The return of Nick Cave Brighton residents had long anticipated proved to be a masterclass in vulnerability and rock-and-roll showmanship. “Fucking Brighton! This is overwhelming. Deeply overwhelming,” Nick Cave gasped after a blistering rendition of the opening track, ‘Get Ready For Love’. The sentiment was palpable; this performance marked the first time Cave had taken the stage with the Bad Seeds in his adoptive hometown since 2013. While he has long held a mythic status within the seaside community, it was clear that this return to Preston Park carried a profound weight for the artist himself.
Brighton has served as the creative and personal nucleus for Cave for nearly a quarter of a century. His relationship with the city is woven into the fabric of his work, from the atmospheric winter moods captured in the documentary 20,000 Days On Earth to the seedy narratives of his novel The Death Of Bunny Munro and the Bad Seeds’ masterpiece ‘Jubilee Street’. The city’s devotion was equally evident: tickets for the homecoming event vanished instantly, and local landmarks, including the cinema and the renowned record store Resident, paid tribute with special screenings and impromptu performances.
Dressed in his signature jet-black suit and patterned tie, Cave initially appeared as the prowling, macabre preacher of his earlier years. However, the performance quickly revealed his evolution into a figure of immense love and vulnerability. This shift was most evident during the band’s “gospel era” segments. Supported by a celestial backing chorus, the performance of ‘Joy’ served as the evening’s emotional centerpiece. A devastating meditation on choosing light in the wake of darkness, the song brought a hushed, reverent silence to the 50,000-strong crowd at Preston Park.
The setlist balanced this newfound grace with the visceral menace of Cave’s back catalogue. ‘From Her To Eternity’ and ‘Red Right Hand’ were delivered with a searing intensity, while ‘The Mercy Seat’ saw long-time collaborator Warren Ellis thrashing in a trance-like state. The evening’s most surprising moment came when Kylie Minogue joined Cave for a rare performance of their 1995 duet ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’, a touching reciprocation of Cave’s appearance during her Glastonbury set years prior.
The emotional gravity of the night was underscored by Cave’s personal history with the city. Following the tragic loss of his son, Arthur, the couple briefly relocated to Los Angeles, finding Brighton’s landscape too heavily steeped in grief. Yet, the city’s “gravitational pull” and the support of its residents eventually drew them back. This history made the encore—a tranquil ‘Wide Lovely Eyes’ dedicated to his wife Susie, followed by a communal ‘Into My Arms’—feel less like a standard concert finale and more like a definitive, triumphant homecoming.