James Bruner - Plymouth Review

Living in Plymouth, a decision to go to a last-minute gig is not one that I often make - but living a short walk away from The Junction, one of the city's premier small venues, occasional last-minute evenings out do happen from time to time. I have said something similar here before, but given how barren the city often is when it comes to live music, particularly when it comes to hard rock and metal, The Junction can sometimes be a little oasis. The city's largest purpose built venue, formerly the Plymouth Pavilions, has recently rebranded itself as Plymouth Arena in an attempt to attract more talent. We will see whether or not that makes a difference. I do go to that venue on occasion, and will be seeing 10cc there next month, but it has been a long time since I went to a proper metal concert there - with Slayer back in 2015 being the only one springing to mind. Alternative lovers were treated to Gary Numan performing there a few years back, though, and my last trip to the venue actually fuelled last night's trip out. Back in October 2025 I caught the high-flying Welsh rockers Those Damn Crows on their latest UK tour. I was surprised that the band booked a venue the size of the Plymouth Arena - but I think I under-estimated how popular Those Damn Crows are these days. I had not kept up with them since seeing them open for The Quireboys in 2018 - but the five-piece are likely one of the current British rock scene's biggest names. It was fun to catch up with the band again after so long, and seeing a young rock band pull a pretty decent crowd in Plymouth. The venue was laid out to make it look smaller, but there was still probably around a thousand people in attendance that night - and those that turned up early would have caught the short set from American rocker James Bruner which opened up the night. I knew nothing about Bruner before seeing his set that night - but I enjoyed what he had to offer. I remember him coming across like a bluesier version of The Struts' Luke Spiller - and his music fused retro bluesy rock with snappy modern indie traits to create something energetic and hooky. I was not blown away that night, but I certainly came away thinking that Bruner and his band had talent - and that is where I left things. That was, until a week or so ago, when I realised that he had booked a headline show at The Junction. Currently Bruner is over here again opening for modern guitar hero Orianthi - and he decided to schedule in some headline shows around those support slots. The show was announced a month or so ago but I did not really pay attention at the time - but after seeing the poster a few times it clicked and I decided to check him out. The ticket was cheap and it is little effort going to The Junction - plus it is always good to support up and coming interesting new rock acts. Every ticket and t-shirt sold really means a lot to acts rising up the ranks - and given the lack of live music action here from touring acts anyone making the effort deserves to be rewarded. I knew that I would at least casually enjoy the show, having casually enjoyed his previous set - so I headed up to The Junction after a long day at work last night, getting there just before the evening's sole support act kicked things off.

Opening the show were local act The Outlanders - a band who seem to be something of a mainstay on the Plymouth scene these days. I had seen the band live a couple of times before, but I had not seen them since 2023 when they opened for Massive Wagons. I remember casually enjoying them before, and that is essentially how I felt about their 45 or so minute set this time. Whilst not a true hard rock band, there is certainly enough hard rock in their sound to keep me interested. Easily the star of the band for me is Jake Walke (guitar/vocals), whose riffs really drove everything. Not to take anything away from anyone else in the band, who are all fine musicians, Walke seemed a step above everyone else. His riffing looked effortless, and was generally hooky, whilst his soloing was busy and fluid considering that the band are more modern in tone and arrangement - where soloing is often curtailed or left out completely. I enjoyed watching him play, but I think, overall, I was a little less impressed songwriting-wise this time. I think when I last saw them the band were still in their early stages, but now they seem to have released quite a few songs - so I was expecting a stronger repertoire overall. There were a couple of strong choruses, but there was nothing played that I would call anthemic - and some of the riffs played deserved bigger choruses to bounce off. Despite this, I still enjoyed watching the band's set. The band are clearly very passionate about what they do, and there is a bit of a mix of influences present which makes for an interesting mix of sounds. Frontman Kalum Wilmot has a fine voice, but I am not sure that his slightly emotional and occasional falsetto quite works with the dryer riffing the rest of the band churn out - and at times the different influences seem to be fighting each other rather than harmonising. That being said, The Outlanders have been around for a while now and have made a name for themselves locally - so are clearly doing something right. A few in attendance were clearly fans, which was good to see, and, despite them not really being for me, their set was a fun one.

It is always hard to know what you are going to get when it comes to headline sets from young acts that have not released that much music. Sometimes the shows can be very short - but Bruner gave people their money's worth (which was easy given the tickets were only £10) by playing for around an hour. I would not say that the turnout was especially great - but given that Bruner is only just starting out, being able to attract 40 or so people on a Tuesday night so far from home is likely a win. Everyone in attendance was up for the night, though, and there was a good atmosphere in the room as Bruner and his band took to the stage. I remembered guitarist Zach Mears from the previous show. I seem to remember him having more of a beard last time, so he looked a bit less like Gregg Allman this time without it, but perhaps this time he resembled Duane Allman more - given that he opened the set with a lengthy slide guitar workout. I knew some of the songs played, as I had listened to EP The Otherside, a handful of times before the gig - but much of the set was unfamiliar. This opening number was unknown to me - and it opened slowly with Mears' aforementioned slide guitar melodies before Bruner started singing and the mid-paced number proved to be something of a brooding opening cut. Despite having much less space to work with this time, Bruner still moved around a lot. He is a great rock frontman already, pulling all the trademark moves and interacting well with the crowd - whilst he strapped on a guitar himself for a few songs to add some tough rhythms behind Mears' soloing. Mears soloed a lot, which was good to see, and the tight rhythm section of Shannon Wilk (bass guitar/vocals) and Sam Jenkins (drums), the latter of whom was also in Bruner's band last year, added a lot of groove to help the songs move forward. There were some songs played which I was familiar with, such the riffy Switchblade early on - alongside the lengthy closer I Get Everything. Stand-alone single Alibi was also included - but some of the best moments of the night were actually some of the new songs which have not yet been released. One was played early on which Bruner said had not even been recorded yet, but the fast-paced, punky rocker was one that made an impression - whilst there was another newer number later on which really focused on Wilk's bass playing to drive everything, with the guitars adding colourful leads. Despite the low turnout, the crowd helped to make a strong atmosphere and reacted well to all the songs played. There was some good banter between Bruner and the crowd - and he seemed to having a good time back in Plymouth. So much so, that there was even an unplanned encore - something which is rare. Following the final song, Bruner had made his way over to the merch and ambient music was playing in the venue - but he was persuaded to do another one, so he and the band quickly crashed through one last rocker to the delight of those in attendance.

Overall, the night was very much worth the short walk to The Junction and the £10 entry fee. Bruner is a clear talent and his tight band put on a strong show in Plymouth. I am looking forward to hearing more from him as he moves forward in his career - and I would not be surprised to see him return to Plymouth one day. I bought a vinyl copy of The Otherside after the show, which he duly signed. A new 12" record for £10 is rare in this day and age - and the physical copy includes two songs not included digitally. I will enjoy playing that in due course - and I hope to hear more from Bruner going forward.