The long-awaited live album from Birmingham’s Americana specialists, The Lost Notes, is a triumph in every respect.  Wish you’d been there?  Listen to Live at Birmingham Symphony Hall and you’ll really believe that you were!

A LANDMARK SHOW – CAPTURED AND BOTTLED

We’ve often remarked that the best way to experience Birmingham’s masters of Americana, The Lost Notes, is in the ‘live’ forum.  In fact, we’ve been hoping and praying that, one day, The Lost Notes would capture and bottle one their live shows and share it with the world as a ‘live’ album.  Well – those hopes and prayers have been answered.  The Lost Notes Live at Birmingham Symphony Hall is here, and it delivers that special Lost Notes live experience to every living room anywhere that could wish to accommodate it.  And it’s everything that we could have wished for…

Actually, we knew that this one was in the pipeline.  Indeed, we were amongst the sell-out audience that assembled in the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space at Birmingham’s plush Symphony Hall on the evening of 4^th February 2026 for the show that spawned this excellent memento.  At the time, we described the concert as “A landmark show.”  It was certainly that, as this live album definately testifies.

The Lost Notes played all their aces for the show.  The band’s core lineup – Ben Mills on vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano and trumpet, Oli Jobes on vocals and guitar, Lucy Mills on vocals and ukelele, Max Tomlinson on drums and Pete Churchill on double bass and accordion – was supplemented for the evening – as required – by an exceptional group of guests.  Acclaimed jazz pianist Piera Onacko added a cool, jazzy magic to the band’s sound, Rebecca and Simon Rosellys chipped in with banjo and fiddle and a bunch of singers from Birmingham’s branch of The Choir With No Name went along to add their voices to The Lost Notes sweet harmonies.  A landmark show, it surely was.

A BAND AT THE PEAK OF ITS POWERS

Oh – and let’s not forget the audience participation that comes across so fervently and tunefully in this recording.  It would be difficult to do that, as The Lost Notes have listed the name of each audience member in the album’s credits.  Now, that’s a lovely gesture!

Live at Birmingham Symphony Hall doesn’t feature the entire Lost Notes performance form that special evening; you’d have to have been there to enjoy THAT special privilege.  But most of the show is preserved here – 17 songs that showcase this mighty band, performing at the very peak of its powers.

A BRUMMIE BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB?

“Let’s give it up for The Lost Notes,” shouts Chris Proctor, compère for the evening, and Live at Birmingham Symphony Hall is up and running.  Holding On is an inspired choice of song to set the mood for the concert – and for the live album – and, from the outset, everything that we love about The Lost Notes is on show.  The signature three-part vocal harmonies, Oli’s fluid guitar picking and, best of all, the sheer joy that The Lost Notes bring to every one of their performances.  That joy leaps from the turntable to grab the listener in an inescapable full-nelson.

Ben’s voice is infused with emotion he delivers the guilt-ridden lyrics to Whiskey for Breakfast and the band create a heavy sound that one wouldn’t normally associate with a lineup of acoustic instruments.  It’s a song that’s become a Lost Notes favourite, as is Don’t Try It On Me, the number that opened the band’s excellent 2024 album, Good Luck Shoes.  The version here is sheer perfection; the vocal harmonies are pristine and Ben’s voice oozes sincerity.

Guest Piera Onacko makes his first appearance on piano for a version of Done With the Waiting (a song from The Lost Notes’ 2020 album, Lowlifes And High Times) that is, quite simply, stunning.  It seems that every member of the band brings something very special to the song.  Oli’s flamenco guitar introduction and his Latin-jazz solo are beyond words, bassist Pete and drummer Max lay down an irresistible bossa nova groove and Piera’s piano part is cooler than the Fonze.  But, perhaps, it’s Lucy that takes the biggest share of the plaudits for a smoky, jazzy vocal that is magnificent.  It all adds up to an early album highlight.  Imagine a Brummie Buena Vista Social Club and you’ll get the picture…

SHEER DELIGHT

Oli takes over the lead vocal role for A Fool Once Told Me, The Lost Notes’ waltz interlude.  Max plays a soft drum rhythm, Ben and Lucy provide the smooth, soothing vocals and Pete plays an atmospheric accordion solo.  The audience don’t need asking twice to sing along and the emotion in Ben’s and Oli’s voices at the end of the song, as they thank the audience, is clearly evident.  And Oli sticks with the vocal heavy-lifting to lead Head Over Heels, another singalong.  In my review of the original concert, I described Ben’s Lucy’s and Oli’s harmony vocals as “cinematic.”  That’s a description that I’m happy to stand by.

