Laura Cox + Jesse Harwood @ The 100 Club, London 8th May 2026

Laura Cox is touring the UK for the first time in seven years, promoting her album Trouble Coming, which was released in October last year. In tow for the run is support act Jesse Harwood.

Jesse Harwood is unusual in that he appears to have virtually no online presence whatsoever. At least, none that I can find. He’s a young British guitarist who reckons today was his last day at school — though I somehow don’t entirely believe him. He’s certainly an accomplished player, and his equally youthful-looking band more than hold their own musically. They’re an incredibly tight three-piece — a proper power trio, if you will. Better still, the drummer employs a great deal of cowbell. You can never have too much cowbell.

The bass lines are gloriously sinewy, and as early as the opening song, the bassist slips in a brief but impressive solo. Black Rose Blues, apparently the first song Jesse ever wrote, is extraordinarily good and powered along by superb drumming. Indeed, the whole band are on fire from the off.

Unfortunately, they’re only allotted half an hour, concluding with a Rory Gallagher cover that I don’t recognise, alongside a version of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), which perhaps slightly outstays its welcome. That said, Jesse absolutely does the song justice, delivering a superb display of dynamics and even throwing in a snippet of Sweet Child O’ Mine for good measure.

I’ll certainly be making an effort to see Jesse Harwood and his band again — assuming I can ever find any information about them on t’internet.

What we’re really here for, though, is Laura Cox. Her band — followed shortly afterwards by Laura herself — take the stage bang on 9:15pm. Wielding what appears to be a Gibson Firebird (although notably without a Gibson logo), she launches straight into Rise Together from the current album. For the second song, If You Wanna Get Loud – Come To The Show, taken from her 2017 debut Hard Blues Shot, she switches to a Gibson SG, which remains her main weapon for most of the set.

With the keyboard intro courtesy of Leo (no surnames available, I’m afraid), the song radiates a huge classic rock feel. Midway through comes a dramatic break before Laura unleashes a face-melting solo, with drummer Antonin delivering cataclysmic percussion to close. This is absolutely storming stuff.

Before A Way Home, Laura asks whether we’re ready for a rock show. Hell yeah. Laura may often be described — and marketed — as a blues guitarist, but this is classic heavy rock by any other name. The musicianship throughout the set is frankly astonishing. During Set Me Free, guitar and keyboards lock together in unison before the song kicks into double time. At this point, I find myself wondering where exactly I’ve been during Laura’s rise so far.

Out Of The Blue features the first of several slide guitar solos, Laura’s playing proving wonderfully lyrical throughout. Current single Not Your Story is another highlight, with Laura uncompromisingly laying down the law. So Long slows the pace slightly, though it remains irresistibly funky in a bluesy sort of way, complete with a gorgeously delicate solo.

The next song opens with a Hammond-style keyboard intro that sounds strangely familiar. Suddenly it clicks — it’s Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths. Perhaps a nod to the fortieth anniversary of The Queen Is Dead. Reimagined as a heavy rock anthem, it works brilliantly and is certainly not something I expected to hear tonight.

There are further surprises during the song, too. Antonin joins Leo on keyboards while Laura herself hops behind the drum kit. She’s good too — although, given her obvious talent, perhaps that shouldn’t really come as a surprise. She strikes me as one of those musicians capable of turning their hand to just about anything. Thankfully, she’s soon back on guitar where she belongs.

The Broken has a pleasing punky edge and another spectacularly fluid solo. Before No Need To Try Harder, Laura asks whether we’re ready for more. Of course we are. Why would we not be?

The band briefly leave the stage as the crowd claps and sings along to Trouble Coming, although they’ve barely exited before returning for the encore. Do I Have Your Attention, one of my personal favourites from Laura Cox, makes her sound downright dangerous. Maybe she is.

Proceedings close with Hard Blues Shot, the title track from Laura’s debut album, delivered with cataclysmic force. It’s a thunderous ending to a set that barely paused for breath across ninety exhilarating minutes. This was an absolute triumph, and despite the lengthy set, the crowd were still left wanting more.

I sincerely hope Laura Cox doesn’t leave it another seven years before returning.

WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS