HAVE YOU HEARD: Rosalie Cunningham - The High Priestess of Psych
"Forget the digital sheen of the 2020s. To listen to Rosalie Cunningham is to be transported to a smoke-filled London club in 1968, where the lace is heavy, the organs are swirling, and the fuzz pedals are cranked to eleven. She isn't just reviving the late sixties; she's perfecting them.”
Rosalie Cunningham (Image: Rob Blackham)
From Occult Riffs to Technicolor Dreams
Southend-based singer-songwriter Rosalie Cunningham emerged onto the music scene in 2007 with band Ipso Facto, a psychedelic rock band.
Following three singles and an EP, the group disbanded in 2009. Cunningham then emerged with a new project, Purson, whose demonology-inspired name signalled a continued descent into psychedelic and progressive rock.
The band and Cunningham helped spearhead the "Occult Rock" revival of the early 2010s with heavy, Black Sabbath-inspired riffs colouring the dark song-writing.
Purson released two albums (The Circle and The Blue Door and Desire’s Magic Theatre) across their 2011-2017 lifespan.
The Solo Odyssey: A One-Woman "Golden Age"
Rosalie Cunningham, Faversham (Image: Rob Blackham)
Since 2017, following the end of the Purson project, Cunningham. who sings, plays guitar, bass and keyboards, has crafted a solo career and already has four albums to her name (debut Rosalie Cunningham (2019), Two Piece Puzzle (2022), Live at Acapela (2023) and To Shoot Another Day (2024).
Her debut album was actually nominated for a Mercury Music Prize —a rare feat for an artist so unapologetically "vintage", but proof of her songwriting prowess.
To Shoot Another Day: Cinematic Psychedelia
To Shoot Another Day (Image: Rob Blackham)
Rosalie Cunningham's most recent album, To Shoot Another Day, was released on 1st November 2024 via Esoteric Antenna, and helps cement Cunningham’s role in spearheading a one-woman "Golden Age of Rock" revival.
The title track is the James Bond theme you haven’t yet heard, and many of her mini-movie soundtracks embellish the album with a “Cinematic Psyche” flavour.
The varied nature of the album sees the mood shift from epic to eccentric with the quirky, vaudevillian satire of Timothy Martin’s Conditioning School.
Rosalie Cunningham (Image: Rob Blackham)
The whole album exhibits a warmth and texture analogue vibe which eschews the digitally sterile nature of many of today’s recordings.
Cunningham and partner, Rosco Wilson (Rosco Levee & the Southern Slide), help infuse the recordings with a DIY, recorded at home, human ‘feel’ throughout.
“You can practically sense the valves glowing in the amplifiers and the dust on the Mellotron tapes.”
With influences stretching from The Beatles (White Album era) to Jethro Tull (song Heavy Pencil with its flute infused jazzy prog) via The Kinks, its a wonderful smorgasbord of late 60s and early 70s progressive rock and psychedelia, laced with Hammond organs, Mellotrons, and fuzz pedals.
A Victorian Traveling Circus for the 21st Century
Cunningham’s visual identity is as strong as her music. Her stage presence - often draped in velvet and paisley - and album art (like the 1970s-style The Smut Peddler or the cover of Two Piece Puzzle) are vital to the experience and bridge the gap between a rock concert and a Victorian travelling circus.
With awards including 2023’s "Female Vocalist of the Year" win in PROG magazine, Cunningham’s star shines brightly.
Rosalie Cunningham Directs (Image: Rob Blackham)
The Road Ahead: 2026 and Beyond
The future remains dazzling and in vivid technicolour detail.
A new album is scheduled to be released later in 2026 and, coupled with a UK tour (following recent excursions around Europe) that will showcase the new songs, this should help raise her profile even further.
Cunningham is an essential artist for fans of 60s/70s rock looking for a vintage aesthetic, but offering something that bit different, in the crowded heavy rock/blues rock arena.
As Bob Seger (and later Thin Lizzy) sang:
“She’s Got The Power, Got The Power, Rosalie”
UK Tour Dates:
UK Tour Poster (Image: Rosalie Cunningham Facebook page)
I’ll be looking to catch the Bradford gig for some gunpowder, treason and plot on 5th November.
If you’re heading to the gig see my Nightrain, Bradford guide for useful pre-gig information.
