SOLSTICE

Since their formation in 1980, Solstice have been led by guitarist Andy Glass through various hiatuses and line-up changes. It took until 2020 and the start of the Sia trilogy to truly find their feet, but this strange route to success has left them in an interesting position.

- DAN PEEKE

Their current tour is not one fuelled by nostalgia for an approaching soth anniversary, but a celebration of Clann, both their two-week-old album and a name shared by Solstice bandmembers and fans alike.

Within seconds of Clann’s joyous opener, Firefly, most of the eight musicians onstage are grinning and dancing. It’s impossible not to match their energy and the whole night instantly turns into a party. The house lights are up and the band seem to know half of the crowd by name. Later in the set, we sing Happy Birthday to an audience member called Janet. It’s hard to tell who actually knows her, but it doesn’t matter. For these two hours, nothing really does.

Continuing the album opener’s theme, they dive straight into Sia’s first track,