Felix Mackenzie-Barrow's new project Book of Churches has won hearts and minds across the nation, but he'll always find an appreciative home audience here in Nottingham. His recent performance at the Contemporary proved to be a magical experience...
In terms of the mainstream, Nottingham’s music scene isn’t always fully recognised. Apart from a handful of artists, it seems the industry is dominated by those from Manchester, London, Dublin - but one band has really broken out of this barrier in the last couple of years, and that is Divorce. Their alt-country, indie fusion has caught critical acclaim and mass support, and a lot of parallels can be drawn with another alt-country band that has broken out of nowhere, America’s Wednesday.
Much like Wednesday, a co-lead singer of Divorce has made their own side project of sombre, acoustic alt-country folk, the sort of music that would make Jason Molina proud. This man is Felix Mackenzie-Barrow and his project: Book of Churches.
I did not go into this concert knowing a lot - even the layout of the venue itself. I have never been to hear music at the Nottingham Contemporary (apart from looking at some art installations) and so, walking into the music space, I was in awe. The walls were concrete obelisks that surrounded me on all fronts, and rows of seats lined the chilly air. The room was still with anticipation. In between runs to the water jugs to refill my drink, I caught a glimpse of an artist on the bill that I had never heard of, and I’d assume not many people in the room would have heard of either: Misty 3AM.
When Misty 3AM came on stage, I was in shock that this was their first show ever [In fact that was not quite true - this is a new pseudonym of Cai Burns of Blood Wizard and Kagoule! - Ed.] Every song of their short set was absolutely heart-wrenching in the best way possible with auto-tuned vocals used not to hide imperfections of the voice, but rather emotions. The stage was bare except for some guitars, the microphone, and a table, and yet the empty space was filled with this devastating music that really speaks to the inner workings of the human mind.
After a short interval, Felix arrived on stage. There were no stand out songs on the set list because they were all perfect. I had personally never heard Book of Churches’ music before (for concerts like this I like to go in knowing nothing and judging purely based on their performance) but this set has turned me into Felix Mackenzie-Barrow’s number one fan.
His cover of Judee Sill’s Crayon Angels really stood out to me as a favourite moment, however. I just adore when an artist can really take a cover into their own style and make it their own. The guitars were hauntingly beautiful and the vocals were commanding and intimate. Watching Felix do his thing on stage really made me realise he is one of the greatest songwriters of this generation. How is it that a man can write a track about a storm ruining a holiday at Robin Hood Bay and have it absolutely destroy me emotionally?
Book of Churches is not sad, nor depressing, but rather scared. Felix speaks about how his music is influenced by his fears (especially flying) and that is clear, and makes it so much more relatable. Much like his screen printed charity shop band shirts, every track has its own unique sense of heartache.
After an on-stage show and tell of a literal ‘book of churches’ that a fan brought in, Felix finished out the set and thanked the audience. For a moment, I forgot I was in a room, I forgot people surrounded me, as all that consumed me was that performance.
Book of Churches and Misty 3AM are artists that you should take any opportunity to see. It is clear from this show that Felix Barrow is destined to be amongst the greats of songwriting, alongside legends such as Jason Molina and Jeff Tweedy, MJ Lenderman and Jeff Mangum. The name Book of Churches fits well as, to me, this show was almost a religious experience.
Book of Churches performed at Nottingham Contemporary on 1st May 2026.
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