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It is always a pleasure to spend a few hours in the company of Steve Hackett, the last genuine link to early Genesis and one of progressive rock’s key architects. While some artists have spent years distancing themselves from both the label and the music itself, Hackett continues to embrace the whole unwieldy package, the ambition, the virtuosity, the excess, the sheer scale of it all. Progressive rock was a fairly brief moment in musical history and, geographically speaking, a rather concentrated one, yet there is clearly still an appetite for it in 2026, as evidenced by this sold-out Paris date, his fourth in six years. As live music becomes increasingly automated and songs are repackaged as frictionless tech products, there is a growing appetite for genuine artistic expression, unfiltered emotion that is not calibrated for a screen, and, of course, actual musicianship. Hackett and his band provide all of that and more across an evening divided into two sets, both packed with legendary material from his former band alongside essential cuts from his solo catalogue.
In the years since his departure from Genesis, Hackett has become the most faithful custodian of that early repertoire almost by default. Peter Gabriel long ago moved toward entirely different musical landscapes, while Genesis itself became a fundamentally different proposition without either man involved. Early solo albums such as Voyage of the Acolyte and Spectral Mornings preserved much of that original spirit, and Hackett has continued to defend it through decades of shifting trends with what appears to be complete indifference to commercial logic. As he approaches eighty, his touch remains astonishing. If anything, he seems more fluid than ever, his precision, phrasing and tone still extraordinary.
Virtuosity alone is often a sterile quality, but here it serves songs worthy of that level of craft. Performed at Salle Pleyel on the opening night of his Best of Genesis & Solo Gems European tour, this material is elevated further by a formidable supporting cast: Jonas Reingold on bass, Rob Townsend on saxophone, flute and keyboards, Felix Lehrmann on drums, Lalle Larsson on keyboards and Nad Sylvan on vocals. The repertoire itself remains almost absurdly rich. Few catalogues can move from intricate pastoral passages to thunderous instrumental workouts without sounding fragmented.
When Hackett eventually steps away, this music will survive through excellent tribute acts like The Musical Box and through the records themselve, but something irreplaceable will disappear with him: the authority and legitimacy of someone who helped write this music in the first place. Judging by the response at Salle Pleyel, Paris understands that perfectly well.
SETLIST:
( + new song "The Sea Inside" played after "Every Day")
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