The Teskey Brothers Bring a Soulful Night to Halifax Piece Hall

Live Reviews

5 Jul

Date: 29/06/2025

Sunday was a perfectly warm July evening as The Teskey Brothers delivered a performance at Halifax’s historic Piece Hall that was equal parts raw soul, musical precision, and heartfelt connection. With the 18th-century courtyard bathed in golden hour light and a crowd ready to feel the love, the Australian band proved once again why they’re one of the most compelling live acts in modern soul and blues.

Just some soft lights, a quick nod, and then straight into “I Love the Woman” and boom, the crowd was locked in. Josh Teskey’s voice - raspy, weathered, and unwaveringly soulful - immediately cut through the cosy evening air. Live, his vocals carry an emotional weight that recordings can only hint at. For the most part, I feel like the band let the music do the talking with Sam Teskey’s guitar work fluid and tasteful, never overpowering and always in service to the song.

The setlist spanned their discography, from early crowd favourites like “Pain and Misery” and “So Caught Up” to standout tracks from the 2023 album “The Winding Way”. “Rain” was a personal highlight for me, performed with such fragility and strength that the audience seemed collectively taken aback - it actually gave me goosebumps. The crowd, which was diverse in age but united in admiration, swayed in couples, sang along, hugged and soaked up every moment.

Josh, taking a moment between songs, thanked the audience with quiet humility, explaining, “We’re just a band from Melbourne, Australia. It’s an honour to play in a place like this.” And it was clear he meant it.

There’s something uniquely powerful about hearing music so emotionally rich in a venue as atmospheric as the Piece Hall.

They closed the night with an extended, emotionally charged rendition of “Hold Me,” letting the final chorus linger as the crowd erupted in timely claps and a chest-shaking unison of voices - so much so, that the crowd continued singing together as they exited the venue and huddled into the packed train station.

The Teskey Brothers' set at the Piece Hall was a reminder that in a music world often dominated by over-produced performances, overly dependent on striking LED visuals and pyrotechnics, there’s something deeply moving about just watching musicians on stage, playing their hearts out. It was a masterclass in restraint, soul, and the enduring power of live performance.