After a strikingly successful year promoting his chart-topping, thirty-first album, Broken, Walter Trout came to the Islington Assembly Hall to once more pound his blues into the heart of the capital. Laura Evans opened the night, which led into Trout’s undeniably exquisite set. Though the musician has faced many trials and tribulations across his long-spanning career, one thing is certainly for sure. He is and remains one of the great live performers. This night did nothing to squash that well-known notion.
Walter Trout – Laura Evans
Islington Assembly Hall, London – 25 October 2024
Words: Monty Sewell
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
A few weeks ago, we sat down with Trout to discuss the success of the Broken album and this very tour. Trout expressed his excitement about returning to the UK and proved this sentiment with great vigour right from that first guitar twang as he strode onto the stage.
His audience erupted in his presence, and Trout, with his signature larger-than-life smile, began to play. Launching into a cover of Bo Diddley’s I Can Tell, the renowned musician set the night into motion.
With a discography longer than most musicians put together, I am trying to imagine how hard it must be for Trout to choose what to put into each set he plays. But being the seasoned performer he is, anything Trout brings to the stage is only the absolute best. Courage In The Dark – from the Broken record – is just that.
Trout’s band follow his blues, rock-bound lead, and swing from this song into Wanna Dance. Trout plays with such an electrifying soul placed into every note hit and solo performed. He is theatre as well as music, moving his face with shining joy into every beat, capturing his audience from start to finish.
Taking a break from his light-hearted, fiery repertoire, Trout introduces the next song, Say Goodbye To The Blues. He dedicates it to his old friend John Mayall, who sadly passed away earlier this year. The moment takes us right into the centrefold of Trout’s impassioned sentiment.
Ride, Follow You Back Home, and We’re All In This Together hike the Assembly into a raging, blues-laden Friday night. Trout is the epitome of a guitar virtuoso, never for once letting the bar drop below outstanding.
Trout continues, adding a classy, playful side to his performance. Forever, he is the guy you want to hang out with, as well as the musician you are happy to gawk at. As more beer is drunk and air guitar acted out from the crowd, Trout and his band bring out another new single in the form of Bleed.
As the show crescendos to a close, Trout and his band whip out Red Sun before a brilliant encore of Going Down. The applause is monumental, and the joy upon Trout’s face is so evident you would think this was the first time he had gotten such a reaction.
There are few musicians and performers who have had such a monumental career as Walter Trout. The man is not only an inspiration but an icon of all the joys that lie within music and what we get from it. This night was ecstatically good, and I can almost not put into words how great of a show Trout continues to give us.
Laura Evans
South Wales native Laura Evans opened the night in a whirl of soulful country blues. The musician was the perfect choice for a support act for Trout as she took us through the best of her current discography. With her guitarist by her side, Evans’ stripped-down set saw her offer up her silky vocals and wit-rounded lyrics.
With the audience quick to her sincere beckon, Evans laid down songs, which included Arkansas and Heartbreaker. Her performance has an immediate personable touch, with solid essences of Nashville-born sounds and heartfelt tones.
Finishing her performance with a Bonnie Raitt cover (Love Me Like A Man), Evans ended her short but very sweet set on an undoubting high. It was a luminous start to the night, with some seriously great demonstrations of authentic blues music.
