Matt Berninger at the Brudenell Social Club, 03.04.2025

Matt Berninger at the Brudenell Social Club came in as a fairly last-minute request for me to shoot. It was one that I said YES to instantly!

As you’ve probably guessed, I’m a huge music lover. And The National are one of my very favourite bands, since I first heard High Violet around 2011.

Matt Berninger is the lead vocalist for The National, with a trademark deadpan delivery and known for his irreverent and heart-touching lyrics. This tour was for his upcoming 2nd solo album, Get Sunk. His earlier solo effort, Serpentine Prison, is great. I got very excited for this one.

Ronboy

It was also my first opportunity to shoot at the legendary Brudenell Social Club, in Leeds. The iconic venue is renowned for hosting artists of huge acclaim, despite staying true to its working-man’s-club origins. In other words, it has big bands in a tiny venue. It’s bloody great.

Support on the evening came from Ronboy. Despite being alone on the stage, Julia Laws – aka Ronboy – grabbed everyone’s attention with a gorgeous set of lilting indie. She played loads of instruments too – top work.

We would enjoy more of Ronboy performing with Matt next.

Matt Berninger

Also accompanied by musician Sean O’Brien, Matt Berninger took to the stage to huge acclaim. These dates were warm-up gigs for a larger, full-band tour in the autumn. To have even found out about them you’d have to be in on the know – and thus a fan of Matt, or The National. A lovely die-hard crowd to test new material out on!

Matt still had his lyrics in a notepad in front of him; he delighted the crowd with conversation in between songs. Where this could be an awkward situation for some, Matt engaged with the audience and leaned into the intimate setting.

The new material sounds great; only one song was restarted due to messing up. It was a joyful evening. And it was a privilege for anyone there – including me with my camera shooting away.

Great night all round! Well done Matt and the Brudenell.