14th OCTOBER 2025

The best performers can draw silence in a room full of excited gig-goers, and that’s exactly what Andrew Cushin managed to achieve in Southampton. Armed with only an acoustic guitar, he performed a stripped back performance of ‘Waiting For The Rain’ as the whole venue held its breath.

The 1865, decked out in dark industrial chic decor, is the sort of room performers can see the whites of the hundreds of eyes staring up at them, and in this moment Cushin had the attention of every single pupil in the room.

The last time Andrew Cushin played Southampton was 2022 at The Joiners. Since then, he has released 2 studio albums ‘Waiting For The Rain’ and ‘Love Is For Everyone’. He returned to the city to play The 1865 on the first UK date of the ‘Love Is For Everyone’ tour.

The Geordie has been hotly tipped by many stars including Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Louis Tomlinson. He was even picked up by Noel Gallagher in his teenage years, who produced, sang backing vocals and played guitar on his single ‘Where’s My Family Gone’. He’s previously opened for Tomlinson and Gallagher on their tours.

Sugar Bang, an alt/indie trio hailing from the south coast, opened proceedings on the night. An exciting band whose bass and drum foundations are built on heavy-hitting riffs. Frontman McKenzie Barrass’s softly spoken vocals seemed to carry through the room and captivate the attention of the audience. They’re fresh from releasing the single ‘The View From The Outside’ which was met with cheers and applause on the night, and a handful of revellers singing along with Barrass.

Next on stage were Southampton 6-piece indie band Mega Sun Machine. Recently recording at Abbey Studios, these South-coast youngster will be exciting to fans of The Reytons and The K’s among others. Frontman Brogan Tomkins commanded the stage from the off. Strutting his way between guitarists James Tompkins and Fin Stuttard. 

The high-energy group battled through 8 songs in their 30-minute set. Keyboard player, Abigail Bignell, joins Tomkins on vocals for several songs in the set. The duo harmonises well together, and it leads to a great call-and-answer moment in their single ‘Now and Then’. That is before Stuttard steals the moment with an intense guitar solo, whilst Bailey Harcourt and Beth Rossiter prop up the rhythm section.

Tomkins has a way of commanding the crowd, encouraging them to get low during hit ‘Wonderland’ and demanding they all jump up simultaneously. The crowd obliges and you can see the excitement quiver through the rest of the band. The set concludes with their hard hitting single ‘Stella Cinderella’. Tomkins is climbing the barrier and high fiving the crowd as he goes. Several chorus’s later Harcourt plays the final smash on his drumkit and there’s a real buzz in the room, anticipating Cushin’s set.

After a short break, the lights fade as Andrew Cushin’s band take to the stage. Bright white lights shine as the backing track pulses into life and the band begin to play the title song of the album and tour ‘Love Is For Everyone’. Cushin joins the rest of the band just in time to sing the first line of the song “People say all you’ll ever need. Well all you need is love”. The venue has really packed in now and you can feel the cheers bounce around the place almost as much as the bass and drums.

Introducing himself to the crowd, the band begin the punchy drumming and ringing guitars of ‘You Don’t Belong’ and Cushin is pulled back in to deliver his gritty lyrics. He offsets the upbeat, Britpop/indie sound with explorative lyrics touching on themes of disconnect and exclusion.

Next, he plays another energetic and melodic tune ‘Alright!’ which encourages the crowd to move around. He signs off with the line “But I would raise my glass to anyone who doesn’t feel the same” before the room is plunged into a yellowish gold tinge. This atmosphere is immediately matched with the opening riff to ‘Catch The Sun’, a fairly new song in Cushin’s weaponry.

The band powered through the set, captivating the crowd as they played. Playing ‘It’s Coming Round Again’, ‘Kiss The Sky’ and ‘Something Ain’t Quite Right’ as a real tight unit. 

The band (which includes Johnny Bond, formerly of Catfish and the Bottlemen) dutifully vacated the stage ahead of ‘Waiting For The Rain’. Cushin, now just armed with an acoustic guitar, was given a tumultuous applause and rattling cheers from the crowd. This gave him the opportunity to quip “If I’d have known this is the reaction I’d get being on my own, I would’ve saved a lot of money and toured without the band”.

The aforementioned performance really captivated every single person in the room, and you could sense a real feeling of togetherness of the crowd.

The band rejoined the stage, and they continued to power through the set as one, playing songs such as ‘She’ and ‘New World Blazing’. Concluding the night, Cushin remarked that the Tuesday night crowd was a lot quieter than he had experienced back in 2022 from Southampton. He implored the audience to sing along with him.

The band crash into the high energy and raw ‘Wor Flags’. Despite this being one of his more riotous songs there’s still a sense of calmness and a need to convey a message in Cushin’s performance. As they hit the chorus, the crowd rise above the band to deliver the “La la, la la la la la”. 

It’s a powerful song and an even bigger performance on the night as groups of all ages and genders link arms and belt the “La’s” at the top of their lungs. Cushin and the band rush off stage, but the night isn’t finished there. The crowd chant for more and they deliver. 

First in the encore is ‘Hollywood’, an anthem clearly inspired by Noel Gallagher. Surging the room with energy, Cushin strutted around the stage as he sung the chorus “Are you ready to take on the fight?”.

To conclude the set, he played closing song on 2025’s ‘Love Is For Everyone’ album, ‘I’m Coming Home’. This strong ballad once again captured everyone in the room, linking arms, hugging and fists up in the air.

Cushin thanks the Southampton crowd for being a wonderful audience and leads the band off the stage one final time. 

Anyone who has a ticket to see Cushin on this tour, is certainly in for a treat.

REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY BRADLEY HALCROW (@braddersh22) for THE SONGBIRD HQ