Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds surprised fans in Brighton today (Friday July 31) by performing a surprise pop-up gig on the roof of Resident Records ahead of their huge homecoming show tonight. See photos, footage and what went down below.
The band will be headlining Preston Park tonight with special guests The Flaming Lips, English Teacher, Cate Le Bon and Warmduscher, and have been celebrating their return to the town Cave has often called home with treasure hunts and selling exclusive merch and records at Resident via a takeover.
Then, word got out that the Bad Seeds would be performing a Beatles-style rooftop gig on the record store with fans flocking to fill up the street on North Flaine. The band arrived promptly at 11am in the blazing sun with Cave greeting the crowd: “Fucking Brighton! What a thing to be doing. Can you all see?”
Oh we do like beside the seaside with @nickcave & The Bad Seeds on the roof of @residentmusic. pic.twitter.com/NrvncronjY
— Andrew Trendell (@AndrewTrendell) July 31, 2026
The stripped-back set opened with the mid-’80s deep-cut ‘Train Long-Suffering’ before they jumped into their blissed-out cover of T. Rex‘s ‘Cosmic Dancer’, with Cave inviting adoring cheers from the huge crowd for Warren Ellis‘ violin solo. “What a band,” he offered, signalling to his songwriting partner along with the rhythm section and gospel backing singers.
Cave then teased that they only had time for one more. “We’ll try this,” he began. “Are you ready? Are you ready?” After he cheers, they then delivered a stirring rendition of the classic ‘Henry Lee’ with backing singer Janet Ramus brilliantly taking on PJ Harvey‘s part.
“We’re gonna try do one more,” Cave said to the delight of the crowd, teasing one extra track beyond what was planned. “You alright with that?” The Bad Seeds then ended on a sing-along-assisted closer of ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’, complete with Cave paying tribute to his wife Suzie, who was stood nearby. Looking ahead to Preston Park, he bid the crowd farewell: “See you tonight!”
Tonight’s Preston Park gig serves as a UK-exclusive performance for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and comes in support of their acclaimed 2024 album ‘Wild God’ (see the full stage times here). It follows their performance at Dublin’s Malahide Castle last month, where they covered The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’.
In May, Cave revealed that the Bad Seeds were “messing around” in the studio with the “vague idea of making a new record” as the follow-up to ‘Wild God’.
“This morning, I am going to Islington to mess around in the studio,” he said, adding that he would be working with his bandmates Martyn P. Casey, Thomas Wydler, Jim Sclavunos and Warren Ellis.
Cave appears on Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea’s 2026 debut solo album, ‘Honora’, alongside Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke. He also recorded a new version of ‘Red Right Hand’ for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
