Crystal-clear sound, canyon-sized riffs and songs with something to say, the Blue Nation sold-out London show brings the power of a rock trio and the warmth of a community together in one outstanding evening at London’s 229 The Venue.
Blue Nation
229 The Venue, London – 9 October 2026
Words: Liz Medhurst
Photography: Dubbel Xposure Photography
Following a run of successful festival appearances and some new music this year, Blue Nation’s autumn headline UK tour has seen several dates either sold out or triggering low ticket warnings. It is a thoroughly deserved result for the three paisley-clad lads from Birmingham whose Blue Meanie family continues to expand.
The evening does not begin as planned. Tour support The Lightning Threads are stranded after their van’s alternator gives out on the M1 en route to the venue. Despite heroic efforts involving replacements and breakdown services, time defeats them.
Their absence is genuinely disappointing. The Sheffield trio have been impressing with a dynamic live show that gives heavy blues a progressive edge.
Blue Nation respond by organising a whip-round towards the repairs, turning a travel disaster into a tangible show of solidarity. That small gesture says plenty about the community surrounding this tour.
Sam Cartwright
Fortunately, a replacement is already in the building. Sam Cartwright, Blue Nation’s roadie and guitar tech, also happens to be a singer-songwriter, and steps into the breach at the eleventh hour.
Borrowing Neil Murdoch’s Gibson J45 acoustic, he offers a handful of his own songs, including the thoughtful One Way Ticket, alongside well-chosen covers of Wanted Dead Or Alive and The Who’s The Seeker.
His confident and charming performance is a welcome piece of serendipity, marking him as an impressive new artist to watch. We hope he received extra Bombay Bad Boy Pot Noodles as a reward.
Blue Nation
When Blue Nation take over, the sound is immaculate. Everything is crystal clear and beautifully balanced, highlighting the individual contributions of each band member beautifully.
They may play as a trio, but Blue Nation are emphatically a band rather than a frontman with accompaniment. Nick Sharman combines gigantic, powerful drumming with an exquisite sense of dynamics. His stripped-back kit is a reminder that there is no need for ego-driven piles of hardware, as the bare minimum yields maximum results.
Luke Weston’s bass does much more than underpin the groove. His playing is as melodious as McCartney’s, and those fingers can really fly once he lets loose. He’s a mean harmony vocalist too.
Neil Murdoch is not only a deeply expressive vocalist, he is no slouch at the guitar either, eschewing long solos for a riff-heavy and harmonic approach, all in service of the song.
He also delivers hilarious audience roasts. What did happen in that small English town? I guess we will never know. The flowing, natural banter between all three of them is pitched just right and thankfully complements the music rather than disrupting the flow. No interminable, dreary, endless explanations of the song here.
The band are on the form of their lives, blasting their way through this powerful set like water flowing through a canyon, with the segues between tracks hitting the mark with pinpoint accuracy.
The eighteen-song set flies by, taking in all four tracks from the new EP, Wisdom For Pennies, and a generous selection from 2024’s magnificent The Ordinary People. Whatever you call their style, bluesy-rock, rocky blues, vintage-tinged soulful hard rock, melodic power pop, it really does not matter.
The lads’ appeal crosses many genres simply because they are so bloody good. They have found an audience in Metallers, rockers, pop fans and blues purists alike. Well-crafted, mature and profound songs will do that, along with putting on an entertaining show.
And there are some corkers here tonight, such as the gorgeous tension-filled The Reason, or the splendorous riffage of Hand Me Down. They can get heavy too. Gimme Some Time, the best song from 2018’s The Kaftan Society, brings powerful riffs and thunderous energy, showing that they have the Metal of their home city in their blood.
Every Blue Nation show includes a call for mental health awareness and support. Weston stresses the importance of men talking about their mental health and draws attention to Ian’s Chain, the charity providing compassionate support to people in crisis and those affected by grief.
As always, a collection box at the merch stand offers a practical way to contribute. Alongside the earlier whip-round for The Lightning Threads, it reinforces the sense that looking out for others is part of this band’s identity, not an afterthought.
There is honesty and vulnerability here too, never more beautifully summed up than on the encore song Worry, which voices the trials and tribulations of trying to make a living from music while balancing all the other priorities of life.
Murdoch stands alone with acoustic guitar, saying “please save me from my nightmares so I can live my dreams”, then as the song builds to a climax, he is joined on stage by his bandmates.
The rhythm section kicks in loudly and the song soars to new heights, all three raising the performance to more than the sum of its parts, a neat visual metaphor for the band themselves.
Big riffs, bigger heart, not a moment wasted.
Blue Nation play The Crossing on 28 November. Tickets are available at linktr.ee/BlueNationTourDates.
Blue Nation – Setlist
Comfort
Watch Me Fly
Joker
Strangers
Every Single Time
Once In My Life
Time Is A Thief
Gimme Some Time
Ordinary People
Hand Me Down
The Reason
Come Back Home
Wisdom For Pennies
Run Straight Ahead
Echoes
Encore:
Worry
Tired Of Waiting
Down By The River
