Julie July Band
March 7th 2026 – Huntingdon Hall, Worcester
OK, maybe I’m the only person in Worcester who wasn’t familiar with the Julie July Band, perhaps because it’s not my genre of choice. No matter, I’m here to be entertained.
The music is reminiscent of the late sixties into the early seventies, a sort of soft folk rock. Indeed, Julie is evidently a big Sandy Denny fan. My only sample of that vibe is a well-played, much-loved Liege and Lief album with a dog-eared 12” cover, its vinyl treasure carrying the minor scuffs and wear of 55 years of spinning. And yes, decent gear back in the day. This evening has prompted me to pull it out and spin it some more — can you ever have enough Tam Lin? Farewell, Farewell. I digress… This night was all about the live band in Huntingdon Hall: six musicians and a well-filled auditorium, no doubt ardent fans alongside newcomers. The opening song, All In Our Minds, with its psychedelic folk-rock vibe, had Julie centre stage, bathed in a golden hue, arms outstretched in a finely pleated, colourful ‘cape’. The image conjured thoughts of an Inca princess, arms wide under an all-powerful sun, garbed in a gown of feathers and bedecked in dazzling gold, teleported onto the stage here in all her glory.
Guitarist Caley Groves was cradling a lovely powder-blue Telecaster, with Steve Rezillo adding rhythm. For much of the show, Caley reverted to acoustic, letting Steve add the crunch and bite that element of rock requires. Keyboards were in the hands of Carol Sampson, bass by Dik Cadbury, and percussion was served up by Mick Candler, who appeared to have stolen his headgear from Salvador Dalí — probably suited him better too.
Julie was in fine voice and ready to take a Flight Of Fancy, both songs featuring on the album of that name. I rather liked the lovely groove of Boho Woman — Bohemia rules OK — bass and drums doing the business, excellent. One can’t overlook the punchy Ballad Of Rory Starp. Looking across the hall, I could see heads nodding and feet tapping — “the devil’s come to greet” them all.
Needless to say, there were a few Sandy Denny songs on the agenda, mostly from her solo days, so beyond my limited grounding. Wonderland, an album title track, drew you in with its searching rhythm, Carol’s voice evident in the harmonic backing vocals. From the same album, the spooky, rock-powered Smoke And Mirrors was irresistible — plenty of bite, pumping drums, and Rezillo clearly enjoying himself, errr… reflecting well on the band. A nice guitar solo was embedded in the quirky Risky Game. It seemed Julie July was holding back the rockier-edged material to build towards the finale — no problem there.
What more can I say? I’ll leave on the shipwreck tale of Last Farewell, which seems fitting.
By Graham Munn – words & Photography