On Friday afternoon at Tramlines Festival, I caught up with ex-Reverend and the Makers guitarist Ed Cosens, who was stepping onto the main stage solo for the first time. His latest album, Somewhere Between Dark and Light, is out now, and his perspective on music, mental health, and independence is refreshingly grounded.
We kicked off the chat with the obvious question, how he was feeling ahead of his solo main stage set. Ed was genuinely excited: he’s played the big stage before with Reverend, but this was his first time under his own name.
“I’ve done the main stage with Reverend a couple of times, but this is different, it’s on my own terms, and that makes it feel really special,” he said. “Last year I was on the Library stage, which was great fun, but it was on the Sunday and I was pretty worn out. This year feels like a fresh start.”
Surprisingly, this would only be his third full-band performance as a solo artist. When I asked if that was a deliberate choice, he explained that it’s more about practicality than preference.
“Doing the solo thing, it’s just easier to go out on my own, or with Adam, who plays drums and piano. But when I found out I was doing the main stage, I knew it had to be with the full band,” he said. “It just costs more, so I’ve had to be a bit selective. I do wish I could do it more often though.”
Talk turned to Somewhere Between Dark and Light, his second solo album. It’s an introspective piece of work, full of themes like mental health, emotional burnout, and self-reflection. A year after its release, I asked how he feels about it now.
“It came out of years of being in the industry, how tough it is to make a living, and how that affects everything around you,” he said. “When you leave a band after 20 years, you don’t really get time to process it. But writing those songs helped me do that.”
He didn’t set out to write about mental health, but once the songs started forming, a thread became clear. “It helped me to open up. It doesn’t fix anything, but it helps me understand things more. It was really cathartic.”
I asked whether being that vulnerable, especially on a record, ever felt uncomfortable. He admitted that while he didn’t think about it much at the time, the emotional weight became clearer after it was released.
“You’re just in the moment when you’re recording. You don’t think about how people will react. But then I started getting messages from people saying a song helped them open up, and that really made me realise what the songs meant beyond just me.”
One gig, in particular, stood out. “Playing the album with the full band at the Leadmill was something else. A really emotional night. The songs took on a different meaning entirely,” he added.
The conversation drifted into musical influences. I mentioned how songs like “In the Light” have an uplifting, Noel Gallagher/Oasis-style vocal feel, while “When I’m Done Running” sits comfortably in the same emotional universe as Frightened Rabbit. Has his taste shifted over time?
“Massively. When I was in the band, we were a bit blinkered, same kinds of songs, same structure, same circuit,” he said. “Now I’m into more Americana, bluesy, folk stuff. Artists like Jackson Browne and Paul Simon. I always knew them, but now I actually listen.”
That musical freedom seems to have unlocked something new. “I like to think I’m writing the best songs I’ve ever written. I feel freer, and like I understand what I’m doing more. That’s been really liberating as a songwriter.”
So what’s next for Ed Cosens? Album three is on the horizon — with hopes to record this autumn and release early 2027. But he’s also exploring new creative territory, including writing music for How Could I Forget, a musical by Joe Carnall.
“It’s been amazing working on that. Totally different headspace. It’s freed me up creatively in a way I didn’t expect,” he said. “Being a solo artist gives you this weird freedom to experiment. It’s an interesting space to be in — I’m excited to see where it goes next.”
Somewhere Between Dark and Light is available now. If you’re after a quietly powerful, emotionally honest indie record, you’ll want this one in your rotation.
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