PJ Harvey at Gunnersbury Park: “Every bit the rock goddess you could have hoped for and more”

If you’re looking for a summertime venue for some blissful open-air music on a rare British rain-free day, you could do much worse than Gunnersbury Park. Far smaller in scale than other day events in the city – BST Hyde Park and All Points East to name but a few – this is festival-going at its most laid-back, clean and tranquil: a single stage with a large space for a not-so-heaving crowd to spread, many taking a pew on blankets and fold-out chairs as the afternoon stretched into night before gathering to their feet for the headline act, big screens and good quality sound allowing for a great view from virtually anywhere on the grounds.

On Sunday, it was the inimitable PJ Harvey on the roster, supported by a splendid array of up-and-coming artists of her indie ilk, handpicked by her no less, including composer Shida Shahabi and singer-songwriter Tirzah. Penultimate act Big Thief provided the ideal warm-up, the Brooklyn-hailing group bringing just the right timbre of folky Americana to serenade the setting sun, playing a cross-section of their back catalogue since 2016 debut Masterpiece, including Simulation Swarm from 2022’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You through to last year’s single Vampire Empire, a standout being earworm 2019 hit Not from Two Hands. Softly spoken lead singer Adrianne Lenker thanked the crowd for going on a “journey of old and new, familiar and not so familiar,” and PJ Harvey for having them. They were having such a fabulous time in fact, final track Incomprehensible had to be shortened to be squeezed into the set time – but was none the poorer for it.

As they made their exit, anticipation for Harvey’s arrival was palpable, the darkening sky and blue-lit stage set off by the sounds of ringing church bells, attendees peeling themselves up from the floor to get closer to the action. And then, there she was, 53-year-old Polly Jean Harvey, the sole two-time Mercury Award winner, as ethereal as ever in a white cloak-like outfit adorned with her own hand-drawn image of black branches. The first half of the gig was a straight run of tracks from last year’s critically acclaimed I Inside the Old Year Dying, including Prayer at the Gate, Autumn Term and Lwonesome Tonight, setting the tone from the outset that this wouldn’t just be a celebration of the classics stretching back to 1992’s Dry but a chance to hear her latest material performed in the flesh; contemplative and atmospheric, themes of nature loom large in these newer songs that are quite literally poetic, with lyrics largely taken from a book of the artist’s poetry, and potent with mysterious metaphor. Each is otherworldly, a testament to her continued reinvention while remaining intensely, at times frustratingly, enigmatic.

After the initial few songs, Harvey’s outer cloak came off, her movements allowed her to become looser as she moved nymph-like across the stage, Kate Bush levels of inhibition driving her unchoreographed moments of physical expression. Her dark tousled hair tumbled down as she strummed each of her multiple different guitars and percussion instruments effortlessly, striking a perfect combination of whimsical femininity and assertive assuredness in her ability and musicality.

An interlude heard her band take the lead with The Colour of the Earth followed up by The Glorious Land and The Words That Maketh Murder from 2011’s Let England Shake before hurtling us back in time to 1993 for 50ft Queenie then to 2009 for Black Hearted Love and 1998 for The Garden. A stunning moment came with the stripped-back The Desperate Kingdom of Love, the whole of Gunnersbury Park entranced. There was a sense, hearing her music live, of each standalone track being an invitation to peer inside her imagination, of being welcomed into a dreamscape – all one had to do was take her hand and follow her, no questions asked, and you would be richly rewarded.

As the set wore on, energy levels galvanised, her wide-ranging vocals gaining increasing power, though never for a second sounding forced or under strain, climaxing in Man-Size and Down by the Water that epitomise Harvey at her most raw, dark, edgy and idiosyncratic, the refrain “Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water / Come back here, man, gimme my daughter,” reverberating ominously across the park. The epic To Bring You My Love closed out the main gig, Harvey visibly overcome with the emotion of the track, an electricity crackling in the cool night air. As the near two-hour set drew to a close, it was onto the encore for the retro classic C’mon Billy then White Chalk.

There was very little in the way of between-song chat – but it didn’t feel lacking either, the transcendent mood left to envelop the audience autonomously. When she did speak out – introducing her band, thanking the audience, pointing out the brilliance of the full moon beaming over us – it was with humility and earnestness. 

This was a gig that was never overcooked nor underwhelming but perfectly pitched; tonight PJ Harvey was every bit the rock goddess you could have hoped for and more.

Sarah Bradbury
Photos: Ambra Vernuccio

For further information and future events visit PJ Harvey’s website here.

Watch the video for the single To Bring You My Love here: