Gig review: Keane Baldwin at The Bodega, with EMiDORA

It's always a joy to witness Nottingham’s reigning hyperpop queen EMiDORA in action, and tonight is certainly no exception. With a sharp 30-minute set that favoured musical talent and creativity over visuals and performitivity, it is fantastic to watch.

It is also great to see someone who not only loves and enjoys partaking in the genre that they perform in, but also understands what the genre is about, and represents it so well musically. EMiDORA's live set-up consists of herself, a keyboard and a laptop on stage, with the laptop being opened on her DAW of choice. Simple but hugely effective, being fully practical, and honestly this adds to the live experience; at times during instrumental breaks it feels like she’s a hyperpop MC. But the most important thing about this setup is the fact that EMiDORA loops parts of songs and plays other parts live with the keyboard, which is brilliant way to perform music like this. Again, it's practical and innovative.

Vocally, EMiDORA is powerful and musically sound and secure, and it's this security, this confidence, that elevates her set. She knows what she does and how to do it well. This is evident when she performs b speedy, wherein her vocals ebb and flow over lines about being in love and deeply missing someone, all set to the masterful backdrop of her expertly-rendered instrumentals.

However, the standout aspects of the set are the pure hyperpop instrumental breaks. Her curation and creation of these sounds really stand out to me; it's not messy at all, but everything is accurate and works in part, and the wall-of-sound effect is simply fantastic. I put this down to the laptop on stage as it gives her full control over the sounds she wants to put out there.

Overall, this was a truly enjoyable set in every way from one of the Nottingham music scene's most consistently brilliant acts, an artist who always stays completely true to herself and her genre. For any fans of hyperpop or experimental electronic music, or even pop, EMiDORA is completely worth checking out.

This was my first time seeing Keane Baldwin live, and so I didn’t really know what to expect. Shamefully, all I knew was that he played piano, and so I expected piano music to a degree. I was sort of wrong, but in the best possible way. For me, Keane is best framed as a post-modern pop artist: he makes pre-2000s style hits with a certain songwriting flair that's just beautiful. In addition to this, he’s absolutely hilarious, boasting an unhinged humour that adds a vocal vibrancy to the set, one that elevates it and helps to paint him as a brilliantly talented human.

He also splits his set 50/50 between having a full band and playing solo. He begins with the band, then goes solo, and then ends with the accompaniment of the band once more. This is a great take as it allows the band to rest to avoid burnout and varies the music played. A lot of performance art these days is centred about audience retention and this method is the most effective I’ve seen by far. The whole set was full of beautiful and fun moments, showing Keane’s dedication to performance art.

Keane intertwines well-picked covers into his set, and his cover of Back for Good by Take That was simply delightful in every way. It captures the spirit of the original while creating further musical balance by having his band do the call and response section found in the chorus, a clever and accurate way to recreate the idea presented in the original song.

A highlight of the set was when the band left and Keane performed a song called Biggest Fan, with a pre-accompanying story that is too beautiful to describe; I cannot recommend going to see Keane enough just to experience him talking so emotionally to the sound of him playing to the piano as it's both breathtaking and tear-jerking. Keane might be funny and a fantastic showman but he certainly pulls no emotional punches during his set; the balance he has is perfect for me. The actual song is beautiful and emotional too, which is a testament to both his songwriting and performative ability.

Now, Keane’s cover selection skills are top tier, and his choice to cover Coldplay’s Viva La Vida was one of the most beautiful moments of the set. Everyone was screaming and singing along and Keane, post costume change into a denim jacket with feathers on it that was rather reminiscent of Sir Elton John (Keane discusses loving and meeting Elton at many points throughout the set). It was truly beautiful and Keane’s vocals were sublime. 

Overall, this was a beautiful, fantastic and emotional set from Keane. He and his band were an absolute joy to watch, and for any fans of older pop music - or just very good live acts - I cannot recommend him enough.

Keane Baldwin performed at The Bodega on 16th August 2025, with support from EMiDORA.

@thekeanebaldwin