Photo Credit: Cerys Alexa

As his UK headline tour approaches, young Geordie Andrew Cushin returned to The Garrison in Barnsley for a warm-up performance in front of an intimate crowd on a Sunday evening to give those attending the October run a taste of what is to come.

Birmingham trio BLUE NATION kicked off the show, and a much more difference approach to the usual support acts on Andrew’s shows. Bringing a blend of rock, grunge and psychedelic sounds was certainly a welcomed change, and they already won of the Barnsley crowd after a couple of songs. Making their presence known in Yorkshire and entertaining the audience with stories in between tracks, their riffs and trippy guitar playing was a real dream to experience.

Stoke based indie rock outfit CAMENS followed next, and a much more familiar sound to accompany the headliner. Serving as a warm-up of their own before their tour supporting The Paddingtons, the Barnsley audience responded positively to tracks such as ‘Poltergeiest‘ and ‘Cynical‘, with the latter showing more ability to excite the crowd as the stand out track across their set.

Finally, ANDREW CUSHIN made his swift return to The Garrison, just four months from his acoustic album show in support of ‘Love Is For Everyone‘. As the band made their entrance first to build up the momentum, Cushin finally made his way on to the stage to a roaring cheer, a reception he is more than familiar with in Barnsley. Opening his set with the title track from his recent record, the crowd were using their voices right from the off. Continuing the positive reception into ‘You Don’t Belong’, the real foot stomper is enhanced live, giving the experience of Cushin’s performance the edge over his recorded material.

Serving as the lead single from his most recent album, ‘Alright!‘ serves as one of Andrew’s most upbeat tracks to date, and that was certainly reciprocated live too. A feel good chorus is enough to get those down on the ground level dancing before the more emotional ‘Coming Round Again‘ brought down the tempo alongside ‘Kiss the Sky‘. As Cushin continued his set with a mixture of tracks from both his albums and previous EP’s, he concluded his return to The Garrison in typical fashion with his hometown hit ‘Wor Flags‘ to give the Barnsley crowd one last chance to sing along. But they wanted more.

As the band made their way off stage, chants began to spill out for one more song. Their wishes were quickly granted as Andrew and his band returned for the very fitting ‘I’m Coming Home‘ to truly finish off in style.

As the UK tour is now looming, fans who attended this special intimate show will no doubt flock to the nearby Sheffield date to do it all again in a few weeks.