You don’t have to be a music connoisseur, or even a huge lover of jazz, to appreciate the incredible work that is GoGo Penguin.
Without doubt, you leave one of their gigs thinking that was quite something, completely struck by both their talent and their sound.
The trio, made up of Chris Illingworth on piano, Nick Blacka on double bass and Jon Scott on drums, who replaced original member Rob Turner in 2021, emerged in 2012 from Manchester’s vibrant jazz scene.
They quickly built both a reputation and a loyal following, especially for creating a sound that felt fresh and difficult to categorise. That same year they released their debut album Fanfares, followed by v2.0 in 2014, which earned a Mercury Prize nomination and introduced them to a much wider audience.
This year they are touring their latest album Necessary Fictions, released last year.
Playing at Bristol Beacon Hall, especially following its recent redevelopment, with its acoustics and intimate feel, it was the perfect venue for this band.
They opened the night with two tracks from Necessary Fictions, "Umbra" and "Fallowfield Loops".
Within seconds, you’re completely in.
It grabs you immediately. It feels almost as if you’re launched straight into another place.
Throughout the night I felt like I was travelling through space and time. Moments of pause and stillness, moments of reflection, then moments of deep intensity and emotion.
Every beat, every drop, every second feels meticulously thought through. There’s precision in the creativity. You can feel there’s a reason for every pause, every silence, every shift. Why the drums arrive when they do. Why certain notes hold longer. Why the tempo changes when it does.
That detail adds to the genius of their sound.
They play with the traditional themes of jazz, while folding in electronic elements, strong classical influences, and something cinematic too, almost like film scoring.
It feels like Einaudi meets Four Tet meets Aphex Twin meets Philip Glass, but it always grows into something entirely its own, stretching your ears to notice layers and rhythms you hadn’t picked up before.
I was slowly settling into it when they hit with "Bardo", and suddenly it feels like you’ve been thrown into space.
The intensity keeps building.
Then somewhere through the middle section of the evening, the pacing changes and suddenly it feels like you’ve stepped into a club. Some of the sounds reminded me of a deep, loud heartbeat.
And it’s not just the music that feels considered. The detail is in the lighting too.
It moves and shifts with the music, adding so cleverly to the story unfolding on stage. It feels like part of the performance rather than something simply happening around it.
It particularly caught my attention during "Sanctuary".
I started thinking in stories and paintings. It reminded me of a ship moving through the night, cutting through thick mist, guided by the precise and steady flash of a lighthouse. Then the drums kicked in and everything changed. Suddenly it felt like you arrived and the light stayed on, bright.
You are no longer lost. You’re where you’re supposed to be.
Their music completely opens spaces in the mind.
At times you’re simply feeling it. Other times you’re reflecting on it. Then suddenly you’re telling yourself stories, seeing images, remembering old paintings.
You never quite know where it’s going to take you, and that’s part of the magic of it.
At times it leaves you with questions and no answers. How beautiful is it to just wonder.
They’re humble performers too. Nick Blacka, positioned between the piano and drums, leads the brief interactions with the audience. Conversation is minimal. It’s very clear they want the communication to happen through the music. And for a solid hour and forty-five minutes, it absolutely does.
The set moves through crescendos, mystery and intensity beautifully.
After "Smarra", which felt epic, heavy, almost like a punch to the chest, Nick pauses and says, “That was pretty intense… we’ll mellow it out a little.”
He introduces the next track as being from a live record from a few years back.
"Ascent" begins through the delicate notes of the piano and it was like catching your breath and sinking back into your seat again.
The main set closes with a deeply personal moment.
“Bristol, you’re going to get an extra song tonight.”
The song was "Everything Is Going to Be OK", from the album of the same name.
Nick shares that four years ago on that day he experienced one of the worst days of his life, when he lost his brother following his battle with cancer.
He explains that the song is a reminder that even amongst the bleak, there can still be moments of joy, hope and light.
“This one goes out to Richard. I wouldn’t be on this stage if it wasn’t for him.”
At that point, there’s another level of depth to the night.
You feel the pain but also the hope pouring from every note coming from that double bass.
After a standing ovation from a packed Beacon Hall crowd, we’re treated to an encore.
They make a small joke as a few people started to leave.
“We always come back… that’s how gigs normally go. You clap, we come back for a couple more.”
It was lovely to see how relaxed they felt with the crowd.
And then another gift.
They welcomed back Daudi Matsiko for "Forgive the Damages", on which he features from Necessary Fictions.
I have to spend a few lines on Daudi too, because before GoGo Penguin welcomed us into their world, he welcomed us into his.
Daudi Matsiko is a British-Ugandan singer-songwriter based in Nottingham.
Where GoGo Penguin deliver emotional depth and space through instruments, Daudi does it through words.
It feels like poetry, but sung.
Raw, personal, intimate, to the point where you almost feel like you’re intruding on something private.
His set felt like pure outpouring. At points he became emotional himself. Watching someone share that much of themselves on stage, with such openness, felt incredibly powerful.
At times you almost had to lean in to hear him.
His soft vocal delivery and delicate guitar work held Beacon Hall in complete stillness.
I’ll definitely be spending more time with his music.
Like all wonderful things, it came to an end. And maybe that’s what keeps the magic alive.
"Protest" closed the night, ending on that huge crescendo that feels so defining of GoGo Penguin’s sound.
This is a band where there aren’t standouts.
Each player carries equal brilliance, equal weight, equal impact.
Sometimes they shine individually. Sometimes all at once.
You can focus on one player and become completely absorbed in what they’re doing, or you can sit back and take in the whole thing as one.
If you’re looking for art, music and theatre, if you’re looking to expand the mind, stimulate creativity, or find inspiration again… you know what gig you’re booking next.
