An Intimate Affair: Wynona Bleach Live At The Wee Bar Review

Words: Ruby Corrigan

Playing to a sold-out crowd, long time Belfast favourites Wynona Bleach performed their hearts out at the Union ‘Wee Bar’, an intimate venue in the heart of the Queen’s Quarter on Sunday the 16^th of February – and what a show they put on!

Supporting the band that evening were the fellow Belfast rockers Cairo Station who, despite only having one song officially released, certainly know how to pack a punch on stage. Drenched in red lighting, the band took to the stage, emanating an effortlessly cool and laid-back aura, begore launching into a short, yet impactful set full of hard-hitting tunes to make your heart thump. A particular highlight had to be the group’s debut single ‘Menace’, as the song’s combination of heavy bass, catchy lyrics and soaring guitar riffs made it a perfect tune for a live setting.

Despite being a relatively new version of the band’s lineup, the four members, Felix (guitar), Fiontan (drums), Ben (bass) and Daryla (vocals) make an incredible sound together, with their performance being professional and slick, highlighting how great of combination they are together.

The beauty of a venue like The Wee Bar is how much interaction the band can have with their audience, and lead signer Daryla seriously made great use of this. Her effervescent stage presence and particular attention to detail when interacting with the audience really livened up the crowd, perfectly setting everyone up for the main event.

It is clear that Wynona Bleach have an extremely loyal fan following, as when the headliners took to the stage, the whole room erupted into applause. With an impressive roster of songs under their belt, I already knew that we would be in for a treat, and for once in my life, I was correct. The band opened with some of their classic tunes and then spent some time using the crowd as ‘guinea pigs’ while they trialled new music – and if last night was just a taste, then I think any fans of the band should be getting excited, as it was brilliant. I Particularly loved ‘Be Positive’, as the juxtaposition between the simply sweet name and the band’s signature 90s style grunge sound was extremely satisfying to both my mind and my ears.

Again, what was so captivating was the band’s engagement with crowd. Vocalist Melyssa’s ability to keep a crowd engaged both while performing and while waiting to start the next song is second to none. As the gig was a fundraiser to help get the band to SXSW 2025, the band paused the show to pull a winner of the raffle they were running and, while slightly unconventional, it added a refreshingly humorous interlude to the show. The band soon continued with their set, ending the performance with the first song they ever played live – which felt like an extremely heartfelt and full circle moment, especially as they were raising money for such a momentous milestone in their lengthy career.

All in all, despite the venue being so small, the close quarters in fact added to the intimacy of the gig – making the entire night was absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend you check these two brilliant bands out.

Photo credits: Michael Mcglinchey