Bristol’s Strange Brew falls under Ellur’s spell as the Northern songwriter turns hush, swell, and dry wit into one of the year’s most quietly devastating sets.

Words & photos by James Crisp (@james_taking_pictures) | May 07, 2026

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Starting the night with “Dream of Mine,” the set opens in a beautiful haze of gentle guitar, instant emotion, and a relaxed atmosphere, but it doesn’t set the mood for the night ahead. It’s understated, but deliberate, and within minutes, the packed-out Strange Brew was putty in the band’s hands.

That calm doesn’t last untouched for long though. An early highlight of the song “The Wheel” arrives with a twist, as Antony Szmierek steps up on stage to join Ella with some vocals. His delivery is as cool as ever, threading through the track’s dreamy backbone, giving it some extra edge. It’s not flashy, but it definitely changes the mood of the set instantly.

From there, Ellur leans more into her debut album “At Home In My Mind”. These songs feel somehow even bigger than the recorded versions. “Lonelier in Heaven” simmers before breaking open, its tension stretched just enough to keep you hanging on every single word. “Missing Kid”, a personal favourite of mine hits even harder, painfully direct and upbeat with one hell of a sing-along chorus and the Bristol crowd showed that.

What really carries the night though, is how insanely tight everything feels. Ella (Ellur) and her band move like they’ve got a weird sixth sense for each other. Tiny shifts, all adding up to something that feels so natural rather than just rehearsed. When the music swells from the quiet to the loud, it’s controlled and when it pulls back, it’s beautifully precise and purposeful.

Between songs, she’s far from distant. Ella regularly breaks the musical spell she has put us all under to thank the crowd, clearly buzzing off the room’s energy, and throws in flashes of her dry Northern humour that cuts through the intensity that the music creates so well. It keeps things grounded and real, like you’re watching someone who doesn’t take these moments for granted, even as she owns it.

As the set pushes forward, tracks start to stretch out and hit harder. “The World Is Not An Oyster”, another one of my favourite tracks, grows into one of the night’s most epic moments, its long slow build-up paying off in full.

When she returned to the stage after the crowd quite literally demanded more, she played us the unreleased “Caves, Handprints” and the room is fully with her. It closes the night out not with a giant crescendo, but with a stunning quiet finality.