Agnes Obel|Peter Gregson
Royal Albert Hall, London – Live Review
29th September 2025

London’s Royal Albert Hall served as a superb curtain closer to Agnes Obel’s latest European tour as she and her band delighted the sold out audience with a carefully curated and sublimely crafted set. In the regal and iconic surroundings of the 150 year old South Kensington concert hall, Obel brought an air refinement befitting the special occasion.

The Danish songstress has not played live for almost exactly three years and last played in the UK in Southampton, September 2022, after dates in various locations including Whitley Bay. This time around, there have been no trips to the Tyne & Wear seaside… Her latest tour has been accented by performances in many of Europe’s capitals, including Warsaw, Berlin, Paris and her birth city, Copenhagen. London was not only the last capital and last date of the current tour, it was also the only UK date this time around, so it was no surprise that the one-off event sold out rather quickly.

Supporting Agnes at many of her shows, including this one, was renowned Scottish cellist Peter Gregson. Gregson quietly took to the Royal Albert Hall stage and sat to the right, lit by a single, sharp spotlight high above him. He cast a somewhat lonely and isolated figure as he composed himself before playing songs from his recently released eponymous album.

Gregson’s performance was not so much a warm-up act as a chill out and relax exercise. Gregson played his “songs without words”, explaining that “all the sounds you will hear are made by the cello”, before he performed his atmospheric, instrumental compositions. From his album’s opening track, Sphere, to it’s final, more animated closer, Rise, and through Constellation and Vision, Gregson held the seated audience captive. He said, “after spending a week in France and Germany with Agnes, I can tell you you’re in for a real treat”. He took a bow and left as quietly as he’d arrived.

Agnes Obel and her band arrived on stage at 8:40pm to rapturous applause from the 5,000 strong crowd. Dressed head-to-toe, to a man, in white, they looked as angelic as the music was to prove celestial. Over the course of 90 minutes, Obel and the very accomplished musicians she shared the stage with gave a near flawless rendition of 15 of her songs, including three as yet unreleased new tracks.

Obel employed the use of a large backdrop to expertly project both cinematic images, developed in part by her husband, and also very effective silhouettes lit from various angles that captured the band, and Agnes, as they played. Obel’s opener, deliberately or not referencing the lyricless first set, was also an instrumental – Red Virgin Soil. Dorian followed as Agnes, serenely seated at her piano, played to the accompaniment of both a deep and resonating cello and the deftly delivered percussion of Swiss drummer Julian Sartorius.

The projector turned the backdrop a deep red, matching the auditorium’s sumptuous decor, as Fuel To Fire, the second of five songs to be performed from her 2013 album, Aventine, was played out. Obel’s piano playing was note perfect and provided a stunning platform for her equally alluring and impressive vocals.

Aside from a slight technical hitch with a “synthesiser that’s not happy”, the entire performance was faultless from all involved. Agnes, the star of the show, shone brightly throughout, subtly, but emphatically leaving you in awe of her abilities as a performer and a composer. Cellist Marie-Claire Schlameus provided a masterclass in stringed instrumentation and looping, as she too helped to provide an essential part of the evening’s soundtrack.

Obel’s three new songs – Leymelli, Gemini and Faustian Deal – sat confidently next to fan favourites like Camera’s Rolling, Familiar and Philharmonics and gave a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come in the not too distant future.

Agnes and her band took a brief break after closing out the main set with a stunning performance of Stretch Your Eyes, before returning to the Royal Albert Hall stage for a three track encore. To begin with, Obel gave a beautiful solo performance of Words Are Dead before the rest of her band returned for a mesmerising performance of Riverside, and then, finally, The Curse.

The concert and the tour were over. The band gathered together, arm-in-arm, at the front of the stage as they took a bow before the standing ovation that was ringing out around the hall. It was a fitting and deserving end to a fantastic night, both for the band and the audience.

You can find Agnes Obel online here: She’s also on
Facebook and X, as @agnesobel

You can find Peter Gregson online here: They’re also on
X, as @Petergregson

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All words by Andrew Lockwood. More writing by Andrew Lockwood can be found at his author’s archive.

All photos by Aaron Thompson. AMP Photography