From the moment our writer Bassey joined the large queues to get into Rock City, he knew this was going to be a special night. When Frank Turner's playing it always is. The hard-working troubadour was in town with his band The Sleeping Souls to promote the aptly-named album Undefeated, and the atmosphere was electric with eager anticipation...
Next up, the main support band, was Amigo The Devil, a collection of musicians on drums, bass, guitar, keys and broken banjo, all supporting Danny Kiranos aka Amigo. Some of the finest American country and rock sounds around at the moment and an almost obsession with murder, hard drugs and alcohol parties, and dark love!
Amigo And The Devil have a close working relationship with Frank Turner and they have supported him on many occasions; their love and appreciation for Frank came across in abundance.
For me, the best moment of their part of the evening was the song I Hope Your Husband Dies! Danny explained the true story and meaning behind the song. Something this dark shouldn't sound this good... A great performance. Be sure to check out their latest album Yours Until The War Is Over to experience this band's unique brand of dark country.
Several hours in a packed Rock City provided Frank Turner with the perfect build up and the crowd went wild as he came on stage with his band The Sleeping Souls to play and promote their recent album Undefeated. I've not felt the floor bounce like this for many years and everyone appreciated Frank's love of playing in Nottingham. Fun fact of the night-Frank has played 1% of all his gigs ever in Nottinghamshire - who knew!
The energy and intensity of Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls is special and I'd urge everyone to check them out at least once. Fans sang along to every line and every word as they played many their classics including 1933, Be More Kind, Girl From The Record Shop and Letters, but the song that broke me was Somewhere Inbetween from the Undefeated album. Surely there's still time to make this a hit single.
I've not felt the floor bounce like this for many years
The Sleeping Souls are from Oxford and sometimes tour separately, but tonight they moved around Frank with well-rehearsed choreography. It was an effort to keep an eye on what each member of the band was doing, as they ran across the stage in all directions, aggressive bass stomping, relentless drum support, masterclass guitar riffs and subtle keys sounds all made for a perfect backdrop to Frank Turner and his punk attitude to the songs.
Raw and energetic sounds to a style that reminded me of Billy Bragg - what's not to like?
I always hate to write this part of a review: the 90-minute performance from Frank and his friends went so quickly. Encore over, lights on and everyone left Rock City with a song still playing in their head. I got to my car, paid my ticket and as I left the car park I noticed Frank was outside Rock City talking with fans and signing merch. He really does love playing in Nottingham!
Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls performed at Rock City on 6th April 2025, with support from Amigo The Devil and Dan Ottewell
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