Omar at The Old Bakery, Truro: A Reminder of Why Longevity Matters
There are gigs that feel like “events,” and then there are gigs that feel like people quietly gathering because they genuinely love music.
Seeing Omar at The Old Bakery Studios over the Bank Holiday weekend definitely fell into the second category.
Truro itself was fairly quiet that evening. It had been a sunny Saturday, and most people were probably somewhere coastal, enjoying the weather. We’d gone for a couple of drinks and some food beforehand at the Old Grammar School and then Mannings before heading over to the venue around 8:30pm. By then, the place was already filling up nicely.
What immediately stood out was the crowd.
This wasn’t a random Saturday night crowd looking for somewhere to drink. These were soul, jazz and funk people. You could feel it. Most were around my age group, respectful, chilled out and clearly there for the music. I got chatting to a guy who’d travelled down from Westward Ho! for the night, and we ended up talking about the old Acid Jazz scene and even Solar Radio, which tells you everything you need to know about the kind of crowd this was.
Before Omar came on stage, the guys from Crates Is High Records in Launceston did a superb job warming the room up with jazz-funk selections that fitted the mood perfectly. It reminded me of the old school bars and clubs where I used to DJ years ago. The difference being that the Old Bakery was clean; well looked after; had a decent bar; and had toilets that weren’t hanging on for dear life.
The venue itself suited the music perfectly. Intimate, standing room only, close enough to properly connect with what was happening on stage. And when Omar walked out, he owned it immediately.
You sometimes go to see artists who have been around a long time and get the feeling they’re simply working through a setlist out of habit. Step by step, song by song, almost on autopilot. There was none of that here.
The performance felt fresh, natural and completely genuine. His voice was spot on all night, and the band was exceptional too. A tight four-piece with keyboards, drums, bass and lead guitar, all locked into that smooth jazz-funk-soul groove without ever overplaying it. Everything sounded effortless.
The whole performance had this laid-back quality to it, but underneath was the confidence and control of musicians who have spent years mastering their craft.
For me, one of the standout moments was hearing “The Man” live. I’ve always respected Omar’s catalogue, even if I probably haven’t spent as much time with it over the years as I should have. There’s just so much music out there. But hearing those songs in that setting reminded me why he has remained such an important figure within UK soul music for so long.
He also dropped in a couple of brilliant covers, including “Be Thankful”, which he previously released alongside the late Angie Stone and Erykah Badu, before getting the whole room singing along to Roy Ayers’ “Sunshine”. That moment summed the night up perfectly.
Even though I don’t think everyone in the room knew every Omar track, it genuinely didn’t matter. The atmosphere carried it. People were there because they understood the culture surrounding this music. The grooves, the musicianship, the feeling, and the history behind it all.
To me, Omar has always been the king of UK soul. Plenty have tried, but very few have managed to blend soul, jazz, funk and British street culture in the way he has over the years. Yes, the influences may originally come from across the Atlantic, but there’s something unmistakably British about Omar’s sound and presence. And reaching ten studio albums in an industry obsessed with trends and short attention spans deserves real respect.
By the end of the night, with “There’s Nothing Like This” and “Night’s Like This” ringing around the venue, it honestly just felt good to be there. No hype, no pretentiousness, no phones constantly in the air trying to capture social media moments. Just people enjoying proper music. The best gigs often leave you wanting to revisit an artist’s catalogue on the drive home, and that’s precisely what this one did for me.
If you’re entirely new to Omar, I’d probably suggest starting with 2013’s The Man, which many see as one of his strongest records, or last year’s Brighter The Days before working backwards through the catalogue.
Some artists fade away once the spotlight moves on.
Others quietly keep building legacies. Omar belongs firmly in the second category.
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