Music / Reviews
Review: Broadside Hacks, the Wardrobe Theatre – ‘A welcoming fireplace in the cold season’
The Wardrobe Theatre welcomed a night of passionate storytelling and glorious emotion through the folk sound of Spitzer Space Telescope and Goblin Band.
It was a fabulous way to spend a gloomy night at the onset of winter: a subtle blend of folk’s past and present to create a new-furnished sound which could have been showcased 100 years before and will hopefully continue to be appreciated for many years looking forward.
The theatre was filled with warmth as patrons gathered in Fair Isle jumpers and knitted cardigans, Baker Boy hats, scarves and thick coats, nestling in for a night of music.
A sense of gentle excitement was palpable, naturally fostered by this cosy little venue: a testament to the growing, welcoming folk music community which has resurged in Bristol thanks to upcoming folk-mixing artists like the Last Dinner Party, Big Thief, Noah Kahan and Hozier.
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The one word that stood out for me was uttered in Spitzer Space Telescope’s first song: pleasure. His given name Dan MacDonald, this Michigan-born, London-based fully fledged folk artist blends original and traditional material through his uniquely intense yet colourful play on stage.
His demeanour is certainly entrancing, and within only a 30 minute set is able to take the audience through the cosy shanties of Mulligans Bar, bittersweet tales of love and loss, sailing, the far-flung streets of Dunning Town and even a song that can only be described through its peculiar title and topic choice – Weiner in the Wind!
MacDonald has the traditional power of a town crier in an urban setting: a result of his showcasing of a beautiful balance of the voices, placements, volumes, intensities and pitches to emote as a true storyteller – at many times shocking me to tears with his understated power.
His performance could be compared to a Dr. Seuss-like story, crafting his own odd-yet-wonderful world for the audience to glimpse into for a short yet impactful show.
Dan MacDonald has been recording for over a decade but only recently found a home with Broadside Hacks
I found it hard to think that I could be blown away as much as I was already by Spitzer Space Telescope’s set – how wrong!
Opening with a beautiful a capella four-part folk ballad named Wassail, the Goblin Band invited the room once again to step into the wonderful world of the tradition-revised folk genre.
Forming arrangements from four voices, accordions, violin, recorder, bagpipes, a hurdy gurdy and body percussion, this band curates a sound which blesses a room as one entity – it is hard to separate each element as the group are so tight-knight in their musicality.
Praise also to the sound technicians of the Wardrobe for balancing this evening so well, as many of these instruments are varying in volume and not made for modern amplification methods.
The quartet performed unaccompanied numbers as well as with instruments including violin, recorder, concertina, hurdy gurdy and recorder
Live music was truly celebrated in this band’s work, with the whole set holding an infectious heartbeat the audience felt and reciprocated through stomping in beat, humming and singing along to the ear-worms within the songs.
It was clear the room was full of both long-serving band patrons and people completely new to this style of music. As humorously summed up by band member Rowan Gatherer, it was a “good, healthy, well formed, clearly gay, audience”.
Goblin Band told the story of each song, a touch hugely helpful for those of us new to the genre, expelling the barrier to enjoying the music that comes from too much on the words specifically.
Instead, their approach allowed us the grace to take in the song in its entirety. Their sound purely instinctual, many songs were sung with all members almost unmoving and unblinking.
They took the Wardrobe through grain fields, puddles of newts and 19th century working class gatherings all the way up to the London Bakerloo line earlier that morning.
These artists embody generosity, allowing us to peek into their modern lives so unknowingly close to their traditional folk roots of love, loss, devotion and absurdity, and all within a couple of hours.
The event expanded my mind to what folk music can be and allowed me to indulge in the strong local scene, with many of these songs enthusiastically accompanied, appreciated and encored by the audience.
I feel extremely grateful to have been part of a night which felt like a warm, welcoming fireplace in this cold season.
All images: Poppy Beresford
Read next:
- Review: Avon Concordia, Victoria Methodist Church – ‘A soaring triumph’
- Review: DOGSHOW, the Jam Jar – ‘Joyful anarchy’
- Bristol’s month in Folk and Roots – November 2025
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