ShareLevellers performing their Levellers Collective: 2025 Acoustic Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Friday 14th March 2025.
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
Legendary folk rockers Levellers made a triumphant return to Nottingham on Friday night to deliver a blast of anarchic folk rock infused with real attitude. And whilst it is no coincidence that they have been around for decades, their fan base is extremely loyal and that was reflected in the size of the crowd at the Royal Concert Hall.
Over the years they have honed their stage craft to deliver respected live performances, adapting them to whether they are headlining their own concerts or entertaining festival crowds. And their ‘collective’ venture which they are currently touring to promote, allows them to focus on the strength of their expansive back catalogue, stripping well known classics down to their bare instrumental bones and bringing in new experimental arrangements through a bolstered line up of talented musicians.
They walked on to the stage and got straight down to business as they opened with Ghosts In The Water with its ominous drumbeat. And as the set built, the impact and power of each song grew as different instruments were granted the opportunity to take centre stage such as on the likes of The Ballad Of Robbie Jones and Together All the Way.
Bassist Jez Cunningham with his dreadlocks piled on his head created some awesome sounds, whilst Charlie Heather’s drumming gave a solid backbone to the band’s performance. Mark Chadwick’s voice was as strong as ever as the band gave the crowd a solid set including Believers, Sitting In The Social and Man O’ War. Battle Of The Beanfield brought social awareness to injustices across the years and England My Home crackled with anticipation and passion before it was finished with a poignant violin refrain over a delicately graceful vocal.
It may be surprising that the Levellers are so good considering that they have been playing gigs for over thirty five years but it is no less impressive that they still bring raw, powerful energy to their live show much to the delight of the crowd.
