Texas – Lincoln Castle – Sunday 15th June 2025

Texas walk out onto the stage as the crowd gives them a warm and enthusiastic welcome. The crowd know they are in for a good night of music… and Sharleen Spiteri’s thoughts on life. The lead singer / guitarist is well known to audiences for her crowd interaction and her genuine affection for her fans.

AND IN WITH THE HITS

Texas open the set with a massive hit – I Don’t Want A Lover – with its slide guitar intro it sounds brilliant – and it goes down very well with the fans who are already dancing and singing. Next up is the delicious Halo. That’s two huge tracks straight off the absolute Best Of Texas playlist. Texas start their shows with a blast, they put it all out there at the start to get things bouncing. And from there they just keep getting even better. Once Spiteri is on stage, she’s ready to go, no warm up required, she’s absolute dynamite.

Spiteri is in great form tonight. She’s convivial, free flowing and – as always – loquacious. If you’re coming to a Texas gig this is what you can expect. She almost talks more than she sings. And the gigs are all the better for it. Too many bands these days appear subdued, disinterested in engaging with their audiences, content to let their music do the talking – which is fine – but if you can throw in some audience interaction it gets people engaged and enjoying the gig more. The bands are feeding off the energy that they receive from the audience and they’ll sometimes give that little bit extra back if the audience are up for it. Spiteri is certainly someone who gives more than she receives. Tonight she’s whipping up some excitement in the crowd at Lincoln Castle and she’s loving it.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN

“You think I can see you behind that flag?” Spiteri shouts to a fan, who has been waving a Scottish flag furiously in an effort to gain her attention. “Yes it’s lovely,” she says, full of National pride. “But all I can see is a big ‘BAR’ sign. Who puts that in front of a band? It’s like the ultimate dick tease. Oh, you can’t say anymore. Hashtag Cancelled. Do I look like I give a fuck?” she laughs out loud – and not for the last time tonight. “I’m in a playful mood tonight. I’ve got to control myself. Anything can happen tonight.”

Everyday Now, Hi, and In Our Lifetime follow before Spiteri asks the crowd “Lincoln, can you dance? And I don’t mean any of that shit dad dancing. I mean real dancing. Here’s a bit of Northern soul,” she says before they sing covers of Al Green’s Tired of Being Alone and Spooner Oldham’s Keep On Talkin’.

“What day is it?” Spiteri asks her bandmates. “Oh it’s Sunday. They’re saving themselves for work tomorrow. Fucking hell Lincoln! I don’t get to play this song very often when the sun is shining. Are you ready to go mental?” The band burst into Summer Son.

Let’s Work It Out features an extended ending when Spiteri invites the crowd to sing along. “Let’s hear you sing “Ooh ooh ooh” The crowd oblige. “That was bloody good. But I need more!” The crowd respond with more “Ooh ooh ooh” And Spiteri, never satisfied, says, “One more for luck.” And gets it. She’s happy.

When We Are Together and Put Your Arms Around Me are next which are certainly two songs for the couples in the crowd. “The sun is going down. We’ve got a beautiful view. It’s a lovely time of night when we can do something really special,” says Spiteri before giving the crowd a beautiful acoustic rendition of In Demand.

INCREASING THE ENERGY

Things have been a little slower for a moment but Spiteri increases the energy again. “It’s Sunday… It’s the beginning of the week. You should be full of energy! We’re not working tomorrow, we can stay all night.” They power through Mr Haze and Black Eyed Boy.

“OK, my beautiful friends. This is the last song.” The crowd vocalise their disappointment. “OK. Fuck off. You know it’s not the last song. But we are playing the game. We say we are doing one last song and then, we go off, and then you’ll have to show how much you want us to come back. To be fair you’d have to be a shit audience for us not to come back.”

Say What You Want is the last song of the main set, But we know there is more to come. Chanting, stamping and cheering goes on for a few minutes until Spiteri and the rest of the band feel enough encouragement to return for the encore and Spiteri thanks the audience for being so good. “But we can do better. We can push it right over the edge. Do you wanna come on that journey?” The crowd respond enthusiastically yet again.

A PERFECT SET LIST

The Conversation and Inner Smile are the obvious tracks to complete a perfect set list and the crowd love it. But Texas are not done. One more song to send everyone home happy. A mention in dispatches too for Texas founder member Ally McErlaine who’s been seen on our pages with Red Sky July (check out his Why I Love Fleet Foxes).

“I think we need to come back to Lincoln. And because we like you. We’re going to do one more song for you,” says Spiteri and they end a fantastic evening of music with a cover of Suspicious Minds.

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