Henri Herbert performing ‘What’d I Say’ (16/11/25) CREDIT: Callum Smyth
It’s downstairs in the 100 club, and classic rock is playing over the speakers. What was supposed to be a 7 pm start time quickly turned to 8:30 pm as the 100 club fills with fans, old and young.
Consisting of Amsterdam-based guitarist Dusty Cigar, Josh Williams on Bass, Adam Sinclair on drums and the man himself, Henri Herbert on grand piano and vocals.
The group raced through classic numbers, such as What’d I Say, Summertime and Fire by Jimi Hendrix.
WHAT’D I SAY
Rating: ★★★★
Engaging with individuals in a call and response, creating an intimate conversation
Interaction with the audience seems to be a trademark of Henri’s shows, making sure the crowd is as involved as he and the band.
Starting with the Ray Charles Classic, Henri jumps from the piano, egging the audience to join in the famous call-and-response.
Henri Herbert down in the audience during ‘What’d I Say’ (16/11/25) CREDIT: Callum Smyth
Henri walks through the audience, engaging with individuals in a call and response, creating an intimate conversation before jumping back on stage and letting Dusty Cigar rip off another explosive solo.
Interaction with the audience seems to be a trademark of Henri’s shows, making sure the crowd is as involved as he and the band.
He announced to the crowd that the band and he had been up for 24 hours through flights from Europe, which led to the loss of several items of merchandise he had planned to sell at this gig.
With a nod of his head, he signals the band to finish on his bar - they listened.
NOTHING FOR FREE
Rating: ★★★
“You get nothing for free except Rock ‘N’ Roll.”
Showed the harmony within the newly formed band.
Introduced with an anecdote from his time in Nashville, where up-and-coming acts would only be paid through tips at the end of the show. Henri claimed, “You get nothing for free except Rock ‘N’ Roll.
Dusty Cigar performing with Henri Herbert (16/11/25) CREDIT: Callum Smyth
The song, a hard, steady rocker, showed the harmony within the newly formed band.
With solos and instrumental breaks inserted on a whim (or by a nod from Henri to his preferred instrument at the time), the band never missed a beat. With intricate yet careful rocking solos by Dusty or magnificently timed drum solos by Adam Sinclair, skill and experience were proven that night.
Following his first solo-sung album, Get It While It’s Hot, Henri makes sure people know what they’ve been missing from his past live shows.
My next selection from the show also happens to be one of the main singles from said album:
COLD CITY
Rating: ★★★★★
This was jammed together with all the charm of a rough backstreet rock band.
Henri’s rough vocals were reminiscent of the loud, hard vocals that you’d see with the likes of Little Richard
Reminiscent of John Lennon’s New York City, this song is blown out of the water live, with many piano-led songs suffering from the piano being too high in the mix, neglecting the band sound. This was jammed together with all the charm of a rough backstreet rock band.
Henri Herbert singing ‘If I Could’ (16/11/25) CREDIT: Callum Smyth
Henri's rough vocals were reminiscent of the loud, hard vocal that you’d see with the likes of Little Richard or Paul McCartney’s blues-skit style on the likes of She’s A Woman, or I’m Down.
A member of the audience that night, Brendan Walsh commented, “Jetlagged, stoned or drunk; he’s fucking amazing”
Another commented, “He’s the first ‘Rock N Roll Star’ since 1994”.
Throughout the show, Henri had guests, old friends of his join him up on stage - stating that it isn;'‘t often he’s back in London.
One of his guests was:
Bee Ororo
Bee Ororo performing Big Mama Thornton’s version of ‘Hound Dog’ with Henri Herbert (16/11/25) CREDIT: Callum Smyth
With a powerful voice that commanded the room paired with body and facial expressions, Bee stood out as a talent that deserved a show of her own that night.
He included many other guests, including skilled saxophonist Aaron Liddard
Unfortunately, Henri has no more scheduled shows in the UK; however, he has upcoming shows in Lithuania and the U.S.
If there are any international readers, I would highly recommend viewing him if possible; he is as much a performer as he is a skilled musician; must see!
10/10 Performance
