Michael Barron

Jack White has released an impressive seven LPs since 2012, including Frozen Charlotte and No Name in the last two years alone. Just over a third of tonight’s set was drawn from those recent releases. However, despite there being no significant anniversary to mark, White also reached back to 1999 and The White Stripes’ debut album, performing “Cannon” and “I Fought Piranhas”.

It has been 12 years since Levellers frontman Mark Chadwick released his last solo album, Moment. Much has changed in the world since then, and even the venue where Chadwick played Moment live to celebrate its release has changed name: the former 12 Bar Club is now known as The Lower Third. For Ouse Dragon, the material was debuted a year before release in Lewes, the place where both the album’s ancient and modern tales originate.

A great song naturally requires a singer who can interpret its meaning and emotion, carrying it in a way that connects with the listener. More often than not, though, the source behind the singer’s song is the songwriter, without whom the song would never have been conceived or gifted to the world. Toby Gad is one of those figures: a driving force behind songs for artists including Beyoncé, Fergie, Madonna, John Legend and Nicole Scherzinger.