Vona Vella
Vona Vella, JMAES, Fashionable Coven
Vona Vella @ The Grove, Nottingham, UK, August 13, 2025,
Aug 14, 2025
Images by Gemma Cockrell
Net Unique
The Grove was already sweltering on the second hottest day of the 12 months, the sort of warmth that adheres to you want an additional layer of clothes, when Fashionable Coven stepped onto the stage. Their set unfolded just like the gradual unfurling of twilight – intimate, 70s-tinged songwriting draped in quietly spellbinding harmonies.
With a decade of songwriting behind them, they reached into the previous for items from their early twenties and positioned them alongside newer choices; “Occurs” and “The Beast” stood out as highlights on the finish of the set. At instances their sound drifted into the dusky haze of Mazzy Star, the immersive dreamscapes of Seashore Home and the gauzy, romantic pull of Night time Swimming. It was the sort of music that didn’t demand your consideration however drew it in naturally.
JMAES adopted, breaking the stillness with wry, James Acaster-esque quips (most of them associated to the warmth) earlier than launching right into a set brimming with scrappy, literate attraction. Balancing humour and heartache in equal measure, he delivered songs like “Oh, To Be Younger” and “Like A Lady I’ve Seen On The Film Display screen” with heat and wit. Backed by a band that includes the drummer from Nottingham’s Drury Hill, his music carried the ragged edges of TV Personalities and Swell Maps, each unpolished nook including to its lived-in honesty.
By the point Vona Vella – Izzy Davis, Dan Cunningham, Jake Bott, Claud J Melton and Dexter Howell – walked on, the air was dense with anticipation. Members of the family crowded the entrance row, a cheer went up for the youngest fan within the room and a birthday shoutout went to somebody whose massive day wasn’t till November. From the opening notes of “Carnival” – the title monitor from their forthcoming second album, already notorious for its unintended leak on streaming providers a number of months in the past – the viewers was locked in.
They moved with ease by way of a shimmering rendition of “Over and Over” (their most up-to-date single) and “Beartrap”, captured stay on digital camera for a future music video. There was area, too, for older favourites – in case you can name them that, given the band’s present incarnation has solely existed for 5 years. “Roll Into Perpetually”, impressed by a poem that Pete Doherty wrote for the band, arrived with a sly introduction from Davis: “After which he claimed 20%… however truthful sufficient, we’re signed to his label.” “Thought We Had been Falling in Love” had the gang dancing and singing alongside to each phrase, proving why it’s their hottest track, whereas the encore, “Bottled”, left the venue buzzing for February 2026, when their new album will lastly land.
Davis radiated confidence all through the set – her straightforward humour between songs melting the barrier between performer and viewers, her vocals on “Bass Driver” and “You Can Be So Ugly” laced with playful defiance. Alongside her bandmates, she sparked a chemistry that felt magnetic and unforced, with sparkles of Catatonia, The Magic Numbers and The Wannadies woven into their preparations. “That was fucking epic,” somebody shouted halfway by way of the set and judging by the ocean of beaming faces, nobody disagreed. Between every band, Dom Gourlay’s DJ choices stitched collectively a long time of affect, reworking the night into one thing greater than a gig – it was extra like a shared celebration of Vona Vella and the journey they’ve taken.
The Grove’s group spirit, fuelled by the actual fact it’s part-owned by Davis and Cunningham, gave the night time a uncommon intimacy, and whereas it’s probably they’ll return to the venue in some unspecified time in the future given their involvement within the administration of it, the times of seeing them carry out in areas this small and private already really feel numbered.
For now, their ‘Vona Vella Presents…’ nights will proceed – seeing them curate levels for a few of their favorite artists and most fun new discoveries, protecting their bond with this place and its group properly and actually alive.
