Coyle Girelli Charms The Lexington with Cinematic Storytelling and Soulful Americana

Dave Broome
Oct 13
3 min read

The Lexington, London - 9th October 2025

IMAGES DAVE BROOME / WORDS SIAN WILSON

Coyle Girelli Charms The Lexington with Cinematic Storytelling and Soulful Americana — Photo Credit Dave Broome

Stepping into the warm glow of The Lexington, the lively hum of conversation reverberates through what initially feels like an unsuspecting music venue. This is swiftly offset by walls dominated by skulls, horns and antique firearms, a sharp contrast to the fervency below them. Climbing the narrow staircase to the venue itself, the building's legacy is becoming clear; plastered floor to ceiling are posters of past gigs that celebrate that this is more than just a pub.

Entering a dark room, a large disco ball is hanging in the centre and a bottle of wine is sitting ready on the stage edge. It feels intimate, personal, a sign of things to come, and that feeling only continues to grow as the crowd begins to fill the small room.

The anticipation is building as we wait for Coyle to take to the stage. A Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter, Coyle Girelli gained recognition as the frontman of the bands Your Vegas and later The Chevin. While he made his name in the indie-rock genre, his solo career has seen his music take a more romantic and cinematic turn.

Coyle and his band enter the stage quietly, without grandeur, as though he has wandered in from the bar. He opens, not with his music, but with his witty storytelling, unlike the often-dry frontman chat. Here showcasing his latest album, he leads with the title track, “Out Of This Town”, embodying rich, soulful and hypnotic tones. He tells us after that this is his first solo gig in London and that the album has been a project 10 years in the making with the late, great Mac Davis - best known for writing Elvis’ hits In the “Ghetto” and “A Little Less Conversation”.

The set flows into “Lost To The River” which continues the ‘out of this town’ theme, while “Never Thought I’d See You Again” is unlike anything he’s written before, he explains. This has quickly become an audience with Coyle Girelli, as he tells story after story between each song, red wine in hand. It is impossible not to feel the emotion of each song as the lyrics and the reverb echo across the room. The crowd responds with warm applause, not just polite, but genuinely moved. I can hear the faint clink of glasses at the bar; the pub atmosphere never completely disappearing and only adding to the intimacy.

One of the most memorable moments of the night is his story of Mac Davis’ swag bag, which he humorously called his ‘publishing company’. Named simply because it contained sheets of paper scrawled with lyrics, a bag of lost songs just waiting to be played. I can’t stop thinking about how many will remain unsung and what a tragedy that is for the music world.

Coyle tells us that it was Mac Davis who gave him the permission he felt he needed to be able to free his inner Americana voice, that was previously hidden in indie rock. He also explains how Bruce Springsteen influences his music, exemplified as he bursts into the ballad “Mary In The Moonlight”.

The stories continue to come, he thanks Apple and credits the iPhone for enabling them to lift the voice memos he and Mac Davis would share, containing clean vocals for two versions of “Pretty”, allowing Davis’ voice to live on. He extends his thanks to those in the room, with particular kudos given to the “big cello” (double bass) player, before ending the set with the melodic “Everyone But Me And You”.

He exits the stage much in the same demeanour he entered and with a final promise that it may be his first solo show in London, but it won't be his last. I started the night knowing very little about Coyle Girelli. But as I stand here, still wrapped in the warmth of the evening, I feel like I’ve spent a night getting to know him over a drink—his stories, his voice, his music. I walked in curious - I walk out a fan.

Set list (Coyle Girelli)