2 Nov 2025

A wrap-up of club gigs through September & October 2025.

5 min read

It’s been a big couple of months of post-summer club gigs. It seems a shame not to share them! 

Monday 8 Sept 2025

Florist at Maravilla Club

 I scanned the crowd as I waited in the tiny bandroom of Maravilla Club. A bunch of 20-somethings, a handful of people over 30, and then up the back was me and two greying blokes nursing beers and uncomfortably scrolling our phones. If I’d been in Melbourne, I’d have tapped them on the shoulder and made a joke about us oldies- but I don’t trust my Spanish enough yet to not offend.

I was still considering this when Florist’s Emily and Felix hopped onto stage, and an intense silence descended on the room. I don’t think a single word was spoken among the 80-odd punters in the room until the set finished an hour later.

Florist, Maravilla Club, Madrid – Sept 2025.

In a world that is constantly yelling “look at me”, watching an act like Florist is a joy. Emily’s lightly whispering vocals float alongside understated, stripped back guitars and Felix’s skilfully light touch on keys and drums at points through the show. This is an act who understand negative space – the silence in the spaces between – wielding it like a magnifying glass across life’s small yet significant moments.

Highlights from the set include “Time is a dark feeling” and “Dog song” from the new album.

Emily commented at one point that there are a lot of vulnerabilities contained with their music – a vulnerability matched by the intense audience, standing together in stillness and without talking.

Yet there was still a lightness to the show, with Emily cautioning against taking it all too seriously. “As if everything needs to be perfect. I don’t agree. I think we should break rules .. and be messy.”

Wednesday 10 Sept 2025

Hannah Aldridge at Sala Rockville

Think of dirty southern rock and you probably think of scruffy, bearded dudes thrashing away on beaten-up telecasters. Turn that well-worn trope on its head and you’ve got Hannah Aldridge – a lightning rod of southern energy, clad in black leather and sparkles, with a huge presence and voice to match. 

I came across Hannah Aldridge and her band – including the formidable Katie Bates on bass – earlier this year at Port Fairy Folk Festival. Running an errand on site, I passed the stage they were playing and quite literally stopped in my tracks. So, when they played in Madrid this week I was excited to finally see a full set.

Hannah Aldridge at Sala Rockville, Madrid – Septmber, 2025.

Sure, the Wednesday night crowd at Sala Rockville in Madrid’s north was on the smaller side, but that didn’t stop Hannah and her band from slamming on the gas and hitting that same intensity I’d seen on the big festival stage. Halfway through their European run and in fine form, they turned out a set of pumping blues and southern rock as good as any bunch of beards. The crowd enthusiastically belting along with Burning Down Birmingham was quite a moment.

I’m not sure what they are putting in the water in the deep South, but she is the third artist from Alabama I’ve seen in the last three weeks. All very different artists but equally excellent. Feels like a musical revolt of sorts.

Floodlights at Wurlitzer Ballroom, Madrid – September 2025

Saturday 20 September 2025

Floodlights at Wurlitzer Ballroom

It doesn’t take much for me to find an excuse to visit Wurlitzer Ballroom. This divey rock and roll bar in the heart of central Madrid is a long, narrow room with a small stage perched at the far end – just high enough to see standing band members among a sea of heads. It’s busy and sweaty and loud – kind of like the Tote meets the Old Bar – making it the perfect venue for Melbourne sweethearts Floodlights. 

Perhaps not the best place to actually hear the music but the show certainly had the energy you’d expect from a Saturday night rock and roll show.

Xavier Rudd at La Riviera, Madrid – September 2025

Sunday 21 September 2025

Xavier Rudd at La Riviera

A Sunday night show with yet another Australian – this time the elder statesmen of hippie , the much loved Xavier Rudd.

If you know me, you know I’m a big believer in taking kids to gigs so was thrilled to see so many little punters having a ball at this show. I suspect for many it was their first gig.

Hoisted on shoulders and clapping along, dancing and spinning around the back of the crowd with their parents – there’s something so raw and beautiful about seeing kids enjoy live music. There is a sense hope seeing kids at gigs.

Handsome Jack at Nazca, Madrid – September 2025

Thursday 25 September 2025

Handsome Jack at Nazca

I have a pretty good knowledge of the venues in Madrid, but needed to google this one.

It turns out Sala Nazca is in the awkward, rambling commercial zone north of Nuevos Ministerios – just around the corner from Santiago Bernanéu. This underground club comes with good vibes and warm sound with excellent production – though perhaps the smoke machine was a little over exuberant.

Madrid’s blues crowd was out in force for Handsome Jack, a three-piece from Lockport, New York. Solid bluesy rock tunes, with great performances made for an excellent show. From my spot behind the mixing desk, I also enjoyed watching elderly family members who had flown in to see their boys and proud as punch.

The Delines at Canopy by Hiltom, Madrid – October 2025

Friday 3 October 2025

The Delines at Canopy By Hilton

I’m not going to lie – I’m super wary of any gig at Canopy By Hilton in Castellana. Shows here happen in the hotel lobby bar, with tiled floors and walls and a flown-in PA.

The whole setup is rather shambolic and the sound quality tends to be terrible – but if anyone was going to pull it off, it was The Delines. 

Their sumptuous set somehow transcended the venue, or perhaps was enhanced by it – a hotel lounge, the perfect setting for the sweet melancholy of ‘country-soul’. The kind of captivating, understated performance that only well-worn veterans and first-class musicians can achieve. 

Sam Outlaw at Sala B, Madrid – October 2025

Thursday 9 October 2025

Sam Outlaw at Sala B

Hananah Aldridge and Katie Bates were back in Madrid, this time playing alongside ‘SoCal’  country singer-songwriter Sam Outlaw. Even the mirrored pole in the middle of Sala B couldn’t stand in the way of this honky-tonk freight-train of a set! A bunch of top-knotch performers, Sam and the band wrapped up among the crowd with a couple of acapella bluegrass tunes.  

Hannah Aldridge and Katie Bates supporting Sam Outlaw at Sala B, Madrid – October 2025

Thursday 16 October 2025

The Beths at Nazca

The Kiwis came to town with this cracking show, lighting up the bunker at Nazca!  

Despite playing borrowed guitars (theirs had been stolen earlier in the tour) The Beths brought the indie-rock vibes, smart-kid lyrics and guitar-filled tunes to a crowd that must have been close to capacity. My highlights included cathartic ‘Straight Line Was a Lie‘, the ironically fun ‘No Joy‘ and the moment of quiet sadness with the acoustic version of ‘Mother, Pray for Me‘. 

(Oh, and of course, the banter about bass player Ben’s incredibly funny tour blog. I reckon 90% of it went over the heads of the Spanish audience, but I personally enjoyed the antipodean humour – something I didn’t realise even existed until it was no longer part of my day-to-day life.) 

The Beths at Nazca, Madrid – October 2025

Thursday 23 October 2025

Caleb Claudle at Clamores

Caleb Claudle was a wonderful surprise – not just because of his gently brooding alt-country tunes, but because his understated vibe belied the quality performance he and his band brought to Sala Clamores.   Another great show in one of my favourite small venues. 

Caleb Claudle at Clamores, Madrid – October 2025