Topsham Brewery doesn’t host many live gigs because of fire and ticketing restrictions, which honestly makes the venue feel a bit like one of the South West’s hidden “what if?” spaces. Spend five minutes upstairs during a night like this, and you immediately see the potential. Warm lighting, a compact stage tucked into the corner, comfy seating everywhere and just enough room for people to properly settle into the music without feeling crammed together.
Chloe et Al felt perfectly in sync with the atmosphere. Soulful, loose, groove-heavy in places, then suddenly intimate and stripped back the next minute. The crowd might not have packed the place wall-to-wall, but the people who came were completely invested. Plenty already knew the songs, singing along to the lyrics, dancing near the front, and cheering familiar moments throughout the set.
The fuller live-band setup really suits them, too. Adding bass and drums has given the songs much more weight live, especially during the funkier sections, where everything locked together beautifully. The drummer got some of the loudest reactions of the evening during a couple of standout moments that had people applauding mid-song rather than waiting politely for the end.
Tracks off the EP, including Get ur stuff and I choose yourself were met with proper cheers and whistles, but one of the biggest surprises came when the band launched into a jazz-infused reworking of a Spice Girls track. The sort of idea that sounds slightly dangerous on paper. Somehow, it absolutely worked. Chloe delivered it with these rich, smoky vocals that gave the whole thing a soulful twist, and the room completely fell for it.
Before the set, Chloe and Al were chatting about how happy they were to be back performing again. We ended up laughing about Al recently having major back surgery because, genuinely, you’d never have guessed watching him on stage. The energy coming off the band all night felt completely natural and joyful.
DJ Lady Melza carried things on afterwards with a brilliant run of funk, soul and hip hop that kept people hanging around long after the live set had finished. Nobody seemed in any rush to leave. People stayed chatting over drinks, drifting back onto the dancefloor every few songs and soaking up the atmosphere.
It felt less like a formal gig and more like one of those community music nights people remember a few months later when they’re talking about where the good local stuff is actually happening. Exactly the kind of evening that reminds you how much smaller independent spaces still matter to the South West scene.
