Great Escape: Billy Bragg

After several fruitless queueing efforts it was a relief to enter The Dome to hear the Bard of Barking praising Woody Guthrie before a rousing ‘Ain’t Got No Home’; the shimmering cymbals and eerie pedal steel lifting the still-relevant lyrics. The country-inspired set suited Bragg’s songs perfectly, with 1991s ‘You Woke Up My Neighbourhood’ causing outbreaks of line-dancing – more Nashville than Essex. The Thatcher-baiting remained, as the band were excused for a back-to-basics solo section pulled from his early output. Still adored by his fans, this was a performer doing what he does best with a new sound drenched in traditional Americana.

Brighton Dome, Dome Concert Hall, 17 May 2013

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