Say She She|Ponceau
The Drill Shed, Margate, Kent
30th July 2026
Say She She, supported by Ponceau, brought their “discodelic soul” and “dreamy harmonies” to the South-East coast to help Margate celebrate 25 years of its now legendary Soul Weekender. In the relatively new and repurposed event space of the 750 capacity Drill Shed, the incredibly talented New York trio of Piya, Sabrina and Alina transferred Manhattan chic to bohemian Margate.
Below the lurid orange glow of the iconic Lido sign, and within a stone’s throw of the Kent seaside, Say She She, following in the footsteps of fellow New Yorker Madonna, made Margate home for the night as part of their current tour. On the grounds of the former Clifton Baths and Georgian sea-bathing site, Say She She brought back to life some of the Lido’s illustrious 1970s disco past with aplomb.
Ponceau (French for poppy-coloured) were first up onto the Drill Shed stage. Surprisingly, to me at least, Ponceau, as I write, still have less than 100 listeners on Spotify despite their clear musical prowess and genuine enthusiasm. Hopefully, after this string of dates, the extra exposure will bring them a few more. The Brighton based five piece with “Probably the most mispronounced band name in history” delivered a lively and well received nine track set book-ended by tracks about time.
Waste My Time, the band’s 2024 single, got the night off to a rather groovy and funky start. Rhys Roberts five string slap bass, Owen Davis’ joyously playful guitar licks and Loui Baker’s light and nimble vocals combined to great effect. Loui introduced the band, completed by James Harman on drums and Liv on keyboards, and asked the ever growing audience if they were excited for Say She She. The response indicated that they clearly were!
The attentive and appreciative crowd got their first interaction and participation of the night with the band’s final track, One More Time. Loui instructed the audience on their vocal duties as she conducted them in calling back “hey, hey, hey” after she’d sung the title line. The crowd responded with equal enthusiasm to round off a great opening set.
After a pre-gig photo shoot stage left, Say She She took to the Drill Shed stage at 9:30pm to rapturous applause. Their accomplished four piece touring band played them on as, at first Sabrina Cunningham, then Piya Malik and finally Alina Cherone (Nya Brown is currently on Mat leave) strode confidently onto stage. Fresh from playing Ronnie Scott’s, Brighton’s Concorde 2 and a handful of festivals recently, Say She She were ready to party, and ready to deliver on their promise of “discodelic soul” and “dreamy harmonies”.
In a 16 track 75 minute set, Say She She, despite a few early technical issues with the vocal mics, brought to bear their own unique blend of delicious Disco, dirty funk, and smooth Soul. The three part vocal harmonies and shared vocal interplay were evident throughout as Say She She offered up some of the best cuts from their top-tier portfolio.
After the opener, a sumptuous Forget Me Not led straight into the irresistible rhythms of Disco Life before the more funky beats of Prism. The light and airy summer vibes of Under The Sun headed up the title track from the band’s latest album, Cut And Rewind, and it was like the weight of the world had been lifted. Say She She certainly deliver the feel good factor and then some. I defy anyone to experience a Say She She gig and not be transported to a better place than they were before they saw them.
Say She She flexed their formidable vocal dexterity throughout as they treated those gathered in The Drill Shed to a heavenly version of Reeling, a beautifully layered Questions and a set highlight late on with the smooth and silky Astral Plane. Talking Heads Slippery People and The Jackson Sisters I Believe In Miracles added another dimension to the extraordinary performance before Say She She capped of the evening with a sing-along of C’est Si Bon and Do All Things With Love. Sabrina says “for us it’s about establishing good music, good camaraderie and a good show” and in Margate Say She She did all three, and much, much more.
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You can find Say She She online here: They’re also on
Facebook and Instagram
You can find Ponceau on Instagram: They’re also on Spotify
All words by Andrew Lockwood. More writing by Andrew Lockwood can be found at his author’s archive.
All photos by Aaron Thompson. AMP Photography
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