Currently in the depths of their North American tour, Bear’s Den took to the stage at the famous Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday night.

Playing to an even mix of both younger and older concert goers, the band, who are originally from London, performed for an hour and a half to the sold-out room, opening with the title track from their most recent album, Red Earth & Pouring Rain to kick off the evening.

The audience almost seemed to reflect Bear’s Den’s musical style. They were calm and chilled out throughout the set, swaying and singing along through each song and clapping upon their finish.

The band’s sound is reminiscent of an early Mumford and Sons – the combination of both acoustic and electric guitars and banjo’s, and occasional trumpet (played by the drummer and keyboardist) gives nods to the folk-rock genre. However, the style of their live performance is slightly slower and quieter, and it draws in an older crowd.

The power of lead singer Andrew Davie‘s voice is unprecedented when himself and other members, Kevin Jones and their session banjo player Christof van der Ven, play a couple of tracks completely acoustic. Unplugging their guitars (or banjo’s) and stepping away from the microphones for the first acoustic rendition Don’t Let The Sun Steal You Away. The audience fell completely silent – enough to hear a pin drop, whilst Davie’s vocals accompanied by unfaltering harmonies from Jones and van der Ven filled the hall.

The band later returned to the acoustic format for one song in the encore, although this time the three members took it a step further and walked into the middle of the standing audience, and gave a performance of Gabriel. Surrounded by admiring fans (and their iPhones), the vocals could still be heard from the back of the room, which really nods to the strength of singer’s voice, as not a single note was dropped.

The show is briefly stopped halfway through whilst the band interacts with the crowd. Christof completes the “bottle flip challenge” (the act of flipping a plastic bottle and hoping it lands upright) and wins, which is followed by cheers and claps from both the crowd and fellow band members.  A look of genuine happiness spreads across their faces as they all embrace in a congratulatory hug.

Giving a nod to famous Brooklynite Lou Reed, the band also performed a cover of his well-known Perfect Day, but in their own folk-rock style, which was very well received by the Brooklyn crowd who sang back every word.

Finishing off with perhaps their most popular single Agape, Bear’s Den received huge cheers from the crowd before quickly departing onto their next leg of North American tour.

Photos: Katie Willoughby