Blending folk, country, rock, and soul, as well as a voice like gravel soaked in honey, Bergman stepped on stage to a chattering crowd - a common fate for many support acts. Within seconds of his first guitar strum, though, the energy shifted. Conversations died out, and you could hear a pin drop by the time he sang the first line to his song ‘Britany, I’m Sorry’.
“I think there's an energy in the room you can feel when it's connecting. If you’re telling it honestly, and you’re really connecting to the thing you’re putting out, it’s very palpable,” he told me ahead of the show. But never have I ever witnessed this happen so quickly, and I could tell everyone else felt the same.
Honesty runs deep in Bergman’s set. As former frontman of reggae rock band Lionize, his solo work leans into Americana. It is nothing short of raw, reflecting and gut-wrenchingly sincere. I’ve rarely seen an audience go so quiet within seconds, as if everyone quietly agreed that we were about to witness something truly special - the real thing, if you will.
Yet, despite the heaviness, Bergman proved to be a master of making depressing songs engaging while topping it off with top-notch humour that was greatly appreciated by the Geordie crowd. “This shit is about to get depressing real quick”, he warned after the opening number, “so for now let’s do my happy song,” he continued. With impeccable comedic timing, he launched into a crowd singalong to the line “Wish I was dead”… and everyone sang it with smiles on their faces.
I learned that this duality of darkness and banter is Bergman’s signature, and few people can pull it off so smoothly and with so much heart. “I think people have come to know that my sets are generally very sad sort of introspective. Then, in between me playing those songs, I'm gonna say like a lot of funny and unhinged stuff,” he told me. “I just talk to the crowd like they're my friends and I sort of say whatever I'm thinking.”
It’s safe to say the Geordie crowd loved every minute of it. The set continued with the heart-wrenching pieces ‘Deep End’ and ‘Forever Plus A Day’. He reminded the audience that “you could think you're in a room full of strangers tonight, but you don't have to be. You're in a room full of people who are all here for the same reason. So meet someone new. And you never know if that person could be the person that's gonna save or change your life in some really meaningful way.”
He had already won everyone over with his charm by that time, but little did we know we were in for a real treat with the last two songs he performed.
‘Back to Nashville’ is a track that was originally recorded with a gospel choir. “I spent all my budget on the choir,” he said. “As you can see… I still have no budget left”, he joked while pointing at the minimal setup around him. Though what he lacked in backup singers, he made up for in audience volume as he got everyone to sing along louder and louder, as if they’d known the words all their lives.
Clearly, Nate Bergman has gained an army of new fans throughout this tour. “We’re all just trying to connect,” he said earlier, “because essentially, we’re all experiencing the same things in life.”
This sentiment was fully palpable during the final song. For ‘Into My Arms’, he unplugged his guitar and made his way down to the crowd. Face to face. No mics. No effects. Just one voice, a guitar, and his willingness to say the heavy things out loud - with the attention of every single person present.
By the end of his set, people lingered at the merch stand to buy his vinyl and have a chat with Bergman himself, and he embraced every single one of them.
When we talked about the sadness of his songs, Bergman said: “I don't know why, but I've always just felt more drawn to the darker stuff and stuff that feels harder to talk about. Maybe it’s like this weird therapeutic thing where I'm forcing myself to sort of deal with it. But somehow talking about sad things makes them less sad.”
“It's a lot easier to relate to a sad song than a love song.” This vulnerability that he is willing to share so proudly and unfiltered is essentially what makes him so striking as an artist. In our interview, I asked Bergman how he thinks his music resonates with the UK crowd, and he replied: “I think British audiences appreciate a certain sadness. Maybe it's because Brits, stereotypically, are more reserved emotionally. But when it comes to art, they're very open to vulnerability.”
Well, his observation proved to be entirely true that evening at the Cluny. Bergman’s shows remind you why live music truly matters, not just for entertainment, but for the community. He especially considered that fans came to see Chuck Ragan and how “maybe when they were teenagers, they were like stage diving in a hardcore show. And now they're, you know, a little older and a little more open to something more emotional and less physically dangerous.”
Everyone came to see Chuck Ragan that night, but for those who got to witness Bergman’s set, it felt like discovering something rare and, in a strange way, life-affirming. He’s one to look out for - an artist who creates space for collective feeling.
As our conversation came to a close, Nate had some simple, but heartfelt words to the UK audience: “Thank you for listening. Thanks for coming to the shows. And thank you for having Greggs available everywhere.”
Nate Bergman's new EP, Wild One, is out now.