The Garage, Highbury, London
Friday, 18 September 2026
When I heard that Einar Solberg only had one UK show on his debut full solo tour, I knew I had to be there. As it was the opening night of the tour, that gave it an even more fascinating edge to it.
The Garage in Highbury is a relatively small and intimate venue, with a smaller capacity than the average Leprous gig. Doors opened at 18:00, and we were treated to over four hours of music from four international acts. It was like a mini festival for under £30, which must be one the biggest bargains since the cost-of-living crisis began. The audience had the largest age spread I’ve seen since I saw The Aristocrats, with probably more than a fifty-year swing from the youngest to the oldest. An interesting mix of metalheads, prog fans, alt rockers and orchestra lovers.
The room was about half full for the first two artists due to the early start. And I’m sure plenty of people who couldn’t get there early will regret missing opening act Jovian Moons. They are from Paris and this was the French band’s first ever UK gig. I haven’t been this blown away by a support band that I didn’t know since I saw Bent Knee opening for Haken. Their music is infectiously melodic with elements of heft, putting them at the Pure Reason Revolution end of the musical spectrum. They have some excellent songs and a groove that got the room moving, especially on The Experiment. Based on tonight’s performances by rights they should be huge. Festival organisers need to get them on their radar quick!
Leprous’s touring cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne, from Canada, was up next, a precursor to him being part of Einar’s band. He showcased work from his three solo albums, and a little touch of Opeth along the way. Some of those in the queue when doors opened were very keen to see him and all surged to the front when he came on. The back half of the crowd talked through quite a bit of his set sadly, which took some of the edge off his exemplary performance. I wonder if it would have been best for him to be on first, but people should realise quiet bits and non-vocals aren’t their chance to catch up with one another. It was good to see someone make use of loop pedals who wasn’t Ed Sheeran, and the way he added layers and percussive elements was very clever. It whetted my appetite well for the orchestral parts of Einar’s work that was to come.
The eclectic evening continued with Finnish prog metal outfit Royal Sorrow. In their matching rags and eyeliner, like Jovian Moons, they brought the energy and enthusiasm you’d expect of a headliner to proceedings. They too had a loyal audience who made their way to the front of The Garage, belting out every word back to the band. They are really accomplished and can certainly play, but they didn’t quite land with me. I think I’ve reached saturation point with the clean boyband style vocals, with death metal growl moments, electronica and heavy riffs. I still enjoyed it, but just not as much as what proceeded it. It felt like you needed to know the songs to really enjoy the live performance. At least I now know what it would be like if Adam Lambert joined a djent band.
After so much music, the atmosphere was built to a fervour ready for the headline act. The room had filled up by now, with Einar and his band coming on around 21:20. Just before they came onto the stage, I got chatting to some people who had just arrived. Actor Jeremy Swift and his wife Mary Roscoe, also known as Mr and Mrs Higgins from Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. Their love for Voyager had led them to discover Einar Solberg, from his guest vocals on Entropy. We chatted about his ridiculous vocal range and how he should be far more well known above and beyond Leprous fans.
Einar Solberg and his band arrived in suitably theatrical fashion, with all the band shrouded in black cloaks, aside from the main man himself who sported a crimson hooded tunic. Their entrance matched the epic nature of Stella Mortua, the opening track from his recent album Vox Occulta. On record he has a whole orchestra playing, here on a small stage in North London, a string trio and some clever arrangements make this sound just as huge. The crowd was suitably worked up before Solberg even showed his cowled face. Soon we were all chanting back “Paralysed, paralysed”.
After the opening song, the band lost their robes, and it was a pseudo black tie affair. All the band in different variations on a dinner jacket look, with guitarist Kwiny looking like an extra from Miami Vice.
