It started out as a damp, autumnal Leeds evening but, as I sat watching the queue lengthen below me with a pint, from the solace of the bar, the drizzle turned into heavy rain. Perhaps this was apt and fitting, given the title of the tour – Waiting For The Rain – named after the album that it was promoting. I’ve rarely seen The Wardrobe so busy and rarely seen such a queue outside. The whole thing was slightly surreal, and the size of the venue and the size of the tour bus created something of a juxtaposition which took some time to adjust to. Last time I saw Andrew Cushin play it was outside in the wonderfully glorified beer garden of Future Yard in Birkenhead. I wonder what the response might have been if he’d turned up there in such a vehicle for the afternoon…

The evening’s entertainment was something of a Geordie sandwich with a Wigan filling, if that’s a thing. It makes a change from the predictable gag about pies though I guess and there was a healthy number of people who had travelled along the M62 from the wrong side of the Pennines for the show.

Kicking off things for the night was the first slice of the sandwich in the shape of Keiran Bowe, another singer songwriter in the mould of the man himself and another of the city’s favourite sons who has gone from strength to strength in recent years. True to form, the bassist even donned a retro NUFC shirt, in keeping with the fanatic support that the city brings to its football as well as to its music. It was a masterful way to start the evening and was much appreciated by those in attendance. Backed by lead guitar, bass and drums Bowe took us through a well balanced set that was full of tempo changes and showed off his musical influences. He makes no secret of the fact that Marc Bolan sits at the top of this list and perhaps this was evident in the way that he uses his voice. It soars, trembles and undulates, belying his youth, but has a bite to it when needed. Yes. There’s the inevitable comparison to the obvious male, Geordie artists but it felt like someone had also thrown a bit of Feargal Sharkey in for good measure. He even found opportunity to sing falsetto when needed.

His songs are reflections and stories about his journey through life, typified by Hinny (Honey, to you and I), his first single which talks about a particularly emotional time of his life. We were treated to the as yet unreleased Borrowed Time, The One That Got Away and Left It All Behind amongst others whilst he shifted emphasis from electric to acoustic guitar. The highlight, perhaps, was Nostalgia, his latest release and recently lauded as BBC Introducing North East track of the week. A wonderfully rich, deep and powerful song which hangs on a pulsating bass line, it talks of reflections and memories as the title might suggest.

Bowe has been on the scene for a little time now, kick starting himself through the pandemic. On this showing it won’t be long before his name is on the tip of a few more tongues, Until then, as he might say himself, ‘bear with wor’.

Next up was very much the sandwich filling, in the shape of The Lilacs. This is band that I’ve been trying to see for a while now but things just hadn’t previously aligned. Entering the stage to Zoom by Fat Larry’s Band, you could have been forgiven for thinking that you were in a time warp. Quite why this is their song of choice is very much up to them but they certainly didn’t appear quietly! After a huge drum solo from Dave Gomersall, singer and guitarist Ollie Anglesea bounded out of the darkness like a rabbit out of a magician’s hat. An effervescent and somewhat dramatic frontman, he kept this energy up for the full set, whipping the crowd up and never letting go of them until the final throes of the closing number. This is another band with a bucket hat army of followers; committed, enthusiastic and somewhat hardcore. All the love given to them by the band as they waltzed their way through the thirty minute set was given back in spades, such is the appreciation of their music. As much as Newcastle seems to be full of singer songwriters and the moment, Wigan appears to be full of four piece guitar bands, but that shouldn’t detract from their ability, their sound and their take on the genre. Yes, there’s the jangly and, at times, piercing lead guitar of Sam Birchall that plays on the wandering bass of Matty Johnson, but it is built upon something of a staccato rhythm that is almost ska like at times.

It’s a fun mix of wonderful story telling and youthful social commentary that really gets the crowd going and engages them. They’ve got their own headline tour coming in the new year and are preparing the grace the stage of The Brudenell Social Club, amongst other venues. My advice would be to pop along and see what they are all about, either then or at one of their remaining Autumn slots. They’ve already played the By The Sea mini festival in Bridlington in August this year after following up guest appearances with The Sherlocks and gracing the stage at the Isle of Wight Festival and so 2024 for them looks bright.

We were taken though a high energy set of anthemic verses that really got the crowd going. Favourites such as Sticky Dancefloors and Red Flags & Warning Signs were interspersed with other familiar tunes such as By All Means and Grace. Of course, the closing number was their very first release, Vicarage Road. This is a song with lyrics that resonate with many of the individual band members; a somewhat introspective reflection of personal journeys and events that shaped the band and their music along with their name. Not for me to elaborate but it says a lot about their maturity that they are able to use these experiences in such a positive way to drive their sound.

