcore unleashed the day’s first and most intense mosh pits. The interaction was relentless: the vocalist managed to get nearly the entire crowd sitting on the ground, commanded massive circle pits, and threw himself into the pit multiple times, with the guitarist joining the chaos as well. The peak moment arrived near the end when the frontman crowd-surfed all the way from the accessible viewing platform back to the stage.A performance many hailed as the show of the day.
Bringing midnight straight into the daylight hours, the trio Midnight never slowed down for a single second. The vocalist/bassist kept up constant banter, kicking things off by handing out two beers to the front row the moment he stepped on stage.
Packed with jokes, he encouraged fans to storm right into the photo pit to enjoy the show without hesitation, and later had the entire crowd belting out a massive singalong to Satanic Royalty. The energy reached its absolute peak when they dropped You Can’t Stop Steel four tracks in, keeping the crowd’s adrenaline at maximum capacity until the final note.
The explosive powerhouse Frankie and the Witch Fingers then took over with their infectious mix of psych-rock, fierce garage, and funk-infused stoner grooves. Driven by heavy riffs, rapid rhythms, and mesmerizing virtuosity, they set the mood perfectly for the evening ahead.
As the night settled in Deafheaven took to the First Stage to deliver what turned out to be one of the most acclaimed sets of the day, easily rivaling Trash Talk for the top spot. Blending hypnotic soundscapes with an intense, restless physical performance where no musician stood still for a second, the frontman controlled the audience like a master puppeteer without needing lengthy speeches.
As the only band of the festival so far to perform an encore, their set featured continuous mosh pits and a massive circle pit. Closing out the show, the vocalist confirmed they would return to Portugal with new music, teasing a new album on the horizon.
Sharing the First Stage Chat Pile performed for a crowd that was starting to show signs of fatigue, yet still responded enthusiastically to the band’s crushing sound. The spotlight was entirely on the frontman, who maintained non-stop interaction with the crowd, delivering a set filled with movie trivia and a vibe akin to stand-up comedy.
Closing out the Second Stage, Snapped Ankles divided opinions across the grounds. Coming out of the London post-punk scene with a post-apocalyptic, experimental edge, the group delivered danceable, tribal beats while clad in their signature forest-spirit outfits adorned with lights. Their frontman interacted heavily with the audience, venturing off the stage and stepping directly into the middle of the crowd to share the energy up close.
Returning after their appearance the night before, Bongzilla delivered a rock-solid set, though their slower, dragged-out sludge passages felt heavier on an audience dealing with late hours and long hours of continuous music.
Well into the early morning hours, Argentina’s Mephistofeles brought their dark, fuzz-drenched doom and stoner riffs with a heavy Electric Wizard vibe, proving to be one of the most anticipated acts of the night despite the late hour.
To close out the day’s marathon, Portugal’s Madmess were welcomed with a storm of cheers and enthusiastic applause. Presenting their progressive psychedelic rock filled with sprawling instrumental journeys and cosmic solos, they proved the incredible endurance of the festival’s crowd, even with a set time starting at 3:30am.
By the time the final feedback faded into the night air, Day 1 had cemented Sonic Blast 2026 as a relentless celebration of heavy music, leaving a exhausted yet hungry crowd ready for whatever chaos the next days would bring.
Swing on a Summer Afternoon, or the Great Panoply of Rock ‘n’ Roll
words: Paulo Carmona (edited by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Ricardo Silva
On 20 June, Silly Boy Blue took to the stage at number 33 on the iconic, almost mythical Rua de Sá da Bandeira, right in the heart of Porto, for what felt like an intimate yet celebratory gathering among friends, invited guests, their audience, and a handful of curious passers-by.
The musical landscape of the band inhabits is no stranger to us – indie rock with a healthy dose of Britpop, together with all the subgenres that naturally gravitate around it.
That said, Silly Boy Blue have its own sound, its own alchemy, and its own style, something that is by no means easy to achieve within the broad ecosystem of that musical universe.
I would like to highlight, from the outset, the vocal work of every member of the quartet. Their voices work together seamlessly, reaching a remarkably high standard of execution. Outstanding.
