JOHN MITCHELL & FRIENDS
A strong performance from Leddra Chapman and her band.
Oskar Holldorff adds tantalising touches.
Master of precision: Craig Blundell.
GRACE HAYHURST
Gift-wrapped: John Mitchell (and friends).
VENUE DINGWALLS, LONDON
DATE 18/12/2025
SUPPORT LEDDRA CHAPMAN
It’s a damp winter evening in Camden with Christmas just days away and, although transport problems have blighted the journeys of some, there’s a positive, anticipatory, even festive, air inside the relatively intimate Dingwalls for many here.
Adding to the general warm vibes, Leddra Chapman – singer-songwriter and close friend of John Mitchell – performs an opening set of her thoughtful, melodic and often emotionally charged tunes. She gets a bit funky with opener A Little Easier, more fragile and reflective with Paint Your Hometown, darker and, as she suggests, “a bit angry” with Type Of Monster and she uses the contemporary pop of All About You to get an audience singalong going. In truth, the nearest she comes to “prog” is probably in the audience clap-along in five for the sultry Story, but it is a strong, accessible and accomplished performance. It’s also not the last we’ll see of her onstage.