I first saw Andrew Cushin just before the pandemic affected us all. As much as the world was different then, so was he. It was part of an all day mini-festival at The Brudenell Social Club with the like of The Mysterines and The Lathums. Slap bang in the middle of things was one man and his guitar; an acoustic, unsupported act which held much promise and gave a glimpse of what might be. Three or so years on and he has just stepped off a tour with Louis Tomlinson that has seen him travel across much of America and Europe. Safe to say that things have stepped up a gear, or two.

Since that January day in 2020 Cushin has built a band around him in the form of Rich Smedley on keys, Louis Potts on drums, Tom Richards on lead guitar and the newest recruit, Michael Anderson on bass. He’s got some infrastructure around him too with the quality of sound and lighting engineers and the size of crew that set things up for him. Not really a surprise when you think about it; after all he has had the backing of Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller, amongst others, and is signed to Pete Doherty’s label, Strap-Originals. It is on this record label that his first album, Waiting For The Rain, has recently been released to much acclaim, and that gives the tour its name.

With that in mind there’s little to say here that hasn’t been said before. It’s a story of a council house lad from Newcastle and his rags to riches journey, telling his tales through his poignant and personal lyrics. By his own admission to us all on the night, it’s the lyrics that drive him rather than the music. Performing and recording are his opportunities to convey the emotions and feelings that sit inside him and to make these accessible to us all through the narrative of his craft. After picking up his dad’s guitar at a young age and learning a couple of chords he fell in love with the art of song writing and uses the tunes as a vehicle for allowing his words to get inside you. It’s fair to say that he carries these emotions with him as he sings and works his way through the set. He is visibly moved and anguished as he performs 4.5% from his album. It’s a harrowing tale of the demonising effect that alcohol can have on a person and one that clearly haunts him. Where he can, he wears his heart on his sleeve and tells us the tale behind the song but with others it’s clear that the words are so personal to him. His opening song, Let Me Give It To You, talks clearly about drug abuse whilst You’ll Be Free tackles male mental health and suicide. Bold subjects, but he approaches them head on and with ownership as well as sensitivity.

You Don’t Belong is performed with abandon and shows just how tight and precise the band are. If this is something of a highlight, then it is dwarfed by the anthemic Wor Flags which he dedicates to Eddie Howe, the Newcastle FC manager. Controversial in Leeds? Perhaps, but he carries it off with ease. Another change since I last saw him is that he abandons his guitar for a few songs, such as Countdown and relies upon a combination of his wonderfully rich voice and the musicality of his backing members.

It’s a gig that’s not without unexpected events. At one point he damaged his sunglasses when they fell off; something that he didn’t stop telling us about. He stopped Waiting for the Rain part way through to check on the welfare of a young fan at the front. The most amusing occurrence was, however when a female in the audience shouted out ‘Go on Andrew you sexy c***!’, completely stopping him in mid flow and leaving him somewhat lost for words. When he did recover with an appropriate response about how he felt he was then hit with her partner’s ‘How do you think I feel then?’.

Cushin comes across as a genuinely nice bloke. He thanks the audience on many occasions and seems blown away by the reception he receives through the gig. He has deliberately chosen to keep the venues small on this tour, which must be something of a relief after the size of venues he’s recently been experiencing abroad and seems to relish in the intimacy and ability to relate to the audience. He even breaks the curfew time slightly, such is his determination to complete the lengthy set. It’s a wonderful procession through his timeline and an immersion into his album with songs that include Catch me if you can, Dream for a moment and It’s Coming Round Again. He tells us in some detail about the first song that he ever wrote, which just happens to be Waiting for the rain; wonderfully poignant on so many levels, and you can feel it in the air as well as in his performance. He finishes off with The End, a prophetic look towards his own funeral, before leaving the stage.

Of course there’s an encore. There was always going to be, and it consists of three songs: I Want You To Be There, Pass Me By and Where’s My Family Gone, his long standing closing number.

It really is a masterful performance of polish and precision and it’s a privilege to experience. For an hour and a half or so, Andrew Cushin has managed to banish the weather in keeping with the title of his LP and bring a stadium sound with an intimate feel to a basement venue in Leeds. That’s some class.

Ha’way.

Waiting For The Rain is out now on Strap-Originals

Words and pictures by Duncan Grant