GoGo Penguin

Formed in Manchester in 2012, GoGo Penguin fuse electronic, classical and indie influences within an acoustic piano-trio setup. Pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka and drummer Jon Scott sculpt contemporary jazz from minimalist motifs, melodic bass lines and breakbeat-leaning rhythms, nodding to club culture and film music while keeping the immediacy of a live band. Their album v2.0 earned a Mercury Prize nomination, then a run of releases on Blue Note — including Man Made Object, A Humdrum Star and the self-titled GoGo Penguin — refined that language, followed by Everything Is Going to Be OK in 2023.

On stage, they expand those ideas in real time: piano figures loop and shift, drums fracture into tight grooves, and the double bass grounds the pulse with a warm, resonant tone. Pieces from across their catalogue are reworked with attention to texture and dynamics, letting patterns build, break and reassemble. GoGo Penguin play Wylam Brewery in Newcastle upon Tyne on 19 May 2026 with a set focused on interplay and detail, where themes evolve patiently and spaces between notes carry as much weight as the melodies.