Live: Lily Montague at The George Tavern
Words & Photography: Eerie Rose
It’s the 5th of January, a night with the type of cold no amount of coats or scarves or doubled-up socks can keep at bay. The George Tavern, however, is aglow with it’s warm and low lights, a crowd bustling around the bar, shuffling on the old wooden floorboards and keeping wrapped up even whilst safe from the outside air. Pint glasses are bitingly icy against gloved hands. I love gigs at this time of year - it’s always a test of commitment, to see who will brave the January blues.
The event tonight is a double single release from Sophie Du Ry, with support from Freddie Firth and Lily Montague. The lineup have all played within the same venues and events before, as well as Du Ry and Montague being regular collaborators. There is a strong energy of kinship throughout the evening which transcends beyond just the complementary sounds between artists.
The night is opened by Lily Montague, an electronic artist currently based in Bristol, who has graced the 5.18 webzine before through their DIY chaos project Bonanza Jellybean. The room is hazy and dark, and their set incredibly atmospheric and ambient, vocals reproducing in me the feeling of awe you feel inside a church. There’s a holiness to their sound, a control of the rise and fall, the way the beats seem to almost flow through their body as if it’s entirely stored within them. Montague is as much an instrument as the rest of the equipment onstage, carefully layering noise and harmony to create something truly spectacular. The set is made up of newer music written recently during their time in Bristol, completed with a cover of Labi Siffre’s ‘Bless The Telephone,’ which took on an entirely new life when sang in their voice, adapted in their experimental style. It was incredibly immersive, even when sipping hot water from a mug and chatting to the audience between songs, I felt pulled right back into their other-world the minute the next track started.
Freddie Firth played a beautifully passionate yet modest set, sitting at the piano with little introduction or ego, performing narrative songs that beautifully traversed time in a unique way. I particularly enjoyed the stripped-back nature of it all, a crowd watching a singer at the piano in an old pub, such an age old tradition that has died out so significantly in recent history.
Sophie Du Ry closed the evening, celebrating the release of new songs ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Car’. Performing with a full band including live drums, flute, clarinet, guitar and a backing track, there was an incredible depth to the songs, layers of sound built up by very talented musicians. Overall - a great first gig of 2026.
Follow the artists on instagram for future show announcements and to find links to stream their music.
