CELESTIAL: BILL RYDER-JONES LIGHTS UP SHEFFIELD’S UPPER CHAPEL
LIVE REVIEW | BILL RYDER-JONES w/ Brooke Bentham | UPPER CHAPEL, SHEFFIELD | 2nd December 2025 by Isobel O’Mahony
Bill Ryder-Jones is a master of his craft. With an impressive solo discography, never mind his starting stint with rock band The Coral, a fairy light lit church hall gig was never going to disappoint. Joined by long-time collaborators and friends on stage, his show at Sheffield’s Upper Chapel was enchanting, memories of floating acoustics and melting vocals lingering still.
Brooke Bentham
Singer-songwriter Brooke Bentham is opening the room for a few of this string of shows; her hazy, intimate sound only amplified by the beauty and grandeur of the room. Although now often found on Sam Fender‘s stages, her solo discography is rather small but especially mighty. She harnesses a similar simplicity to Ryder-Jones, in that her clever lyricism dances cleanly over soft, malleable instrumentals. Her music can be amped up or stripped back, but still holds its power as strong, thoughtful art.
Bentham took the audience through a few new tracks, a few older. “All My Friends Are Drunk” and “Control” were particular highlights from the nights set from her 2020 debut album, Everyday Nothing, which was produced by Bill Ryder-Jones. She revealed that the two are five songs into another project, which has been ongoing for two years – art takes time.
As a writer, Brooke is brilliant, yet lyrics are often hard to focus on live, especially in the ethereal backdrop of the evening. Some tunes carried an almost waltz, others had a belt that threw them to the back of the room, and last tune “I Need Your Body” tied the bow. Tuning breaks and the casual nature of both sets made it feel as if you were simply sat in on a session, watching the magic happen. From the balcony pews, you were engulfed in sound. Bentham’s acoustic stylings and angelic vocals carried up through the room, rooted in the distortion of guitarist Robert Chaney‘s electric accompaniment.
Bill Ryder-Jones
Bill opened with “Thankfully for Anthony” and “How Beautiful I Am” off their celebrated 2024 record Iechyd Da. Like Bentham, Bill’s lyricism shines through an incredible atmosphere, joined by cellist Evelyn Hall (aka Pet Snake) for the majority of his set. Iechyd Da talked of the tribulations of love and loss, and to hear much of the album live brought both pure joy and teary eyes.
The set was structured as an easy walk through Bill’s solo discography. Switching from electric to acoustic guitar and picking at each record. His second studio album, Nick Drake-esque A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart, had some of my highlights of the night. Bill tackled most of the tracks solo, including “The Lemon Tree #3” which was fun, followed by “By Morning I” and “There’s A World between Us”. “Wild Swans”, was one of my favourite BRJ tunes going in, and the live rendition did it justice and then some.
When they weren’t clapping, the audience sat quietly dignified for the majority of the night (did people feel it was inappropriate to ‘whoop’ from a pew?). At times, it was a little awkward, but Bill’s quips, at one point lovingly calling the audience “Primitive Idiots”, and playing around with the guitars consistently warmed up the room. Other tunes, “John”, “Recover” and the dedicated “Wild Roses” were particularly special before a strong ending on “This Can’t Go On”.
The wholesome dynamic between the artists, and even the team behind them, made for such a comfortable, enlightening evening. The intimacy of the setting was perfect for the music put before us, with guitar tones climbing their way up the rafters, leaving attendees in awed smiles.
Bill Ryder-Jones has a pure talent for trusting the music’s path, knowing where he can play about with each song to where to place each hum and extra pick. His stories were only deepened by the intense skill of Evelyn Halls’ cello and the set as a whole amplified in its excellence by Brooke Bentham as the starting gun. I hope those on stage felt the love and admiration in the quiet crowd, and do return to the city for another warm night to remember.
