Cowboy Junkies Queen's Hall Edinburgh 3rd May 2026
Image by Heather Pollock
The Cowboy Junkies were at the Queen's Hall Edinburgh tonight, a date on their current tour "Celebrating 40 Years and Beyond", and as you would expect from this title, this show was exactly that.
Formed in Toronto, Canada in 1985, the Cowboy Junkies were, and still are, a family affair with the current line up still consisting of Margo Timmins (vocals), Michael Timmins (guitar), and Peter Timmins (drums). Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton is still on bass and long-time musical collaborator/friend, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird completed tonight's line up with amongst other things some fine harmonica playing.
Throughout the music tonight it was obvious why, against all the odds, The Cowboy Junkies broke through into the wider music scene in the mid 1980s and in particular why their second studio album, "The Trinity Session” (1988) gained them so many followers. There is a very identifiable sound to the group and Margo Timmins’ vocals are obviously a large part of that. At the core of the group though, and effortlessly demonstrated in tonight's set-list, are the songs themselves. These are not simple throw-away pop/radio play tunes, and Michael Timmins, writer of the band’s songs, is clearly a gifted songwriter. These are songs that always ask the listener to listen a little closer, and pay attention to the words.
The Cowboy Junkies have a new CD and vinyl box set out, "Open To Beauty - Best of the 21st Century" which collects music from the nine albums released during this period, so not unsurprisingly, songs from this featured tonight, mainly in a short first set, whilst a longer second set took a wider back catalogue through the last 40 years or so.
Opening tonight's show with "Hell is Real" followed by "A Common Disaster" did create that feeling of a darker, more ominous atmosphere, but this, as throughout the show, was often well counterbalanced with the lightness and humour of Margo Timmins.
One common theme of this evening was, however, the passage of time itself and often how that made some of the earlier songs now a little bit different when viewed from the age that the band, and many people in this audience, now were. One good example of this was the song "Where Are You Tonight?" Looking out from the stage, the question would be where were the young boys/men in their baseball caps now? What a difference 30 years or so can make to the perspective of a song.
Some of these songs were also about having to deal with someone you love who is not only slipping away from your grasp physically, but also mentally as their memories start to fade away, and songs like these can only really be written from experiencing that loss in your own life. No matter how you try to imagine this as a songwriter, you do need to draw from your own emotions and experiences for a song like "What I Lost".
One highlight for many people in this audience was obviously the opening song of the second set, The Cowboy Junkies’ performance of The Velvet Underground's classic "Sweet Jane". For myself, I always have a liking for acoustic sets, they strip back a song to its building blocks and let you see all the fine details, so a three song acoustic set was one of tonight's musical highlights for me.
The songs often have a very intimate feel to them, one that fans over the decades have often felt an affinity to. Michael Timmins through his words and music can connect with people through not only the good times, but the more difficult times in their lives and the older both The Cowboy Junkies and their audiences get together, the stronger that bond seems to be. If I was to pick just a few favourite songs from this show, "'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel" and "Misguided Angel" would have to be there.
When any band/performer has a back catalogue of music stretching back over 40 years then there is always going to be that problem of mixing the older classics with newer songs, and somewhere in that set-list you are always going to miss someone’s favourite. Overall that balance was pretty much right tonight, judging by the applause from this audience at the end of this show.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Formed in Toronto, Canada in 1985, the Cowboy Junkies were, and still are, a family affair with the current line up still consisting of Margo Timmins (vocals), Michael Timmins (guitar), and Peter Timmins (drums). Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton is still on bass and long-time musical collaborator/friend, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird completed tonight's line up with amongst other things some fine harmonica playing.
Throughout the music tonight it was obvious why, against all the odds, The Cowboy Junkies broke through into the wider music scene in the mid 1980s and in particular why their second studio album, "The Trinity Session” (1988) gained them so many followers. There is a very identifiable sound to the group and Margo Timmins’ vocals are obviously a large part of that. At the core of the group though, and effortlessly demonstrated in tonight's set-list, are the songs themselves. These are not simple throw-away pop/radio play tunes, and Michael Timmins, writer of the band’s songs, is clearly a gifted songwriter. These are songs that always ask the listener to listen a little closer, and pay attention to the words.
The Cowboy Junkies have a new CD and vinyl box set out, "Open To Beauty - Best of the 21st Century" which collects music from the nine albums released during this period, so not unsurprisingly, songs from this featured tonight, mainly in a short first set, whilst a longer second set took a wider back catalogue through the last 40 years or so.
Opening tonight's show with "Hell is Real" followed by "A Common Disaster" did create that feeling of a darker, more ominous atmosphere, but this, as throughout the show, was often well counterbalanced with the lightness and humour of Margo Timmins.
One common theme of this evening was, however, the passage of time itself and often how that made some of the earlier songs now a little bit different when viewed from the age that the band, and many people in this audience, now were. One good example of this was the song "Where Are You Tonight?" Looking out from the stage, the question would be where were the young boys/men in their baseball caps now? What a difference 30 years or so can make to the perspective of a song.
Some of these songs were also about having to deal with someone you love who is not only slipping away from your grasp physically, but also mentally as their memories start to fade away, and songs like these can only really be written from experiencing that loss in your own life. No matter how you try to imagine this as a songwriter, you do need to draw from your own emotions and experiences for a song like "What I Lost".
One highlight for many people in this audience was obviously the opening song of the second set, The Cowboy Junkies’ performance of The Velvet Underground's classic "Sweet Jane". For myself, I always have a liking for acoustic sets, they strip back a song to its building blocks and let you see all the fine details, so a three song acoustic set was one of tonight's musical highlights for me.
The songs often have a very intimate feel to them, one that fans over the decades have often felt an affinity to. Michael Timmins through his words and music can connect with people through not only the good times, but the more difficult times in their lives and the older both The Cowboy Junkies and their audiences get together, the stronger that bond seems to be. If I was to pick just a few favourite songs from this show, "'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel" and "Misguided Angel" would have to be there.
When any band/performer has a back catalogue of music stretching back over 40 years then there is always going to be that problem of mixing the older classics with newer songs, and somewhere in that set-list you are always going to miss someone’s favourite. Overall that balance was pretty much right tonight, judging by the applause from this audience at the end of this show.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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