Another visit to the popular Gloucester Guildhall, which is gaining ratings with it’s array of live music.

Tonight it’s Bywater Call, fronted by the fabulous Meghan Parnell, and there’s support from Pretorian, Dan Patlansky, who last played here nine years ago with King King – and I was there to see that performance too.

A modest crowd have gathered to see, and hear, Dan Patlansky open proceedings; nine years ago I thought he was a fine guitarist. In fact he was voted the fourth best guitarist in the world, so tonight should be another cracker of a set.

Tonight, Dan has just 30minutes to impress and proceeds to do exactly that! His facial expressions alone show just how much effort, and feeling, he puts into his music and, even though this was a short set comprising just four songs, he threw everything at it.

He starts with the slide-rich Preachin’ Blues originally released on his 2013 acoustic album Wooden Thoughts, but there was no acoustic guitar here, it was all electric. Since I last saw him here in Gloucester nine years ago I’d say his voice has gotten richer and his playing more involved – if that were possible! The harshness in his voice departed and a more classic blues sound emerged for Snake Oil City from his 2022 album Shelter of Bones. With lengthy spells of non-vocal passages the sound really is sublime and playing solo was presenting no particular barrier due to the loops he was introducing at the start of each song.

Everything is turned down a notch for Madison Lane from Dear Silence Thieves (2014), more of a ballad than a blues blaster. He finishes, all too soon, with Grandma’s Hands and at the same time reverts to the gravelly vocals. Brilliant but over far too quickly. Thanks to Dan for signing some prints from photographs taken the last time he was at this venue.

Setlist:

Preachin’ Blues

Snake Oil City

Madison Lane

Grandma’s Hand

On to Bywater Call, a band I’ve not seen before but heard very special things about. This is a seven-piece roots/rock band fronted by Meghan Parnell and I think I may have been the only person in the room who hadn’t seen them before because the cheer was huge as they entered the stage.

The band have only released a [small] handful of studio albums but each of them featured tonight along with the two singles released on September and October of this year.

The first stop is a song taken from the 2024 album, Shepherd. This was As If and it hit home immediately and set the tone for the night with the brass section dipping deep into the rhythm well. With a classic bass line underneath, the song flowed nicely and Meghan’s vocal carried it far away with the richness an tone of her voice.

We next travel back to the band’s first, self-titled, album released in 2019 for Talking Backwards a truly soulful song decorated beautifully by Meg’s gritty voice once again.

The first of 2025’s two singles came next; Hold me Down and this followed by Arizona from the first album with a prelude from Dave Barnes’ guitar. Included in tonight’s set are also two covers and the first, Stephen Stills’ Love the One You’re With, comes next with a ‘do-do-do-do-do-do-dut-do’ chorus style input from the audience requested by Meghan – the audience duly obliged.

Sweet Maria from Shepherd came next before a quick visit to the final studio album, Remain (2022) got us Left Behind. Ms. Parnell really does have a wonderfully versatile vocal style with its grittiness fitting in perfectly with the choice of songs.

Colours and Way to Go go past before the second of the years’ singles is brough to the fore. This was Ain’t no Friend of Mine and you can listen to the official version of this using the link, below. We’re getting close to the end now, and Bring me Down leads on to the main set’s final song, Everybody knows. Throughout the night the set has had solo’s from everybody on stage and every one, without exception, has been brilliant.

For a brief moment, the band leave the stage but return to give a bit of a Holler which segues into Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir which, in turn, signals the end of the show.

The band have only been around as a collective for a few years but have already made their mark. I feel absolutely certain that they will continue to grow and get into much larger venues as a headline band but it’s these smaller venues that can make or break you – I reckon the band’s future is well and truly made! Check them out.

Setlist:

As if

Talking Backwards

Hold me down

Intro from Dave then Arizona

Love the one you’re with (Stephen Stills cover)

Sweet Maria

Left behind

Colours

Way to go

Ain’t no friend of mine

Bring me down

Everybody knows

Encore:

Holler/Kashmir (Led Zeppelin cover)

Words & images: Reg Richardson for FRAMEmusic.