Briana Corrigan @ The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh 5th May 2026

You may not recognise the name Briana Corrigan (which is a real shame in itself as she should be a household name) but you will know her voice, especially if you were around in the late 80s and early 90’s. One song that she sang on has become a staple of many people’s lives, and as she told us at tonight's gig, bizarrely, a song people have got married to - I'll give you 'A Little Time' to work it out!

Words - Iain McClay

Briana was in The Beautiful South for four years, singing on 'A Little Time' amongst other great tracks. She is probably best known for that, but she has also released a number of solo albums over the years while taking time out to raise children and step away from the industry. Luckily that period, and her husband in particular, have been a great source of material for her solo releases.

This was my first gig at the Voodoo Rooms, it's a place I have frequented before, but never to see a performance. The venue was set out cocktail lounge style with a number of large tables and chairs around them which led to an interesting vibe with strangers having to sit together in groups.

Band members came onto the stage first, followed by Briana. The reception was rapturous, I had chatted to a few of my fellow audience members while waiting for her and a number were regular attendees at her shows, one even flew over from Northern Ireland for this gig. They assured me that I was in for a treat and they were true to their word.

With a very distinctive voice, a willingness to be open and talk with her audience and a mix of own songs, Beautiful South songs and some judiciously chosen covers - this was an excellent show from start to finish. Playing for almost two hours there was a clear determination to give us our money’s worth, but I’d argue that objective was achieved by about half an hour in and that the rest of the time was just a 'Briana' bonus.

I’ve never heard The Undertones 'Teenage Kicks' quite sung like that, it was stripped back and the sense of longing that’s always been part of the song was brought to the fore. It was a brilliant cover showing true emotional depth that you don’t always realise is there.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was for Briana to stop the show and insist she wasn’t going on until someone joined her for 'A Little Time', she wasn’t kidding either, there was an awkward silence while everyone looked at their feet until one member of the audience cracked and said they would do it. Whilst they weren’t the greatest singer I’ve ever heard, they gave a brilliant account of themselves and made it a magical moment, probably more for them than the rest of the audience.

My personal highlight was a cover of one of my favourite songs of the 80’s, 'Love Wars' by Womack and Womack, totally unexpected, played and sung with a vigour that showed it meant something to the band as well.

Throw in some traditional Irish music, a cover of 'Caledonia' - a Frankie Miller song which landed well with this audience for obvious reasons, and then a plethora of solo material from her 'Redbird' album amongst others, and you couldn’t have asked for more.

I enjoyed every minute of the stories, the singing, the playing and Briana’s voice which is a unique instrument - which could probably sing you a set of Ikea instructions and make you forget how annoying they are!

This is the start of much more touring in 2026 with new dates for October just added. Many more people need to take 'A Little Time' and check Briana out at one of their local independant venues this year.