Welsh singer songwriter, Laura Evans get this evening off to a cracking start. Her 30-minute opening set, during which she is backed by Will Edmonds on guitars, highlights several songs from her 2022 album, ‘State of Mind’.

We are also treated to a couple of excellent covers, Bonnie Raitt’s, ‘Love Me Like A Man’ and Chris Stapleton’s, ‘Arkansas’. Laura has a wonderful, powerful voice, well suited to the stripped back country-tinged blues we witness tonight. Great to see that so many folk had made the effort to arrive early, support the support, and get the night off to a flyer.

The Cinelli Brothers have come a long way since their debut release, back in 2018, but their focus has remained firmly fixed on their mission, to bring their own particular flavour of the blues to the masses. Now touring in support of their fourth album, ‘Almost Exactly…’ (2024), the Cinelli’s have a voracious hunger for the road, as last years total of 270 gigs demonstrates and the 2 hour set we witnessed here once again shows a band constantly pushing the limits. It’s no surprise that that they were voted Best British Blues Band in 2024

Having seen the guys just a few weeks ago in a double header with Brave Rival, I thought I knew what to expect but I really wasn’t prepared for the utter brilliance of tonight’s performance, they just keep upping their game and getting better and better.

From the word go they clearly mean business and there’s a glint in the eye of Marco Cinelli as he takes to the stage, settles in behind the Hammond Organ and eases the band into the soulful opening number, ‘Don’t Need No Favor’.

Marco’s brother, Alessandro, lays down the beat on drums and congas (at the same time…how does he do that!) while for this song Tom Julian-Jones and Jorma Gasperi (deputising for the absent Stephen Giri) handle guitar and bass duties, respectively. I say for this song as a feature of the night is how the guys trade instruments on a regular basis: Marco adds guitar and harmonica to his repertoire, Alessandro dabbles on the bass guitar as does Tom when he’s not playing some blistering harmonica, at which point Jorma proves himself to be no fool on the six string. Oh, and they all sing!

There’s a bit of everything in the sound the Cinelli’s conjure up (the Cinelli Sound?). They may be firmly anchored in the Chicago Blues sound of the 1960s but, the variations on that theme take us through soulful backstreets into smoky jazz joints and onto stages that sway with a Latin swing vibe that would have Carlos Santana grinning from ear to ear as he jams along.

This is live music as it should be and there’s a palpable connection between stage and audience which echoes back to the band, with main man Marco acting as the conduit, mischievous, amusing and totally in tune with us all.

Every song is a highlight, from the glorious gospel infused ‘Prayer’ to the ten minute jam through Tony Joe White’s ‘Polk Salad Annie’ featuring a guest appearance from Paul Campbell. Local legend, Krissy Matthews stepped up for a romp through ‘Still Have You On My Mind’ and then, just when you think you have heard it all they throw in a cover of Steve Miller’s ‘Jet Airliner’. Magnificent stuff!

A quite fantastic evening courtesy of a great band, an appreciative audience, and a superb front of house sound. Can’t wait to see these guys again!

Review and photos by Neil Pudney

Set List

Don’t Need No Favor / Dozen Roses / Ain’t Blue But I Sigh / Fools Paradise / Pencil Pusher Doze / Don’t Let Me Down / Last Cigarette / Dark Side Of The Road / Man Of Constant Sorrow Prayer / Polk Salad Annie (with Paul Campbell) / Last Throw Of The Dice / Jet Airliner / Still Have You On My Mind (with Krissy Matthews) / Spell On Me / Nobody Loves Me

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 16 November 2025.

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Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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