Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Play Surprise Rooftop Gig at Brighton Record Shop, Then Headline Preston Park
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds pulled a Beatles-on-the-Apple-rooftop move on Friday, July 31, 2026, playing a surprise 11am set on top of independent record shop Resident Records in Brighton's North Laine district. Fans flooded the streets below with little warning. Hours later, the band played a full show at Preston Park — their only UK date supporting 2024 album Wild God — with support from The Flaming Lips, English Teacher, Cate Le Bon and Warmduscher.
The Rooftop Set: Four Songs Over North Laine
Cave greeted the crowd with: "Fucking Brighton! What a thing to be doing. Can you all see?" The stripped-down lineup featured a rhythm section and gospel backing vocalists.
The four-song set consisted of:
- "Train Long-Suffering" (a deep cut from the 1980s)
- "Cosmic Dancer" (a T. Rex cover, with Warren Ellis's violin solo drawing huge applause)
- "Henry Lee" (with backing vocalist Janet Ramus taking the original PJ Harvey part)
- "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" (a full crowd singalong, with Cave acknowledging his wife Suzie in the audience)
Before wrapping up, Cave told the crowd: "See you tonight!"
Preston Park and Recent News
The Preston Park show was the only UK date on this leg of the Bad Seeds' tour. The band had just played Dublin's Malahide Castle, where they covered The Pogues' "A Rainy Night In Soho."
Cave revealed in May that the Bad Seeds have been in the studio "messing around" with Martyn P. Casey, Thomas Wydler, Jim Sclavunos and Warren Ellis, with "vague ideas" about a follow-up to Wild God.
Cave also appears on Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea's debut solo album Honora (2026), which also features Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Separately, Cave re-recorded "Red Right Hand" for the series Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.