Joshua Burnell

Courthouse, Thirsk

4 December 2025

I first discovered Joshua Burnell around the time of his Songs from the Seasons project ten years ago, when he set himself the task of arranging and recording a folk song a week for a year. He almost never plays those songs live, so it was a welcome surprise when he said he would be playing songs from the Winter album at this concert, on account of it being ... well ... winter!

There was one thing he said when explaining the Seasons project tonight, which sums up what makes Josh great, and what makes him one of my absolute favourites among the modern generation of musicians. He tells us how recording a song a week with just his voice and guitar should have been simple. Then he deadpans: "And then I discovered prog." And tonight showcases all the progressive folk-rock you could ever want. Josh is a fearless combiner of styles and genres, in the way that the early pioneers of prog rock were. So while there are some simple songs with just a voice and a guitar, he also gives us rocked-up traditional songs in the style of Steeleye Span, a piano version of God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen that sits somewhere between funk and ragtime, Belgian mediaeval folk played on Hammond organ, a 17-verse Norwegian ballad set to a Fairport Convention tune (which itself was also lifted from a traditional song of course, and annoyingly I forget what...), a thunderous a capella version of Boys of Bedlam ... this is an evening of prog rock in the purest meaning of the word.

And it's the same story with his own original songs that are scattered through the evening. Whether he's channelling Dylan on Two Moons, or glam Bowie on Lucy, or Jethro Tull on Condor Keep, you name a style, and Joshua Burnell has probably recorded a song in that style, all while openly admitting his influences but still never sounding like a copy or pastiche, always being himself.

Tonight they are playing as a three-piece of Josh on keyboard, guitar, percussion, and voice, Nathan Greaves on electric guitar, triggered samples, and backing vocals, and Frances Sladen on backing and sometimes lead vocals, so you don't get the full-band effect of some of his concerts, but it's a set designed for the trio and the trio still rocks when they need to, even without a rhythm section behind them.

The whole evening is warm and friendly, funny, and full of great music. And when the last song, Lucy, greeted me like an old friend, I realised, hold on, I don't just like this music, I love this music. This is right up there with the best concerts I have ever seen.