There was something very fitting about the Scouse five-piece band choosing to play an intimate gig at the Eagle Inn in Salford.
The small, stubborn red-brick pub looks drastically different to the tall and glassy high-rise buildings that surround it, but something about the venue feels extremely comforting, like stepping back in time in the big city.
Like the venue, the band, from Liverpool, felt slightly out of place yet completely at home pitching up in Greater Manchester as they played to a sold-out room.
Gustaffson are fronted by Liverpool‑born actor and songwriter Andrew Gower, who formed the band with his longtime friend and guitarist James “Webbo” Webster.
The pair, who first began making music together during their school days in Warrington, are joined by David Gleave on bass, Graham Bennett on drums and Liam Morson on keys.
While Gower is best known for his screen roles in shows including Black Mirror, Outlander and Carnival Row, music has been a constant alongside acting.
They were there to play songs the crowd knew and loved, and to tease tunes from their upcoming album that they had been working hard on with Elbow’s Craig Potter at Blueprint Studios, just a stone’s throw away from the venue.
The nod to Bury, through the connection with Elbow, made the gig feel proudly local, and Potter was awarded with a roaring round of applause at the end of the show.
Midway through their set on Friday, May 8, they launched into Champagne Socialist, a song from their 2025 album, ‘Black & White Movie’.
The song landed sharply in the crowded room, as a nod to that week’s local elections, the results of which had been trickling in all day.
A sense of friendly rivalry also ran throughout the evening, with the band’s Liverpool heritage recognised in the new song ‘34 Wernbrook Road’, with nostalgic lyrics about a one-up one-down house in Anfield.
It prompted a cheer from Liverpool locals, who had clearly travelled for the show, and Mancunians were playfully told they could not boo.
Their sound filled the room, amplified by the singing crowd, who were encouraged to make enough noise so that those residing in the tall towers surrounding the Salford pub.
At the end of the show, the crowd begged for an encore, and I have to say I agree with them.
The gig left me wanting more, and luckily Gustaffson will deliver when they go on a UK tour in October this year to play more of their new record.
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