James Provide The Piece Hall Summer Season with a Classy Opening Night [Photos]

James and The Piece Hall are a match made in heaven – even if those heavens tend to open every time they play. Both are iconic, both are class-acts and when they are together it is majestic.

Opening the 2025 summer series with two shows, James’ shape shifting setlists are perfect for fans to see both shows and enjoy two completely different experiences – and they often change them during the show depending on the vibe at the time, rewarding fans with deep cuts, and oddities that span their illustrious four-decade career.

We caught the first show, which began with the old classics “Jonny Yen” and “Sometimes” appearing early in the set, the latter sparking an incredible sing-along as the crowd took over and serenaded the band for several minutes and was one of many goosebump-inducing moments of the show.

Testament to the band’s ability to have always created amazing music is the fact that the likes of “Way Over Your Head” and “Shadow of a Giant,” from last year’s No.1 album Yummy, get just as enthusiastic a response from the audience.

The band, currently a 9-piece at its fullest, is truly awe-inspiring. The two-drum setup adds gravitas to every beat (especially on Heads), and with most of the band being multi-instrumentalists, they can easily create wonderful soundscapes that help you get lost in the music. Tim often takes the opportunity to watch his bandmates play and get lost in the music himself, sparking many of his unique dancing moments.

The show reached a high point with a wonderful version of “She’s a Star” with Tim at the barrier singing up close and personal to the first few rows, before he crowd surfed almost the whole distance of the historic courtyard during “Getting Away with It,” dropping into the audience to dance alongside them. It was one of many moments across both shows that his mercurial and shamanic presence raised the pulses considerably.

Tim said they weren’t going to do the bullshit ‘encore’ routine of leaving the stage to come back on and the full of hope “Tomorrow” began the closing run. He led the crowd in a sparse a cappella intro of “Sit Down” before the band took over – and they also managed to fit in an energetic version of “Laid” to round out another show at Grade 1 listed Piece Hall that even the rain couldn’t put a dampener on.

This show is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of a packed summer of gigs at The Piece Hall and set the bar extremely high for those who follow.

For information on all of the summer gigs at The Piece Hall, visit their Official Website.

Our photographer, Frank Ralph Photography, headed over to Halifax to catch the opening show. Check out his photo gallery and the set list from the event here:

James Set List:

1. Johnny Yen
2. Interrogation
3. Waltzing Along
4. Sometimes (Lester Piggott)
5. Busted
6. Way Over Your Head
7. Born of Frustration
8. Just Like Fred Astaire
9. I Wanna Go Home
10. Zero
11. Five-O
12. Shadow of a Giant
13. Say Something
14. She’s a Star
15. Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
16. Heads
17. Tomorrow
18. Sit Down
19. Laid

James @ The Piece Hall (Halifax, UK) on June 6, 2025

27 photos