Combining beautiful harmonies, rousing anthems and an evident love for the Steel City, Bears Den were always going to win the hearts of the Leadmill crowd tonight. Impressive support act Banfi (well worth checking out, by the way) set the tone well, blasting through a selection of well-polished, melodic indie tunes before Bears Den arrived onstage.
Playing a selection of songs from their folk-heavy debut Islands and electro-tinged follow-up Red Earth and Pouring Rain, the talented duo of Andrew Davie and Kevin Jones were on top form from the outset. The band clearly enjoyed the singalongs from the Sheffield crowd and rewarded them with two completely acoustic numbers. It’s not often you get a silent crowd in the Leadmill, but the band’s poetic harmonies and soft finger-picked guitars rendered everyone speechless. After inviting Banfi back on for an inventive cover of Tears for Fears track ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’, Bears Den returned for a storming encore and finished with a rousing version of fan favourite ‘Agape’. Expect to see them on a bigger stage for their next visit to Sheffield.
