There were a couple of big sell out events in town on Saturday 22nd November. Strictly waltzed into Tower Ballroom, meanwhile another full house were at Bootleg Social for the visit of Northern Irish rock veterans Ash.
I arrived with support act Coach Party already in full swing and the venue already busy. Some attendees were clearly familiar with Coach Party as they sang along, those who weren’t were treated to a great set. Coach Party are supporting Ash on all their current tour engagements, and the Isle of Wight fourpiece are a fitting warm-up for the main act with their high tempo indie rock. Jess Eastwood is a charismatic frontwoman and the performance was emphatic.
When Ash took to the stage Tim Wheeler acknowledged the Strictly competition down the street, but then made the surprising admission that this was the first time Ash had played Blackpool. If that was the case then it was well worth the wait. Whilst the formula of hits, followed by new album tracks, followed by biggest hits finale, is a well used one; the power of the performance was extremely impressive. Even though the encore did feature one solo acoustic track by Wheeler* overall it was a powerful rock set and my ears were still ringing as I made my way to the car.
The new album Ad Astra was only release last month, showing Ash still have a great following it made a respectable 15 in the album chart. Every credit to Bootleg Social for getting them to do an intimate gig in Blackpool, apparently for the first time. It was great to see it get a sell out crowd on a night when there were other attractions in town.
* Full disclosure – it did also feature Girl from Mars.
The tour continues across Ireland and the UK into 2026.
Cover Image Photo Credit: Andy Willsher
