Friday: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark + Peter Hook and the Light + Andrew Cushin (19.6.2026)
Saturday: Paul Weller + Miles Kane (20.6.2026)
Southampton Guildhall Square.
The Summer Sessions: a series of outdoor gigs in the long summer evenings in Guildhall Square. Ten gigs in late June. I picked two – OMD and Paul Weller – on consecutive nights, making for a festival feel weekend in the sun, without quite so much standing.
Went to my favouring pre-Guildhall drinking spot before both gigs, only to find later that Belgium and Blues was closing down for good at the end of June.
On the Friday in Belgium and Blues, we were sitting in the open windowed street level seats and Andrew Cushin wandered by towards the venue to get ready for his support slot. A “Hey, Andrew!” cry from my wife Sally and he popped in for a chat. Lovely start to the weekend.
Soon after, the gates opened and we went down the front as we were keen to see Andrew Cushin again to add to our Camden Dingwalls, Bristol Thekla and Southampton 1865 experiences.
Andrew Cushin and his band took a while to get plugged in and working but good for a 6.30pm start. A short, sharp set which was loudly appreciated by those in early enough to catch it.
A punchy set of indie rock pop which he finished with Wor Flags, a lively end. I’m still a bit perplexed as to why he hasn’t hit it big just yet. Here’s hoping for the next LP.
The sun still burning brightly and lighting the stage for good amateur photo opportunities – the professionals in the pit less happy.
Next up – Peter Hook and the Light. I’ve seen him numerous times in the last five years but there is always interest in what is in the set. We moved back, seeking drinks and facilities and it was too hard to return to the front later.
A World Cup special appeared in the form of World in Motion. Indeed this was essentially a New Order set that included Temptation and Blue Monday. The only Joy Division number in the short support set was Love Will Tear Us Apart.
With the sun disappearing it was time for OMD, although not quite ‘in the dark’.
I was a bit far back for any decent pics ‘in the dark’ and I was in no mood for pushing my way back nearer the stage. Not easy here to move in and out from the front section.
OMD played a classic nostalgic set. McCluskey’s voice was so clear and the sound was great – the solid electronic beat and melodies pulsed out across the square. I was impressed.
Maid of Orleans was almost my favourite track of the night, but that would fail to recognise the significance and lasting brilliance of Enola Gay….the B-29 Superfortress atomic bomber that ‘should have stayed at home yesterday’.
The simplicity of Electricity was also a finish to treasure. Another one of the encores is a song I bought on CD single long after I listened to OMD with any regularity, which I love: Walking on the Milky Way. Euphoric.
Saturday Night. Paul Weller.
Back for a second evening in a row and down the front when the gates opened to see Miles Kane.
A powerful support set, full of energy. I caught the end of a Miles Kane set at Victorious Festival in 2021 and realised I had missed something special. I saw him way back, playing in The Last Shadow Puppets on a few tours but until recently hadn’t explored his solo albums. Now I am lapping them up. It’s like I’ve just found a new artist.
So many glam rock sounds are weaved in to his songs. Essence of T-Rex appears regularly and quite blatantly, which is most welcome. Take the title track of his Sunlight in the Shadows LP as a great example.
Kane’s songs all have such pace. Great band with him. It’s all tight with thrashing guitars. I need to go and see him on one of his tours now.
Electric Flower was a track that stands out and Come Closer, his closing number, illustrates how notable that one is. I read about him being asthmatic and taking an inhaler everywhere so the song Inhaler also stuck with me.
Kane has six solo LPs for me to feed on and there were songs from five of them in this evening’s set. This was a lovely bonus to Weller’s two hour show.
Has Weller finally cracked it? Years of denial of his Jam days and desperation to look forward all the time has lead to so many mildly disappointing performances for so many. Yes, look forward but give us something old as well… tonight he does. Indeed the last three Weller gigs I have been at since 2018 have all been good sets, with a nod to the past.
Tonight, seven Jam songs and four Style Council ones. Enough for anyone and some brilliant choices – including Man in the Corner Shop; Strange Town, That’s Entertainment and English Rose, although the latter didn’t survive the irritating chatter by the selfish, the ignorant and the pissed (some individuals slotting neatly into all three categories).
Once again I’d played my joker on being down the front for the support act. I had to come out and rest my legs after that and no way back without a real push. I guess I could have gone back in there for a bit with a bit of elbow work.
I wasn’t in a decent spot at all to start with but the sound was good and the set gathered momentum and familiarity. The summer crowds like these need familiarity.
Weller seemed in a really good mood. He joked about the long set and it was just over two hours in the end. He was cool throughout – even in his double denim. There was a brief speech/observation about Palestine and treatment of people in Gaza. I detected a wave of uneasiness but there was clapping.
I managed to push forward by 20 yards or so, to get to the brow of the very slight paved incline of the square, up from the Guildhall front pillars. When I went back into the gents at one point, there were people inside the Guildhall lobby peering out trying to see and hear from a position of slight elevation. I think this underlined the slight inadequacy of the site as regards the slope especially – you can’t have everything – it’s outdoors eh and sunny. What I can say is that for someone with aging legs and a few health problems, for this venue maybe it’s time I looked at the assessible platform and accepted defeat.
Overall, a really good couple of evenings in the Southampton sunshine. I saw five highly enjoyable bands playing great sets..and no rain.
[Next morning I popped into Vanilo Records to get one of the remaining signed Hard-Fi LPs from the previous evening’s in-store appearance, just to round off the weekend.]
Gigs with Ivan 