It’s a rainy night in Manchester. 2290 of us are crammed into the Albert Hall, waiting in earnest for PJ Harvey’s sold-out show. Celebrating the release of her 10th studio album and first effort in seven years, I Inside the Old Year Dying, Harvey took to the Albert Hall for her last stop in the UK on her European tour.
Harvey described her European tour to Vulture as a “look at all [her] material over the years”. This is well represented by the crowd; there are fans of every age, some younger, some older, some with parents, and some alone. The atmosphere is alive: in the buildup, whispers and rumours are traded of what she might play.
Harvey explains further to Vulture, “I think it’ll be a really comprehensive show for all ages of PJ Harvey fans. It’s been a great joy, actually, to play some of those earlier songs. I haven’t played many of them live for years. So, I think it’s gonna be a special show for that reason as well”. Her setlist is a mix of old and new. In the first half, she plays her new album, track for track, back to back.
This is a show in two acts. It begins with the mellow sounds of ‘Prayer at the Gate’, starting with only vocals, growing louder. Harvey has always been deeply biblical in her lyrics, but this album pushes it further. Just under 15 months after the release of her novel-in-verse, Orlam, she transfers this poetic metre into her music, combining Dorset dialect with standard English. She recounts her poetry in her dulcet tones – swaying, shaking, embodying her music. She reaches out to the audience – a hundred hands stretch back. Everyone here is looking to her for answers as if she’s some kind of prophet.
I Inside the Old Year Dying unravels. She plays each track in order of the album – an unusual choice, but one that lends itself to the listening experience. She spends ‘Lwonesome Tonight’ under a pool of light, looking up, seeing something we don’t.
In the first half of the concert, Harvey blends the celestial with the earthly, using bird calls and rainforest sounds to bring nature indoors and evoke a profound sense of longing through her music. Inspired by her aforementioned novel, Harvey explains, “I think the album is about searching, looking—the intensity of first love, and seeking meaning. Not that there has to be a message, but the feeling I get from the record is one of love—it’s tinged with sadness and loss, but it’s loving. I think that’s what makes it feel so welcoming: so open”.
It’s impossible to talk about this show without mentioning her band – John Parish, Jean-Marc Butty, and multi-instrumentalists Giovanni Ferrario and James Johnston. Together, they bring the show to life – Harvey jumps around the stage, from artist to artist, and the set becomes a vivid play. In a particularly intimate moment, John Parish and PJ Harvey share a duet, no music, stripped back. They face each other in stark white lighting. During the interval, PJ Harvey exits the stage, leaving the four remaining musicians hand in hand, singing acapella. It feels like I’m witnessing something truly otherworldly unfold before me.
As the second act begins, the audience lights up. Harvey runs back onto the stage, holding maracas, lit up in red, and launches into ‘The Glorious Land’. Much of this time, I observe the crowd below. Many are in their 40s and 50s, clearly having grown up with PJ Harvey. They embrace their youth with temporarily-dyed hair, fishnet tights, and all-black attire, reminiscent of who they were. And now, suddenly, they come alive, dancing, singing, and enthusiastically celebrating her music.
The moment everyone’s been waiting for arrives with ‘The Garden’, the 8th track from her 1998 album Is This Desire?. Known for its biblical themes and poetic tone, the music starts softly with a slow drumbeat, gradually building in intensity as the crowd erupts. PJ Harvey stands lit by a simple light, her silhouette cast onto the grand organ of the Albert Hall. As she moves and twists, wind blows in her hair – I can’t help but accept that she walks around with an in-built wind machine.
Just as the song comes to a close and the audience thinks they’ve experienced the crux of the night, Harvey announces something even more special: Johnny Marr joins her on stage for ‘The Desperate Kingdom of Love’. If the first act was intimate, this is even more so. With Marr and Harvey on stage, bathed in two spotlights, the performance becomes profoundly personal, blurring the line between audience and artist.
Marr also joins Harvey for the encore, and the crowd responds with stomping and clapping. Even those in the seated sections are now standing, revelling in PJ Harvey’s musical gospel. The final song of the night is ‘White Chalk’, the title track from her 2007 album. Harvey’s promise to encompass all her eras and life experiences in this show has been fully realised – from the intimate and biblical sounds of I Inside the Old Year Dying to the rock and folk vibes of Dry. PJ Harvey has delivered a concert that transcends eras and resonates with audiences of all kinds.
With UK dates now concluded, Harvey moves on to her European dates, continuing the tour on Friday in Amsterdam, before ending on October 31. Tickets here.
