Though the former underground vault that is the Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh isn’t exactly the image that springs to mind when discussing the concept of “Americana”, neither is the up-and-coming band Westside Cowboy; a four-piece outfit hailing from Manchester who have taken to describing their sound as “Britainicana” for its combination of Britishness with American folk influences. This juxtaposition of two seemingly diametrically opposed concepts– American folk music and the four English winners of Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition–is what makes Westside Cowboy so magnetic, with a live sound that toes the line between energetic and chaotic and somehow, works incredibly well in an underground stone room with zero cell service.
Opening the show were No Windows, a duo hailing from Edinburgh. Playing to their home crowd may have emboldened the duo as it seemed like they were delivering the performance of their lifetime. Verity Slangen’s vocals were smooth and heartbreaking all at the same time throughout their entire set, stunning even those in the crowd who had said they were unfamiliar with the outfit prior to the gig. They set the tone for Westside Cowboy perfectly whilst making an impact for themselves in the process, finishing off their set with an unreleased song that somehow managed to top all that they had performed so far, with Slangen wryly commenting on how they’re not actually sure when the song will be released. A cruel declaration, given the song’s quality and the audience’s engagement with it as a closer, but good things come to those who wait– a sentiment true for both No Windows’s impending further musical escapades and the headliner of the night, Westside Cowboy.
Opening with the instrumental ‘Midnight Cowboy’ by Santo & Johnny, Westside Cowboy’s “Britainicana” allure is immediately established, with the almost ominous bends of the guitars eventually fading out to silence, only to be filled by drummer Paddy Murphy’s rallying shout of “Westside Cowboy!”— the introduction to the band’s most popular song, ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Love (Until I Met You). The combined vocals of Aoife Anson O’Connell, also on bass, and Reuben Haycocks, one of the band’s two guitarists alongside James Bradbury, are punchy, and emotionally raw all at once, a trademark of their sound that is just as present in their live sets as it is in their recordings. While rock-adjacent bands, especially in more intimate venues like Cabaret Voltaire, can risk conflating the authenticity of chaotic instrumentals with being plain messy while live, this was not the case with Westside Cowboy. Murphy’s drumming in particular stood out as it kept the sound cohesive while implementing irregular beats and the raw instrumentals that give the band their signature folk rock charm.
The only real fault of both bands’ set lies not with the musicians themselves, but rather with the sound level of the lead vocalists’ microphones. Westside Cowboy especially, with their aforementioned energetic instrumentals, would often drown out the vocals of Aoife Anson O’Connell. The band’s quieter songs, namely ‘Shells’– a fan favourite evident from the whoops that were elicited when the song was introduced– really allowed Anson O’Connell’s voice to shine, possessing both a melodically lilting and rock-and-roll gritty quality. A song played off their upcoming EP So Much Country ‘Till We Get There finished off with a stretch devoid of instrumentals, allowing Anson O’Connell’s voice to fill the underground venue with a repeated flipping vocal riff similar to those utilized by The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan. Leaving a vocalist unaccompanied in a venue so small is always a risky gambit, with the slightest shake of the voice carrying to the entire room– but Westside Cowboy pulled it off flawlessly, yet another declaration that they’re unequivocally prepared and deserving of the upward trajectory they’ve found themselves on.
The band’s upcoming EP releasing in January of 2026 and opening slot for Geese on their upcoming UK/EU tour beginning in March will surely only propel the Manchester outfit further, with another short headliner UK tour of their own positioned perfectly in between the two. In between songs about halfway through their set, guitarist Reuben Haycocks made a crack about how they’ve never played a successful show in Scotland. Given the crowd’s emphatic disagreement and overheard exclamations in the lobby of the venue after the show of “they’re even better live!”, it’s safe to say that their curse of bad luck is broken just in time for their return to Scotland at King Tut’s in February of 2026.
First year student studying English & Creative Writing and Journalism, Media & Communications. Sometimes writes well. Also the host of Strath Fusion’s F1 recap and music show “The Garage Playlist” (@garageplaylist on Instagram).
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