Ben Kweller @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds – 11 June 2026

Grief, Gratitude and Great Songs: Ben Kweller Delivers a Night to Remember

An emotional roller-coaster of laughter, loss and life-affirming music from one of America's most underrated songwriters.

Words - Iain McClay

If it feels like Ben Kweller has been around for ages - he has, but that’s only because he started at an incredibly young age. Over his career so far, he has been a brilliant indie rock performer and lately a mainstay of the Americana scene, but he has so much variety to his repertoire that he can’t easily be pigeon-holed.

Aside from playing Leeds festival a long time ago Ben had never played Leeds before, a fact he established by asking the audience "When was I last here?" and getting a stony silence which he then turned into a self deprecating joke.

This was my first time getting to see Ben but given his promise of coming back next year I know it won’t be the last. The support act, Modern Love Child, is a Miami based singer-songwriter, using just a guitar and a few songs, which is never an easy thing to do, but the crowd were very receptive and he told some good stories about how he got to know Ben and the fact he didn’t get to see him play the first time he’d tried because he’d been "over-served". He has an impressive vocal range and some good songs, I think he said this was his first time in the UK, I suspect it won’t be the last.

Ben Kweller has tremendous stage presence, the multi-instrumentalist displayed his virtuosity on keys and guitar during the course of the night but it’s his voice that’s his greatest weapon, both when he’s singing and when he’s engaging in banter with the crowd, which he did a lot during the course of the night.

He played a mixture of songs from his 2025 album, Cover the Mirrors, and others from throughout his career, early on he did a run of songs from Sha Sha, his first solo album. His band were on it throughout the night, one of the evening's most touching moments came when his wife and son joined him on stage, gathering around a single microphone to sing together. It was intimate, authentic and utterly captivating.

This was probably one of the most emotional gigs I’ve ever been too, Ben has been dealing with the death of his, then, 16 year old son in a car crash in 2023, the new album has been a cathartic experience of writing songs about that but it was clear it’s still a very raw nerve. He is very honest about how he is feeling and talked openly about how hard it’s been, at times really struggling but he didn’t shy away from it, and the audience supported him throughout.

He also talked about a young local Leeds musical artist who had died and whose parents were in the audience as he’s been trying to help them to come to terms with it. However, there was also so much joy present in this gig, the point where he encouraged us all to make up our own solos while he improvised a lyrical solo was another highlight.

He lifted our spirits up and brought us back down with ease, a fantastic gift to have. If you love brilliant songs, played with emotion and quality with wonderful vocals and a talented musician who is open, emotional and funny make sure you go see Ben Kweller when he comes back here next year. I heard Dermot O’Leary saying on his show this weekend that he had been to see him on this tour, and I think you should do the same, you really won’t regret it.

Listen to Ben Kweller on Spotify here:-