Big Sleep

Wax and Beans - Bury, Greater Manchester - 24th Feb 2026

Story by Ben Avery

25/03/2026

Big Sleep were in town as part of a run of shows for their debut album launch. This gig was in Wax and Beans, which is an independent Greater Manchester record store / coffee shop based just north of the city in Bury.

The stage is set up in the window of the shop, but facing in towards the audience rather than being a moving shop window display, although they did get a fair bit of interest from passers by. Big Sleep are a 4 piece Dublin based band; singer Rónán Connolly, guitarist Naiara Clarke Lafuente, drummer Matteo Poli and bassist Aidan Gray.The are signed to Manchester based label Lab records. I spoke to drummer Matteo after the gig about it: “We played our first Manchester gig at Gullivers and signed to Lab records there and then after the show”. On the night they played the Holy Show album almost in its entirety plus one or two extras following requests from the audience. Speaking to Pleaser Magazine about the album title Rónán Connolly said:- “We picked the name Holy Show for the album because we feel it sums up the songs and the subject matter in them. “Holy Show” is an Irish slang for a messy situation when somebody makes a fool of themselves, or you’re in some kind of embarrassment or maybe emotional chaos.” He continued - “For us, every song is its own kind of holy show, informed by either an experience of love or loss, and kind of everything in between” They were playing as a 3 piece band tonight, bassist Aidan Gray was missing due to a holiday in Columbia, for which Rónán convinced us he would rather be here with all of us now promoting the album. Drummer Matteo Poli played with a more stripped back drum kit and, despite the previously mentioned missing bassist, the sound though was really full, well rounded and sweet. This was thanks in part to the harmonies of Rónán and Naiara.

Big Sleep play a blend of atmospheric indie / alt rock and post punk. They can conjure up vivid imagery, especially on the album track Top of the Pops. The vocal harmonies really shine though on Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo. Matteo is the only non Irish native in the band, he told me that he hails from Florence, Italy, and moved to Dublin 8 years ago where he met singer Rónán. The overline up of the group has changed a few times over the few years they’ve been a band starting with Rónán and Matteo and moving to the balanced line up they have today.