MIRADOR live at the Islington Assembly Hall, LONDON.
words + photography by NICOLA O'CONNELLNight 3 of their ongoing tour, rock’n’roll band Mirador take to Islington’s Assembly Hall in London. Having formed only last year in 2024, the band consisting of Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka (guitar and vocals), Ida Mae’s Chris Turpin (guitar and vocals), Mikey Sorbello (drums) and Nick Pini (bass and keyboard), they proved themselves having more to offer aside from their usual musical endeavours.
Joining Mirador was new wave/indie, rock band from London called Lady Of Mars. Citing influences such at Patti Smith, Stevie Nicks, and The Smiths, Lady Of Mars oozes a cool modern rock vibe whilst holding onto those classic rock elements and sounds. I quite enjoyed their set and it’s nice to see more local bands getting the spotlight shone on them. After the gig I went in search of Lady Of Mars on Spotify but was sad to see only 3 songs listed! But credit to them, those 3 songs are at least 3 good ones. Their most recent release 'Girls That Play Guitar’ is a great track, though I think ‘Hits A Nerve’ may be my favourite. I’d say if you’re someone into the likes of Pale Waves you may enjoy Lady Of Mars’ music too.
Mirador started their set, guns blazing with ‘Heels Of The Hunt’. Although the band itself is a newer project, it was clear a nice chunk of the audience were loyal fans from band members’ other musical projects (Greta Van Fleet, Ida Mae). This year I’ve come to truly love bands with multiple singers and so Kiszka & Turpin haven’t disappointed with how their voices meld together perfectly for a fantastic sound. Mirador’s whole aesthetic and sound screams bluesy rock’n’roll, traditional folklore with story telling, and plenty of guitar instrumentals throughout.
The setlist consisted of more songs from their recently released, self-titeld album ‘MIRADOR’ such as ‘Raider’, ‘Feels Like Gold’, and ‘Roving Blade’. Jake Kiszka truly showcases his vocal talent whilst adding harmonica to the mix when covering ‘Diving Duck Blues’. Another credit to the band is that they definitely seem to enjoy interacting with their fans during their set. Having educated myself on their music beforehand, ‘Fortunate’s Fate’ and ‘Ashes To Earth’ were songs I most looked forward to hearing, and the encore being ‘Skyway Drifter’ was the perfect way to end the evening.
Mirador isn’t just one of those bands who will play a song and it be over in the usual time limit, these guys will give you a full-on instrumental masterpiece and honestly you cannot grumble about it - it’s impressive. As someone who’s witnessed several bands drag out a song for way too long, I can assure you that this isn’t that. If you’re already familiar with Kiszka’s performances in Greta Van Fleet then you’ll know that the man can keep you hypnotised with his playing already, this is nothing new to him.
Overall Mirador put on a show that packed punches and their energy was surely electric. Mikey Sorbello and Nick Pini are not to be forgotten about with their effortlessly brilliant playing, with Sorbello thunderous, and not to be ignored behind the drum kit whilst Pini kept it aggressively rumbling through your whole being, every member contributed to the dynamic set of the night. Despite it being a smaller venue, it definitely works to an advantage of being able to connect with the whole room but I can totally see Mirador growing and playing much larger venues in no time.