From Again and Again, through Away We Go, Did You Say Something, This City and Man on a Wire, to Jesus, Temptation and By The Window, the band remains cohesive throughout, navigating a melodic carousel of crescendos and diminuendos that are at times intense and abrasive, at others introspective and bittersweet.
If we close our eyes, we hear a band of gifted young musicians. If we open them, we see a group of grown men who still have all the mojo exactly where it belongs. Funny guys.
words: António Carvalho (edited by Raquel Pinheiro) photos: Ricardo Silva
It was before a nearly full audience that the New Yorkers YHWH Nailgun returned to northern Portugal, after their debut at the Mucho Flow festival last November. Despite being dubbed by an American publication as “the last good band left in New York” (an exaggerated title, in my opinion), it’s clear from the first minute that there’s a spark of originality in their sound.
It’s difficult to define, but it seems easy to categorize it somewhere between post-punk and noise, a wide field in which some no wave bands from their city moved in the eighties. Their music is strongly anchored in Sam Pickard’s drumming, with its fast, elaborate and highly percussive rhythms (the use of rototoms helps immensely), inviting bodies to move.
Zack Borzone’s guttural voice and stage presence are other key elements, although the words he utters are difficult to understand. The sound of Saguiv Rosenstock’s highly processed guitar, achieved with a huge array of distortion pedals, is angular and dissonant, functioning almost like a second voice.
Dissonance is also present in Jack Tobias’ synthesizers, in a tone that is sometimes urgent, sometimes serene. The combination of these elements, meticulously interpreted, ever present and full of shifts and small explosions, results in something that confirms the cliché “first you find it strange, then it becomes ingrained.”
They began by playing their second album, released weeks ago, which curiously is only 11 minutes long and has 10 tracks, all around the minute mark. I even think they played it in its entirety, just like the tracks from their debut album that came after, released last year.
Zach immerses himself in his lyrics, as if exorcising inner demons, which contrasts with his angelic and contemplative pose between songs, looking at the faces in the audience. In less than an hour, they left people wanting more, as if they could deliver it and we could process it.
They have a somewhat mysterious and haunting appeal (perhaps that’s why the legendary 4AD recently signed them) and are the result of a successful experiment, such is the unique and cohesive outcome.
They’re not a band for the masses, but there will certainly be a vast minority who will want to get to know them and exchange strangeness for familiarity.
On 16 June, the intimate venue operated by Lovers & Lollypops in Porto hosted a performance by percussionist Alex Lazaro, who presented material from Alocades, his first solo release.
The concert formed part of the venue’s ongoing programme dedicated to contemporary experimental and exploratory music, continuing the independent promoter’s long-standing commitment to emerging and unconventional artistic practices.
Lazaro approached the evening with a performance centred on percussion not merely as a rhythmic device but as a primary compositional language. Working with instruments including marimba, vibraphone and rototom, he constructed pieces that balanced repetition, texture and movement.
Rather than relying on conventional song structures, the performance unfolded through gradual developments in timbre and dynamics, creating a listening experience that emphasised detail and spatial awareness.
Throughout the set, the physical dimension of performance remained central. The relationship between body, instrument and sound became an integral part of the presentation, with gestures and movement contributing as much to the visual identity of the concert as the music itself. The result was a performance that occupied a space between concert, sound art and choreography, allowing audiences to engage simultaneously with sonic and physical forms of expression.
The acoustics and proximity offered by the Lovers & Lollypops venue proved particularly suited to the material. Subtle resonances, sustained tones and rhythmic shifts could be perceived with clarity, reinforcing the immersive character of the compositions. The setting encouraged attentive listening and highlighted the intricate relationships between the various percussive elements employed during the performance.
While Alocades serves as Lazaro’s first solo statement, the musician is already recognised for his collaborative work, most notably alongside Colombian composer and producer Lucrecia Dalt.
That experience is reflected in an approach that favours sonic exploration over genre conventions, combining contemporary percussion techniques with a broader interest in texture and atmosphere. The Porto performance demonstrated how those influences have been adapted into a distinct artistic language centred on percussion as both musical and performative expression.
The concert also reflected the broader curatorial identity of Lovers & Lollypops.
Alex Lazaro’s appearance in Porto was therefore more than a presentation of new material. It offered a focused exploration of percussion as a multidimensional practice, one in which sound, movement and space interact continuously.
