Cowboy Junkies: Ulverston Coronation Hall

Cowboy Junkies
Ulverston Coronation Hall, Cumbria
4th May 2026

Cowboy Junkies bring their Forty Years And Beyond tour to Ulverston, on the fringe of the Lake District, for a mesmerising performance of songs old and new spiced with their own interpretations of iconic tracks from the rock and alt country cannon.

When Cowboy Junkies emerged in the late 1980s they were a breath of fresh air – an antidote to music’s overblown mainstream. In a decade characterised by big hair, big productions, over use of synths and keyboards, where image counted for more than content, Cowboy Junkies just went out and played. Fusing country, blues, jazz, and folk and delivering it with a rock sensibility, they were a band of brothers and a sister pioneering Americana before marketing moguls labelled it.

Tonight, Cowboy Junkies bring their 40 Years And Beyond tour to Ulverston. As the crowd file in past the larger than life bronze statue of Laurel and Hardy (Stan Laurel being a native of the town), there’s a sense that many here tonight have been followers and admirers since those early years.

This evening there’s no support and no fanfare as musicians wander on stage for the first of their two sets. They open with Hell Is Real, instrumentally sparse and country-tinged with Mago Timmins’ husky voice to the fore; immediately our focus of attention. As is so often the case with this band, the tone changes for A Common Disaster. Propelled by menacing base, Margo’s initially part-spoken vocals grow into something more powerful as brother Michael’s electric guitar belches uncompromising dirty riffs.

Not afraid to tackle sensitive issues, What I Lost deals with dementia. It’s a great song and highly emotive. “I woke up this morning, didn’t know who I was. Looked at the room, didn’t know where I was.” There’s a fierceness in demeanour and voice here that belies the band’s laid back image. Hard To Build, Easy To Break continues the theme as it again deals with dementia and the fragility of life. A rock song in every sense, it could be REM, with Michael’s guitar again dominant as he remains seated, head down, immersed in his craft.

Cause Cheap Is How I feel brings us back to evocative country. Mournful, with a prevailing sense of sadness, it’s somehow uplifting. Multi instrumentalist Jeff Bird shines, switching between mandolin and harmonica, bringing real colour to the track.  And the genre shifting continues as they close the set with a dose of John Lee Hooker’s blues where the purity of Margo’s voice is in stark contrast to Michael’s fuzzed guitar riff.

Suitably refreshed, band members wander back on stage. Taking their places, a meandering instrumental intro evolves while Margo lurks in the shadows sipping a mug of tea. And then an unmistakable bass and drum riff kicks in. The singer steps forward from the shadows and the crowd erupts. Sweet Jane; restrained yet ominous and more than a match for The Velvet’s original.

Blue Guitar brings a touch of psychedelia as Michael’s guitar spirals and Jeff Bird’s mandolin compliments perfectly, evoking the spirit of The Doors’ The End in its instrumentation.

A forty year retrospective tour inevitably revisits the band’s iconic Trinity Sessions album. 200 More miles is an archetypal blues infused road song with Jeff Bird’s harmonica to the fore. It’s preceded by a tale of the band’s parents smuggled the siblings into the USA without papers to embark on their first American foray, and an explanation of the song’s genesis. The deeply personal Misguided Angel from the same album highlights their diversity. Delivered acoustically, a poignant tale of interwoven conflict and dangerous love unfolds. Our narrator’s lover has a, “Heart like a Gabriel, a soul like a Lucifer,” delivered with a voice evocatively bringing it to life.

We’re overdue another cheer and this one goes out to Townes Van Zandt. Margo tells of their youthful education while touring with the alt country icon. Of how much he taught the young band about songwriting, gambling and drinking; an education in the fullest sense. They could have chosen any number of the late great’s songbook but Lungs does just fine. And as always with The Cowboy Junkies, their interpretation doesn’t disappoint.

As the band are introduced, the self effacing siblings and friends raise their hands in acknowledgement and there’s a tongue in cheek heckler calling for bassist Alan Anton to, “give us a smile.” As inscrutable as ever, eyes seemingly gazing into the middle distance, he offers no response.

Closing with Blue Moon Revisited, (Song For Elvis) doesn’t surprise. It’s simply one of those must plays and another interpretation taking us back to The Trinity Sessions. Their louche lounge delivery evokes the spirit of Twin Peaks before it was written. Epitomising everything that’s great about the band, it’s the perfect way to close, but of course they’re back for more.

Margo half apologises to anyone who doesn’t like sad songs (but wonders why they’re here) as she prefaces Sun Comes Up On Sunday Morning. Here’s “another sad song that’s also uplifting” – and so it proves, with Jeff Bird’s pedal steel complimenting Margo’s emotive vocals perfectly.

Tonight, as always, Cowboy Junkies have been enchanting. Some bands strive to be cool but never achieve it. To do so for forty years without appearing to try is quite something, but perhaps that’s the secret. Tonight hasn’t just been a reflective journey through the band’s back catalogue. It’s been a mesmerising celebration of their instrumental alchemy, of Michael’s songwriting, and of the smoky magnificence and gravitas of Margo’s voice.

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Words and photos by Trev Eales. More work by Trev can be found on Louder Than War at his author’s profile.