Recap: Billy Bragg w/ Alice Phoebe Lou at Troy Music Hall 10/11/2022 -By: Rob Smittix

On Tuesday October 10th Billy Bragg played for the first time ever in Troy, NY for a crowd on anxious fans at The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. The opening act was Alice Phoebe Lou playing solo and I’ve got to say I was thoroughly impressed. Wandering the halls I witnessed Alice admiring the photos in the lobby of all of the legendary performers that have graced the very stage that she just played on. I said to her as I walked by “there’s room for one more,” obviously implying that she deserved to be up on the wall now after that amazing performance.

Billy Bragg does not disappoint, he brought his A-game to the Collar City for sure. When I interviewed Billy Bragg a few weeks ago for Xperience we touched on the fact that he is an activist along with being a singer-songwriter. Seeing his  live performance proves he is just that. During the breaks between songs Billy certainly utilized his time to speak on issues of the world and the audience was certainly receptive.

Here is an excerpt from our conversation:

RRX: You’ve been described as a singer/songwriter and activist. I’ve got to address it and it’s big news. How does the queen’s passing affect someone like you?

BB: It’s very strange. On an emotional level I’ve found it has affected me quite a bit because my parents, like the queen, were both born in the 1920’s. They both passed away now but with the queen dying it’s kind of the end of their presence in our lives, that generation. They’re not just any generation, they are the generation that lived through the second world war. It’s a generation that rebuilt our country, quite an important generation. She was like the final representative, who was still in our national life and whose role in the war still resonated. So, on one level, I feel it, I really feel it and on the other side there’s the legacy of the British Empire and the role the monarchy plays in our society, that really we should be able to question. You know? King Charles will be crowned next year with a crown that most of the jewels on it have been stolen from someone.

For the complete Billy Bragg interview click HERE.