In a programme increasingly defined by curiosity and experimentation, the concert stood as a concise example of the type of work that continues to find a home within Porto’s independent music community.
Presenting songs from his latest album, Sahel (2023), Bombino returned with the hypnotic blend of desert blues and rock that has made him one of the most distinctive guitarists of his generation.
Often described as a pioneer of Tuareggae, a fusion of traditional Berber rhythms and rock and roll, Bombino sings and writes primarily in Tamasheq. Watching him perform, however, labels quickly become secondary to the experience itself.
The concert began acoustically. Bombino, accompanied by drummer Corey Wilhelm and a bassist whose name sadly escaped me, eased the audience into the evening with gentle rhythms and fluid melodies. Dressed in traditional Tuareg garments, the trio immediately established an atmosphere that felt both intimate and expansive.
The first songs unfolded with graceful ease. The bass remained smooth and steady beneath Bombino’s singing, while the guitar moved between delicate flourishes and syncopated desert-blues patterns. There were occasional vocal exclamations, almost calls carried on the wind, and moments where the music shifted unexpectedly between melancholy and propulsion.
One particular acoustic number began like a lament, only to transform into something far more rhythmic. What fascinated me was the contrast between the apparent mournfulness of the voice and the increasing momentum generated by the guitar and percussion. It created a tension that felt both ancient and modern.
As the instrumental passages expanded, Bombino and the bassist repeatedly moved face to face, exchanging phrases with a distinctly rock-and-roll energy. The chemistry between them was one of the evening’s recurring pleasures, while Corey Wilhelm’s drumming provided a powerful foundation throughout.
Then came the transition that many in the audience had been waiting for.
The acoustic guitar was set aside and Bombino plugged in.
Instantly we entered the territory for which he is best known: electric desert blues infused with the spirit of Hendrix.
Bombino has often spoken about learning guitar by watching videos of Jimi Hendrix and Dire Straits, and while the influence is present, what emerges is unmistakably his own voice. The economy of movement is remarkable. There are no unnecessary gestures, no theatrical flourishes. The hands move sparingly, yet the sound that emerges is immense.
Addressing the audience in French, Bombino thanked everyone for their support and spoke about the years since his previous visit. The response from the crowd was warm and immediate.
From there the concert steadily gathered momentum. Traditional melodies intertwined with psychedelic textures. Guitar and bass once again found themselves in conversation, sometimes duelling, sometimes dancing around one another. The bassist was extraordinary. More than once I found myself writing the same note in my notebook: “that bass, that bass, that bass.”
One particularly exhilarating piece felt almost like a desert cavalcade. The bass groove was irresistibly danceable, the drums drove relentlessly forward, and Bombino’s guitar soared above it all with long, electrifying solos that somehow felt both effortless and deeply rooted.
As the evening progressed, the audience became increasingly animated. The bassist joked in English that he knew everyone wanted to dance and apologised for the chairs. It was a fair observation. Before long people were standing, moving and swaying wherever space allowed.
I eventually joined those dancing along the upper steps at the side of the auditorium. Down by the stage, one audience member repeatedly appeared, danced enthusiastically and then disappeared again, becoming a small performance within the performance.
The later part of the set moved through a variety of moods. There were moments of traditional singing, extended instrumental passages, slower and almost jazzy sections, and long stretches where the audience clapped along with the rhythm section while Bombino explored melodic pathways on guitar.
One of the final highlights featured a wonderfully grooving drum solo followed by an equally captivating bass feature. Bombino stepped back, danced, and allowed his bandmates to take centre stage before all three musicians returned to a hypnotic, almost primeval groove that felt as though it had emerged directly from the desert itself.
For the encore, Bombino returned alone. Guitar in hand, he began with a solitary groove and a series of twanging phrases before the bassist and drummer gradually rejoined him. It was a fitting ending: a reminder that, whether acoustic or electric, intimate or expansive, Bombino’s music ultimately rests on the power of rhythm, groove and connection.
Desert blues may be the term most often attached to his music, but on this evening it often felt just as much like a rock concert. Not because it abandoned its roots, but because it embraced them with such confidence that they could converse effortlessly with Hendrix, psychedelia, groove and pure rock-and-roll energy.
And judging by the number of people dancing by the end, the audience understood that perfectly.
