Latest show

Wildlife, Comedy, BeeWise Book Launch and Northern Irish Bands

Broadcast on: 4 February, 2025

If you are interested in seeing the exhibit «Wildlife Photographer of the Year» in the evening, head to Basel's Natural History Museum on February 6. You can visit this exhibition at your leisure, followed by a relaxing drink at the museum bar.

Cultural Events

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Snow Patrol in Zurich - 1 February 2025

The quintessence of any Snow Patrol concert lies in its humanity. Whether it’s lead vocalist Gary Lightbody forgetting lyrics or bursting out laughing in the middle of a song, or the sound system suddenly being overpowered by crackling noises, there is a sense of vulnerability mixed with humour that sets a Snow Patrol gig apart from most other shows.

Thirty years and eight albums into their career, you’d think that the band have seen and done it all and are over it. But this is far from the case. As Lightbody says in the current tour programme:

«We started on the 30th of September 1994 and if you had told me that we’d, not only, still be going three decades later; but also the album we would release (almost exactly) on the 30th anniversary of our formation – «The Forest Is The Path» – would be our first number one album in 18 years; AND that the tour for that album would be our first fully sold out European arena tour in many years… I would probably have a few questions for you. I may have even directed you (gently, mind you) to the nearest mental health professional. But here we are.»

And there they were. The Zurich concert was the second show of the tour after Paris, and the enthusiastic Saturday night audience greeted Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly and multi-instrumentalist Johnny McDaid with rapturous applause. And rightly so. What followed was a joyous blend of songs both old and new, starting with dance numbers like «Called Out In The Dark» and moving towards upbeat set closer «Just Say Yes» via the call-and-response of «Shut Your Eyes» and the beauty of «Heal Me».

New song «The Beginning» fit in flawlessly, with the crowd already word-perfect, and the band’s most recent single «But I’ll Keep Trying» – which will be out on a separate EP in 2025 – was an absolute treat.

Snow Patrol pack a powerful punch on stage, due in no small part to the band’s touring members, bassist Ben Epstein and drummer Ash Soan. The two musicians formed the backbone of «Make This Go On Forever», performed in a stunning extended version with a new outro.

The quiet and stripped-back «Set The Fire To The Third Bar» and «What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?» highlighted Lightbody’s gorgeous vocals, while überhits «Run» and «Chasing Cars» elicited arm-waving and mass sing-alongs, the grins on the crowd’s faces reflecting the elation of the evening. As ever, Snow Patrol were an absolute delight.

Support came from young Northern Irish band The Florentinas, whose appealing indie rock energised the audience. As Snow Patrol themselves commented online: «Very few guest artists get a crowd (in a city they have never played before) all clapping along with their hands in the air. It was sight to behold.»