Name: The Delines + Peter Bruntnell
Start: 2025-03-26T19:30:00+00:00
Location: Band on the Wall

The Delines will return to Manchester in support of their fourth album, scheduled for release in February 2025.
Willy Vlautin and his band The Delines have been touring the UK since 2014 and previously with his former act Richmond Fontaine. The Delines feature the exquisite vocals of Amy Boone with the drummer Sean Oldham and bassist Freddy Trujillo (both also formerly of Richmond Fontaine). The quintet is rounded off by Cory Gray on trumpet and keys.
Their debut record, Colfax, appeared in 2014 and surprised fans and critics alike. Evoking a beat-up Dusty Springfield or a weary Rickie Lee Jones, Colfax made over a dozen top ten year end lists. It was a four-year wait until their sophomore effort, The Imperial was released. Singer Amy Boone spent much of that time in hospital beds recovering from serious injuries sustained in a car accident in Austin, Texas. When she was just strong enough to stand she finished The Imperial – a record that spent two weeks on top of the official UK Americana charts with the band playing sold out shows across the UK and Europe.
The band returned with their cinematic third album The Sea Drift, which Americana UK and BBC 6 Music’s Gideon Coe both made their ‘Album of the Year’.
Vlautin is no stranger to critical acclaim, enjoying cult success and rave reviews from the likes of the New York Times, Washington Post, Uncut, Rolling Stone and Mojo, both as a novelist with seven books under his belt. Two of his books have become major films with another currently in production with Netflix for release in 2025.
Support comes from Peter Bruntnell. In an uncertain number of years time, it will be acceptably cool to say that you first got into non-Grammy-winning artist Peter Bruntnell through his classic 2024 album Houdini And The Sucker Punch, before then going back and discovering his back catalogue of yet more ‘classics’. And you were there! You saw him live. You were one of those ’10’ people who saw him play in that modestly-sized room, almost 30 years into his career.
So here we are again. Three years on, another album into Peter’s 13 or 14 album catalogue and shouldering the burden of even more sublime reviews. Every possible positive adjective has been called into play, although it must be noted that the word ‘sublime’ can never be used enough. Not even 2021’s primarily solo, slightly synthy lockdown album succeeded in putting an end to his non-success, despite Mojo echoing the plea that, ‘Somehow, some way, this cult and infinitely class songwriter must get his due wider recognition.’ The Scottish Daily Express with its 5 star review, slightly frustrated, said, or perhaps yelled, ‘I’m getting tired of saying this: He’s brilliant.’ The Irish Times thoughtfully combined two quotes into one, saving us the trouble of going back and getting crushed under the sheer weight of Peter’s archive of press quotes: ‘With Journey To The Sun, the man whose songs NME once noted should be placed on school curriculums has done it again.’ And he continues to do so. But not without a brief foray into dance music, in collaboration with mega pop-hit songwriter Rob Davies. A foray that succeeded in sneaking by, almost completely unnoticed, therefore providing us with no further fresh quotes. If veering off entirely into the dark world of autotune would have increased his chances of hitting the big time, we shall never know. But fortunately Peter’s taking his chances.
This is a 10+ show. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Price: £25 adv
Info/tickets: https://www.heymanchester.com/the-delines-4