The setlist pulled from both his solo albums and the choice and order of the songs was impeccable. This mix of rock band and strings understandably suited the tracks from Vox Occulta, but the arrangements for songs from debut album 16, worked just as well. For someone who is so well known for melancholy music, which he acknowledged between songs, Solberg has some huge singalong moments in this set. We were screaming ‘My marrow is strong” during Medulla one minute and singing “I see the tigers run at night” during Liberato the next. And on Over the Top we weren’t just singing back, we were feeling ever lyric, I know that song means a lot to me on a personal level.
The band he has put together isn’t a supergroup in the traditional sense that they are all big names. But it does pull together some of the best musicians from all around the world. Each individual member added something special to the mix and together there was an unexplainable alchemy that was nothing short of magical. This cinematic sound was achieved, just as intended as a result. On guitar, there was the aforementioned Kwiny aka French guitarist Quentin Godet (Gadinja, ten56); on bass Eero Maijala from Finland (Royal Sorrow); on drums the extremely expressive Keli Guðjónsson from Iceland (Agent Fresco); on keyboards Englishman Harrison White (Novena, Leprous); on violin the American eagle Chris Baum (Bent Knee); with Canadian Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Maya Fridman from Russia by way of The Netherlands on cellos.
Einar talked a little about his father’s suicide and played two songs related to that tragedy. The Glass is Empty from 16, which focuses on seeing his parent’s decline while living with him as a teenager. That packed a huge emotional punch after he revealed that extra layer of detail. Then he took the melancholy a stage further. Performing on keys, with just cello and violin accompaniment he gave us a heart-wrenching performance of Leprous song The Last Milestone, which he told us was really a solo song under that banner. That song covered how his father must have felt in the time leading up to taking his own life. It was pleasing to hear Einar say that his own life is pretty good right now, as lyrically it hasn’t always felt like that was the case.
He’s been Prog Magazine ‘Vocalist of the Year’ twice and his latest album title means Hidden Voice, so I must talk about the most important instrument in the room, Einar Solberg’s voice. There’s more space in these songs to appreciate him as a vocalist compared to having seen him with Leprous. And what a vocalist. The vocals on both Solberg’s solo records feel almost impossible to recreate live, but that’s just what he did. Moving up and down his register, from falsetto to growls and everything in between without showing one crack or break. It doesn’t feel real, making for an ethereal evening especially as I was close enough to lock eyes with the enigmatic frontman. On stage he’s a whirlwind of energy, it’s mesmerising. Like a drunk Greg Davies at a wedding party at times and deeply focussed and brutally emotional at others. Most frontmen wish they had his level of magnetism and sheer presence, let alone his vocal ability. His voice, as his latest album title attests, does most of the work even without his larger-than-life demeanour.
We were treated to seven of the eight songs on Vox Occulta, with the magnificent Grex sounding as majestic live as I’d hoped it would. Four songs from 16 and one Leprous song made up the full show, creating a balanced and mesmerising set. The whole night was exceptional; Jovian Moons are now on my must see again list and it’s hard to find enough superlatives for Einar Solberg and his band.
From any artist, in any genre, that’s the best live vocal performance I have ever heard. And I don’t say that lightly. As he told us he’s the only non-humble Norwegian there is, I’m sure he’ll be pleased about that. The man is a huge talent, who wears his heart on his sleeve, with a truly untouchable voice, he should be protected at all costs.
This relatively small crowd and the others lucky enough to see them on this tour will look back on a groundbreaking and truly transcendental experience. I hope for everyone who doesn’t get to go, that they have recorded at least one of the shows for a live album release. This gig will live in the memory for a very long time indeed.
MUSICIANS
Einar Solberg – Vocals, Keyboards
Quentin ‘Qwinky’ Godet – Guitar
Harrison White – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Eero Maijala – Bass, Backing Vocals
Keli Guðjónsson – Drums
Chris Baum – Violin, Backing Vocals
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – Cello
Maya Fridmane – Cello
LINKS
Einar Solberg – Website | Facebook | YouTube | X | Instagram
