Review
Review
Kingfishr at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 13/11/2024
The folk-rock trio are full of surprises in their sold-out headline show
A few days before their Shepherd’s Bush show, a cryptic clue appears on Kingfishr’s Instagram. The short rhyme points to “neon light” and tells the audience that the band will be found in “in Devon’s eye”. Cut to an hour or so after they’ve wrapped their energising headline gig in Shepherd’s Bush, and Kingfishr can be found playing an acoustic set at Soho’s The Devonshire, to a crowd of puzzle-solvers and avid fans.
It’s a fitting end to an evening that feels like the world’s most tuneful pub singalong, a celebration of the unifying, validating force that folk music should be. There are chants of “ole ole”, cheerfully endorsed by frontman Eddie Keogh, whose rich voice sails over all. At one point, to perform thoughtful ballad ‘Shot In The Dark’, Keogh, along with bandmates Eoghan McGrath and Eoin Fitzgibbon, heads carefully into the crowd. A small space is cleared amongst those standing for the three musicians, one guitar, one banjo and one harmonica. The performance is quiet and sincere, but not lacking in that emotive force that runs through all the very best in folk, that doesn’t fail for a second of the evening.
Headlands’, which deals with mental health and inherited trauma in the most rousing, uplifting way has all three levels moving. Opener ‘I Cried, I Wept, I Lost My Mind’ similarly transforms a sincere confessional into something stirring and danceable, and closer ‘Caroline’ combs through a failed relationship, sad realisations bookended by one of the evening’s most infectious and singable riffs – one that rings straight through the venue several times before the band take their leave.
The evening’s most unexpected moment is a cover of The Waterboys’ ‘Fisherman’s Blues’ – a song, Keogh remarks with a grin, that they were advised not to play. Opener Katie Gregson-McCleod sits down with them at the keys for this one. “I will take you in my arms,” sings Keogh, holding the hand of an emotional fan in the front row. It comes from the heart – the whole evening has the feeling of a warm embrace. By the time Keogh, wrapping up, cheerfully invites the entirety of Shepherd’s Bush Empire for a pint – provided they can solve the puzzle, of course – it feels as if there’s no better thing to do than go.
Kingfishr’s UK tour continues this month. Find tickets here
