FROM SCREEN TO STAGE: BEN BARNES BRINGS HIS CHARMING LIVE SHOW TO GLASGOW

LIVE REVIEW | BEN BARNES | GLASGOW ST LUKE’S 12th February 2025 by Emma Carrington

Ben Barnes, acclaimed actor for roles such as Caspain in The Chronicles of Narnia (2008), Dorian Gray (2009) and more recently in Netflix show Shadow and Bone (2021-2023) as The Darkling but has since made the jump to songwriting and performance. Barnes’ new album When The Light Gets In was released back in January and is his first full length release since releasing music in 2021.

This month see’s Barnes running a headliner tour of the UK, and I was lucky enough to have seen him in Glasgow’s Saint Luke’s – a church turned venue, which very much fits his vibe.

The first thing I noticed about Ben and the band was this wasn’t just singing songs, this was a real performance, which I can only accredit to his time in acting. The band were especially amazing, with three out of five of the members also making a crowd warming appearance ahead of the main show, they made it feel like a theatrical as opposed to just lesser part of Barnes’ Show.

Ben’s stage presence was charming, charismatic, a true natural with the crowd. Chatty and informal at most points whilst maintaining a lot of interaction; asking the crowd trivia questions on 80s films, choosing what songs he should sing next and even dropping teasers about his ‘fan-cast’ as a young Sirius Black in J.K Rowlings ‘Harry Potter’ HBO reboot series. This all together really grounded Barnes as watching the show did not feel like watching an actor perform, it really expressed his passion and love for music.

As for the music itself, Barnes certainly has a talent for singing. His voice is velvet smooth and akin to jazz singers, I was taken aback by how incredible he could sound.

The songs where mostly quietly melancholic but powerful, portraying a compelling message about love and friendships without taking himself too seriously – I did think he was quite fantastic. One of the songs on the setlist was a duet between him and one of his band members (@thezoesparks) which I thought was just beautiful, both of their vocals blended together seamlessly and the relationship between the two really made for an amazing and unique performance. Towards the end of the show he sang Elton Johns’ ‘Bennie and the Jets’ which set the room, and crowd, on fire. His beautiful voice mixed with the band members each having strong personality and charisma of their own was a perfect blend to do Elton’s song a lot of justice.

Overall, Ben Barnes did not seem like the usual ‘celebrity’ actor turned musician singer – someone who is only doing it for a career boost or money motive. He seemed genuinely full of passion for the role and I truly believe he’s jumped from our screens, onto a stage and into the heart of the music industry.