Over the course of the album, Lucy takes several opportunities to showcase her beautiful singing voice and she certainly does so with Heartache.  Her sweet, bluesy vocal is show-stopping.  Ben’s piano accompaniment hits the spot, too, and Pete explores the deeper regions on his bass.  Max’s drums are subtle and highly effective and Oli throws in yet another amazing guitar solo.  Not for the first time, I found myself thinking: “What a band!”

On the evening of the show, The Lost Notes closed the first half of the concert with Wildman, a raucous gem from Good Luck Shoes.  We knew then that the song would be a shoo-in for the live album, and so it was.  Lucy plays ukelele, Ben performs his trumpet cameo, and I love Pete’s bass run as Ben’s excitement hits fever-pitch.  And the effect?  Sheer delight, as evidenced by the audience reaction.

A HIGHLIGHT OF ANY SHOW

Just as Holding On was an inspired choice of song to launch the show, so Run Like A River was the perfect number to get Part Two of the concert underway.  Simon Rossellys had stepped up to add his fiddle; his participation was, apparently, unrehearsed but nobody would guess as much from his startling performance.  His contribution fits perfectly.  Ben has to restrain himself from ‘whooping’ too much and the audience stomp and clap along.  In truth, it would have been impossible not to.

Pieces of a Star is a highlight of any Lost Notes show and, on 4^th February 2026, they nailed in a way that, perhaps, they never had before.  Everything is right about this version – the gentle touch to the polished vocals, the light-but-fluid guitar and the stunning three-part harmonies.  This is The Lost Notes at the top of their game.

And The Lost Notes always seem to summon up an extra dose of passion whenever they perform God Loves A Sinner, another favourite song from the Good Luck Shoes album.  Here, Ben’s voice is soulful, Pete and Max supply a thoughtful, measured rhythm and, as always, the wonderful, soaring harmonies are off the scale.

THE BIRTH OF A LOST NOTES CLASSIC

The audience at the 4^th February show were privy to something very special when We Don’t Need Another Love Song received its public premiere.  I believe that we all knew that we were in at the birth of a Lost Notes classic and, 6 months on from that evening, it’s clear that we were right.  The song is a Ben and Lucy duet, with Lucy summoning her most exquisite Karen Carpenter tones.  It’s a song that will surely form the centrepiece of the next Lost Notes studio album, as well as becoming an enduring live show mainstay.

By this stage, it’s clear that Lucy was on a roll.  Mine Is The Heart is, perhaps, my favourite Lost Notes song and it’s Lucy’s flawless vocal delivery that hits the spot.  Although, keep an ear out for the inter-twining guitars of Ben and Oli – they’re a bit special, too. 

The jazzy Hey Maloney is another song that The Lost Notes prepared specially for the Symphony Hall show and this live album.  Piera returns to play some tasty piano on this glorious jazz shuffle.  Pete’s bassline is sublime and the audience participation is, once again, heartwarming.  It’s another song that established itself as a live favourite, the moment it was aired.

THE MARK OF A GOOD LIVE ALBUM…

And, speaking of live favourites, it wouldn’t be a Lost Notes show without a rendition of No Place Like Home and the version here is millimeter-perfect.  And, when Ben invites the audience to sing along on the song’s refrain, they oblige – not half!  “Beautiful!” shouts Ben.  And so it is.

The Lost Notes are joined by sundry guests, friends and family members to round off the show – and this excellent live album – with a flourish.  Take My Hand is a rousing gospel number that craves audience participation.  Oli, Simon, Ben, Piera and Pete all chip in with stunning solos on their respective instruments but, perhaps, it’s the audience that grab the spotlight on the closing number.  They clap, cheer and sing along.  I’ve always believed that the mark of a good live album is that it brings the atmosphere and warmth of a live concert into the listener’s own living space.  The Lost Notes Live at Birmingham Symphony Hall ticks every single box on that account.

Watch that rousing finale to the Birmingham Symphony Hall show, as The Lost Notes and Friends sign off with Take My Hand – below:

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