Nestled down a busy Leeds side street is Oporto bar, a small and intimate venue infamous for its selection of live music performances. On Sunday night, Cattle & Cane played a sold-out show to a diverse range of fans as part of their ongoing headline tour. 

By Jess Hodgson

Photo courtesy of Cattle & Cane

Singer songwriter Hannah Willwood took the stage to warm up the crowd. With airy and sweet vocals, emotive lyrics, and stripped back acoustic guitar, she showcased a masterful set which was well received by the room, an example of gentle yet magnetic artistry.

Next up was London based Spanish folk singer Odina, who played a wistful set ahead of the main act. Odina’s music is from the heart – delicate and melancholic, spellbinding and sorrowful. “I’ve come all the way from Barcelona,” she said, “and it is a pleasure to be here in Leeds”. Odina enchanted the crowd with her powerful and distinctive voice, performing a beautiful selection of songs from her discography, including Off, a new song which experiments with layered vocals and reverb-filled production, as well as a raw and unfiltered cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart.

Slowly, the room filled with more adoring fans as Cattle & Cane prepared to take to the stage. The sibling duo opened the show with soulful ballad Love On Your Hands, and then began to play new songs and old ahead of the release of their upcoming album Navigator, which Joe explained is a reflective break-up album. Interspersing more upbeat tracks from their repertoire, Cattle & Cane demonstrated a strong talent for live performance. Each song was met with a round of cheers and applause.

The band debuted one of their newer songs The Lion and the Lamb, a pensive track about self-identity, led by Joe who asks “is this who I am?”. Cattle & Cane continued their performance with fan favourite tracks, well received by a vocal and attentive crowd who were very clearly in touch with the music. The pair bonded with the audience, creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere – one fan even admitted to having seen the band live almost ten times. 

Cattle & Cane closed the evening with Infant Hercules, a poignant homage to the band’s hometown of Teesside, and Paper Man, a song dedicated to their late father. 

Hannah Willwood, Odina, and Cattle & Cane played at Oporto, Leeds on Sunday 27 October 2019.