Gig review: Antony Szmierek at The Level

Tonight’s show at The Level feels a bit like a two-for-one deal, as the support act this evening is Halifax singer-songwriter Ella Henderson or, how its pronounced in her home county of Yorkshire, Ellur. Her 2026 release At Home In My Mind is one of the best debut albums of the year, and tonight’s set showcases that. As she dances ethereally on stage, wearing a sparkly “Angel of the North” belt no less, she enchants the crowd with album highlights Missing Kid, Yellow Light and Disintegrate. Her accompanying band are well accomplished too, making Ellur’s performance feel like you’re truly watching a superstar in the making. She also makes space in the set to debut an unreleased track, Love Me F**k You, which also sounds promising in the live setting. While Ellur’s music may be quite different to Antony’s in style, she still manages to win over new fans and keep the crowd engaged throughout, ending her support set triumphantly on her biggest single to date - apathetic anthem, God Help Me Now. 

After a short 30-minute interval, it’s then time for Antony Szmierek to take to the stage. By this time The Level is now near-capacity and everyone in the room feels up for a Friday night rave. The setlist is near flawless tonight, as Antony and his band play Decoding Birdsong mostly in album order, with a few old favourites thrown in too. Chalk, The Heron and Seminal get the crowd dancing instantly, before Ellur returns to the stage for her and Antony’s collaborative effort, Bookie’s Favourite. They end up shooting the music video for the track, which culminates in both Antony and Ellur entering the crowd, dancing energetically with the audience at the heart of the venue. A very cool moment to witness.

Despite this being one of the better shows we’ve experienced at The Level, the venue still struggles to fully satisfy when at full capacity. If you are down the front, you have a good view but not much space to boogie due to the proximity to fellow punters. Then if you’re at the back, you can move a bit better but then may struggle to see the stage due to the low ceiling below the balcony. With the energy of the evening escalating, we manoeuvre through the crowd and opt for the latter, finding an open spot towards the back where you can just about see Antony and his band on stage. We then experience the peak of the evening, as a stellar run including Commune, Dave’s Angling Superstore and The Great Pyramid of Stockport turns The Level into one giant party, with dazzling blue lights and lasers deployed for a euphoric rendition of recent album highlight, Flight Simulator.

After ending the main set on title track Decoding Birdsong, Antony begins the encore by opening up on that line in Aussie Gold Hunters, mentioning that incident in Nottingham was only one of two panic attacks he’s had in his lifetime. He declares tonight is the opposite of a panic attack, and he’s here to squash the beef with Nottingham by having a great time. He then uses the rest of his speech to take fierce aim at the Cornell Seven, imploring the men in the crowd to help make safe spaces for women. The message is rightfully met with huge applause, the audience coming together to take a stand. There’s only one thing left to do now, as Antony leads The Level in a NYE-style countdown, before a blissful and uplifting performance of The Words To Auld Langs Syne. He then jumps into the crowd during set closer Rafters, before scaling part of the balcony and leading a singalong to a few lines of Pulp’s Disco 2000. 

It’s a joyful climax to a truly delightful evening and as everyone walks out of The Level elated and into the rest of their Friday night, everyone slightly sweaty but with huge beaming smiles on their faces, it’s hard not to think that Antony Szmierek – with a little help from Ellur – may just have put on the best show of the whole year. 

Antony Szmierek and Ellur performed at The Level on Friday 9th October 2026.