French firepower lights up Bristol

French guitar player Laura Cox turned The Louisiana in Bristol into a pressure cooker, delivering a lean, high‑voltage set that confirmed her status as one of Europe’s most compelling modern guitar heroes. Across sixteen songs, she stitched together blues grit, hard‑rock muscle, and flashes of emotional vulnerability, all with the assurance of an artist fully in command of her craft.

The 4-piece band comprised, Laura on vocals and guitar, Antonin Guérin on drums, Adrien Kah on bass and Léo Cotten on keyboards, who was tremendous all night with frenetic en

ergy.

Guitar based blues is at the heart of her musical style, although she has subtly incorporated synth sounds in some of her other recordings to expand her musical palette. However, for this tour the focus has clearly been on rocking hard into those distinctive hard edged, bluesy riffs that she incorporates into her songs. She is a wonderful combination of Joan Jett, Bonnie Raitt and Samantha Fish with a French accent.

She plays the guitar like she’s trying to set the horizon on fire. Every note she bends feels like a flare shot into the night; bright, defiant, impossible to ignore. There’s a wild, road‑dust energy in her phrasing, the kind that comes from someone who has lived inside the instrument long enough to know exactly where the ghosts are hiding.

Cox hit the ground running with “Rise Together”, a stomping opener that immediately locked the room into her groove. “If You Wanna Get Loud” and “A Way Home” followed without pause, the former a swaggering call‑to‑arms, the latter showing Cox’s instinct for modernising blues‑rock without sanding off its bite.

“Set Me Free” provided the first extended guitar work out of the night, Cox stretching out with a solo that was fluid, expressive and never self‑indulgent. By the time she hit “Bad Luck Blues”, the Louisiana’s famously low ceiling was amplifying every stomp of the kick drum in this slice of “High Voltage” era AC/DC.

The emotional centrepiece arrived with “Out of the Blue”, performed with a sparse, almost fragile touch. It was a reminder that Cox’s power lies not just in volume, but in control. The stillness didn’t last long: “Dancing Around the Truth” snapped the energy back with its rumbling bass and distorted riff is more pop rock with a punk smile, while the clap-along beat and swift guitar breakaway further fuels the hard rocking delirium.

The dirty, doom‑tinged “Not Your Story” followed and the groove‑heavy “So Long” pushed the set into darker, heavier territory.

Then came the curveball, “Bigmouth Strikes Again", her Smiths’ cover, arrived with organ‑rich swagger and a left‑field energy that somehow fit perfectly. It was also the moment Cox hopped behind the drum kit, a neat reminder of her multi‑instrumental range.

The final stretch was a masterclass in pacing. “The Broken” and “One Big Mess” brought punkish bite, before Cox unleashed the full weight of her new material. “No Need to Try Harder” and “Trouble Coming” landed with authority, the latter’s hypnotic pulse filling every inch of the room with the finger picking opening. With the former, beneath the Southern hard rock swagger is a beautiful reminder to just be and enjoy the ride.

Laura regularly switched between slide, finger picking, plectrum riffing/soloing, which gave a variety of guitar sounds and playing. In fact, she often switched between them all in the same song.

The encore sealed the night. “Do I Have Your Attention” had the floor bouncing, while “Hard Blues Shot”, the song that first put her on the map, sent the crowd home buzzing.

Cox didn’t rely on theatrics or long speeches. She let the playing speak, and it spoke loudly. What stood out most was the breadth: blues, hard rock, country edges, and alt‑rock shadows. All delivered with precision, warmth, and a sense of fun.

Laura Cox didn’t just impress. She convinced. On this form, she’s not merely maintaining momentum; she’s accelerating.

• The Jesse Garwood band is a British Blues rock trio known for hard hitting originals, composed by frontman and 19-year-old guitarist Jesse Garwood, as well as tasteful covers and an energy that always delivers a great show. Jesse began his journey jamming with British Blues legends Nine Below Zero in London. Nominated for UK Blues awards “Young Blues Artist of the Year” 2025 and 2026, The night began with Jesse Garwood and his band, Elliot Francis and Ben Hancock, opening with the self-penned “The Banker” and “Into the Night” with the 1965 Roy Head & the Traits cover “Treat Her Right” sandwiched between them. Head was an electrifying blue-eyed soul performer with dance moves inspired by Joe Tex and Jackie Wilson.

“Bad Lover’s Blues” followed with a good groove and tempo, and they finished with a couple of covers, Rory Gallagher‘s “Tattoo’d Lady” and Jimi Hendrix‘s “Voodoo Chile”. They snapped in and out of the main riff with real funk bite, seriously sharp. A name to watch. Strong opening set.