VIRTUOSO CHAOS: NIGEL KENNEDY LIGHTS UP THE ANVIL ON ST PATRICK’S NIGHT

LIVE REVIEW | NIGEL KENNEDY | THE ANVIL, BASINGSTOKE | 17th March 2026 by Kevin O’Sullivan

There are gigs you enjoy, gigs you admire, and then there are nights like this — the kind where you walk out slightly stunned that you’ve just watched a genuine musical legend at work. On St Patrick’s Day, a near-capacity crowd packed into The Anvil to witness Nigel Kennedy bring his Virtuoso tour to town, his first major UK run in well over a decade and part of a nationwide trek celebrating the fact he somehow turns 70 in December 2026. You wouldn’t believe it for a second.

Backed by long-time collaborators Alec Dankworth on double bass and Peter Adams on cello, Kennedy delivered a set that moved effortlessly between classical precision, jazz looseness and the kind of unpredictable storytelling that has always set him apart. The tour itself runs across the UK through March, hitting venues across the country in what feels less like a nostalgia lap and more like a proper return to the road.

Kennedy walked on to a huge reception and, before playing a note, spent time talking about the tour and introducing his bandmates, clearly enjoying being back in front of a UK audience. During the introductions, though, a mobile phone kept going off somewhere in the hall, drawing visible annoyance from both the stage and the crowd. In classic Kennedy fashion he turned it into a moment of dry humour, suggesting maybe we should make it an Olympic event — seeing if people could go two hours without looking at their phones. Fair point, and judging by the reaction, the audience agreed.

With the introductions done, he finally raised the violin and launched into ‘Firecracker’, an explosive, high-energy opener that felt deliberately chosen to snap the room to attention. If anyone wasn’t fully locked in before, they were now. It was the kind of start that makes you sit upright in your seat and realise you’re not just watching a concert — you’re watching a performer completely in control of the room.

From there, the first half moved through Bach’s ‘Ciaccona’ and ‘Magician of Lublin’, one of Nigel’s own compositions, played with a mix of ferocity and delicacy that made even the less classically-minded in the room sit forward. Classical music isn’t normally my natural habitat, but when Kennedy plays, the music feels alive — raw, human, unpredictable. Consider me converted.

The second half showed just how wide his range still is. He switched to piano for ‘The Man I Love’, reminding everyone he’s more than just a violin virtuoso, before tearing through ‘Halvorsen’ and his own composition ‘When and Why‘. The emotional peak came with ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’, the haunting piece by Ryuichi Sakamoto, played with total stillness in the room — the kind of silence you only get when an audience knows it’s hearing something special.

Living these days in Poland with his wife Agnieszka, Kennedy often talks about how stepping away from the UK scene reinvigorated him, and it shows. He looks younger, lighter, freer — fully immersed in the local music culture there, and clearly enjoying life far from the expectations that once surrounded him. His personality came through constantly during the evening too, with repeated references to his beloved Aston Villa, and an Aston Villa scarf tied and displayed centre stage for the entire show — a small but very fitting touch that stayed in place all night.

With it being St Patrick’s Day, the finale became a heartfelt tribute to his Irish roots. Before playing, Kennedy spoke with genuine respect and admiration about Ireland and his ancestry, which brought a noticeable hush over the room and gave the moment a real sense of reverence. The medley that followed, which included ‘Danny Boy’, was played with warmth and feeling, the audience responding with the kind of silence that only happens when everyone knows they’re witnessing something sincere rather than showy.

The crowd were superb all night — totally silent when it mattered, loud when it counted — and the atmosphere felt like a rare occasion. Because it was.

If this tour proves anything, it’s that Nigel Kennedy is still one of the most compelling performers this country has produced. Catch him while you can. If history tells us anything, it might be another ten years before we’re lucky enough to see him back on a UK stage again.

You can see Nigel Kennedy live throughout the UK this year with tickets available now.