Spriggan Mist- Jellyman's Mill Kidderminster 24th January 2026
Spriggan Mist at the Sunday Club, Jelleyman’s Mill, Kidderminster. 25/01/26
Twas a cold cold night. The kind of night a Dragons fire is required for warmth. Thankfully we had the band to furnish us with such fire. And so to Spriggan Mist… Borne of the Pagan Folk scene, lovingly adopted by the discerning Prog crowd, the Spriggs have forged a path of increasingly higher profile and popularity, and are a mainstay of any Prog festival worth its salt. Charismatic, theatrical, and above all musical, they delight audiences all over the lands, bringing joy and not a little dancing to boot. More about boots later….
Jelleymans Mill in Kidderminster is the first stop on a UK wide tour to promote their wonderful 10/10 album ‘The Glare’, and a chance to tell further tales of their rascally dragon Isambard, increasingly become an unofficial mascot.
Indeed, the band have a revamped stage set, with the emblem of the Societies Isambard, the official Cult of Isambard The Mechanical Dragon, prominent on the stage.
The band enter all concealed in cowled cloaks emblazoned with the Cult emblem, immediately evoking a sense of mystery and ritual. The band stand on stage facing away as vocalist Fay opens proceedings by setting the scene to the musical and visual imagery to follow with the self penned Gaze of The Dragon. A very strong beginning to the gig.
Immediately we have a segue into a Gregorian chant, in Latin, natch, extolling the virtues of Said fiery beast, which leads directly to the song ‘The Cult’. This is an anthemic song about fraternity and community, coming together, and peace, as the antithesis to the dragons fiery and murderous beginnings. Great collective harmony singing in this one. You won’t be able to resist singing the chorus and learn some Latin words in the process!
After an exhortation to discover if there are any witches in the house, we have the first of many bona-fide Spriggan classics in the stately ‘Spellmaker’. This song charts the life of one who casts spells via wonderful evocative lyrics. After a drum driven chanted section during which Fay fully gets her rock voice to great use, we have THAT guitar solo, courtesy of Neil Wighton. Fluid and lyrical, it is his ‘Firth of Fifth’ moment, if you will. Superb.
And now to a new song from The Glare, its debut before a paying audience, Fays beautiful ‘Faery Wood’. This is a real highlight, contrasting acoustic assertive gentleness with collective power, and it’s obvious the band revel in playing this. Fay really shines on this one, employing many vocal techniques to build a stunning vocal showcase.The song is a warning to be careful where you sleep, and to not be caught under the spell of those you probably shouldn’t be. Heed its warning!
This leads to another highlight from ‘The Glare’, ‘Pieces of Glass’. Beginning with an insistent Tom-tom rhythm from drummer Ali, who has revitalised the rhythm section and injected a powerful drive to the band, it details the manipulation of people’s lives for good or ill, by a Welsh crone who uses pieces of glass on a board. This has great ensemble playing, again effortlessly changing between power and beauty, a wonderful flute refrain and effective use of the keyboard array recently introduced by the band, from multi-mentalist Maxine, and some impressive fretless bass work from bassist Baz.
Another debut from ‘The Glare’ next, ‘The Crystal Cave’. A story about recuperation and re-energising, this begins with an upbeat rhythm chiming guitars with Fays voice soaring amongst the changing instrumentation and rhythms. The many effective changes in the song may make this a challenging piece to play, the Spriggs however master the song with aplomb, emphasised by the powerful chorus, and ending on a sax led coda. Masterful. And this song shows that a bass player can employ the guitarist as a hand warmer…
And so to that flying menace, the rusty and fiery Dragon Isambard. This is a real gateway song for Spriggan Mist, has probably pulled in many audience members since its release, and the performance here demonstrates as to why. Twin guitars, a driving beat, massed vocal choruses, and a tale of fire and betrayal. What more could you wish for?
‘When Stars Collide’ begins with a clipped syncopated beat, that makes audience participation inevitable with communal clapping. Describing how the stars shape our fates, the song again is driven along by drummer Ali, (he’s rather good, isn’t he?!) the song is driving, snappy and engaging, with a very catchy chorus. Multi-instrumentalist Maxine drops a very Proggy keytar solo into the song, confirming the band Prog credentials. Ending on a slower, quieter sax driven coda, this song highlights the contrast between the light and shade that Spriggan Mist can effortlessly muster.
Next in the main set is the absolute classic- ‘Ianatores Teresteres’, written as a dare to write the song with the most tongue-twisting title possible (it’s easier if you sing it, ask Fay! And Fay likes the title as it reminds her of a floral binomial…. We may need to ask! ), or more credibly as a dare by a friend of the band to write a song about the God Janus. Lots of Latin again, this one! Powerful riffing, beautiful ethereal collective singing, again in an almost Gregorian chant style, brings many changes of mood and style yet again. The Sprig’s real do spoil us with their musicianship, range of styles and the ability to enhance our moods with a strong, powerful set of songs that have become Prog Rock classics.
Kintbury Witch is the set closer, and we’re dancing now. It’s Ali’s favourite song to play, and he plays with twin barrels burning! Fay takes refuge behind guitar stand, as she all but kicked off stage by Baz and his high kicks in those boots! The GLARE she subsequently aims at him for the rest of the song is priceless!
The encore has two OG classics in the form of ‘Spriggan Dance’ and ‘Faery Queen’. Led vocally by Bassist Baz, these songs stomp, allowing the band and audience to go ‘mental’. Insistent driving beats, driving guitars, driving us all to a frenzied denouement, replete with high kicks (in those boots!) from Baz. Fay. In fear for her life, takes refuge behind guitar stand, as she all but kicked off stage by Baz and his high kicks in those boots! The GLARE she subsequently aims at him for the rest of the song is priceless! Call and response guitar and sax, a powerful drum fill/solo and massed jigging dancing from the audience leaves us exhausted, happy, and wanting more. Well, we’ll just have to go to the next Spriggan Mist gig, won’t we?!
Mention must.be made of the Spriggan Merch table, or ‘The Lair of Trish’ as it’s known in band circles. This must be one of the best merch desks around, replete with new images of the band from a recent art exhibition, and a veritable cornucopia of Spriggan delights ready to find new homes with fortunate Spriggan Gig-goers. Do pay a visit!
Spriggan Mist are on fire now, lit by the embers of their fiery mascot, no doubt, and have mastered how to present and play a gig, that delights, surprises and elicits a range of different positive emotions from their audiences. Playful banter and ribbing of each other onstage, makes them human, more personable, combined with their interactions with the audience, makes for a stunning entertaining concert, while making the desire to experience their gigs again and again.
Miss this band at your peril, you wouldn’t want to upset Isambard now, would you?
Reviewer Mike Burgess