Westside Cowboy live at The Exchange, Bristol: Gig Review

Live4ever 10 February, 2026

A photo of the band Westside Cowboy

Westside Cowboy by Charlie Barclay Harris

4.5 stars hq

Despite Westside Cowboy’s relative inexperience, they are at ease throughout, all casually chatting to audience members between songs but not to the detriment of the set.

The most recent winners of Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent content, Manchester’s Westside Cowboy claim to offer a new genre of music (Britanicana, if you will), albeit with tongue firmly placed in cheek.

Tonight, drummer Paddy Murphy’s cry of ‘Westside Cowboyyyyy’ (as per their social media) signals the start of an hour of expertly crafted blend of American roots music and British indie rock that they are proud to convey.

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Taking to the stage to Jackie Wilson’s Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher And Higher, the song choice sets an upbeat tone. Rather than aiming for grandeur, it generates a singalong which helps to frame the set as a communal experience.

Westside Cowboy open with a cover of Santo & Johnny’s Midnight Cowboy, reworked with a jerkier, more angular edge that strips away most of the track’s sentimentality.

A tension builder, it succeeds in setting the tone before they quickly pivot to their own material.

I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought Could Really Love Me (Until I Met You) follows, a venture into slacker-rock territory but delivered with impressive tightness.

The interwoven vocal lines between guitarist Reuben Haycocks and bassist Aoife Anson O’Connell in the chorus add depth, pushing a swaggering song toward a bristling crescendo – the first of many.

Other guitarist James ‘Jimmy’ Bradbury steps up for Alright Alright Alright, a burst of youthful, kinetic pop energy driven by pounding drums and distorted riffs.

The immediate impression is that, despite Westside Cowboy’s relative inexperience, they are at ease throughout, all casually chatting to audience members between songs but not to the detriment of the set.

At one point they admit to eating too close to stage time and O’Connell endearingly checks Haycocks’ teeth for food.

That ease carries into the performance itself; during Drunk Surfer the band briefly pause so a guitar pedal can be adjusted, then pick the song straight back up without fuss. A band truly in control of a song propelled by Murphy’s thunderous drums.

Can’t See pushes further into art-rock territory, with clipped guitar lines and restless pacing that recalls Bloc Party and Foals.

Like every other track, it’s brisk and watertight with no extended outro. Indeed, certain songs would actually benefit from an additional chorus, but Westside Cowboy give no truck to such an idea, always on to the next song.

Murphy is excellent throughout, clad in a Drums t-shirt (the long-forgotten 2010’s band, not a job description) and always with that madcap determination that all sticks people possess.

In contrast, O’Connell is calmness personified, getting on with both singing and bass playing with a minimum of fuss, simply offering clarity and an impressive voice.

With only two EPs to their name, one senses these songs will become more significant as time passes, but while most of the setlist brims with energy, Shells marks a noticeable shift.

The opening few minutes of just lead vocals brings the room close to silence and reveals a more restrained side of the band before it too bursts into life.

The Wahs is a hopeful burst of straightforward indie pop before the band coalesce around the centre-microphone, accompanied only by Haydock’s acoustic guitar for a passionate In the Morning.

“It’s awesome to see people in a place we don’t live,” one of them said earlier in the night, a line that sums up the happy atmosphere.

No grand gestures, just an excellent young band clearly enjoying where they were and who they were playing to.

Westside Cowboy deserve the attention they’re getting and seem well placed to justify it.

Richard Bowes

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Tags:richard bowes, Westside Cowboy