PHOTOS + REVIEW — Wishbone Ash 2026 ⋆ Shows I Go To | 🎤 Florida Concerts, Festivals, & Giveaways

PHOTOS + REVIEW — Wishbone Ash 2026

Wishbone Ash • March 11, 2026 • Largo Cultural Center, Largo, FL • Photos by Randy Cook — instagram.com/horns_raised

WISHBONE ASH LIVE REVIEW

Wishbone Ash | March 11, 2026 | Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo, FL | Review by: Randy Cook

Wishbone Ash played the Central Park Performing Arts Center just a few days after sailing on the Prog-Rock 2026 Cruise to the Edge and I was fortunate to both sail away as part of the media team onboard and see the band in this fantastic sounding intimate venue. Wishbone Ash was due to be the first band to play in the ship’s theater our first day onboard, however, some mis-placed equipment pushed that show to the next day when I was off gallivanting across Key West. I made sure to see their second show onboard and had looked forward to this evening knowing the sound would be pin-point spot on at the Performing Arts Center versus factors involved with sound on a windy ship. The venue proved ideal for the band. Its clear acoustics allowed Wishbone Ash’s defining twin-lead guitar style to shine through with impressive detail.

I had an interesting interaction with one of the ushers prior to the show this evening in Largo. As she was helping me find my area to photograph in, she asked me if this band had any harmonies? She then mentioned her love of harmonies and how her husband was a member of the doo wop group The Capris who had a one-hit wonder song in 1961 with “There’s a Moon Out Tonight.” I mentioned how I thought she would love the musical harmonies generated by two fantastic guitarists who effortlessly trade off solos in the band’s flowing musical sound, mentioning how the band originated pre 1970 and are still going strong.

With no opening band, a near capacity crowd of us mostly older rockers cheered as the band took the stage and got right down to business. Founding member Andy Powell still pulls double duty as both vocalist and guitarist and his axe-slinging partner is Mark Abrahams and as I mentioned to the usher I chatted with earlier, their intricate layered solos literally feed off of and into one another. With Bob Skeat on bass and Windsor McGilvray on drums both providing backing vocals as well and keeping the band in perfect rhythmic timing. I am certain that the usher that I had spoken with earlier enjoyed the show. The beauty of the band is their musical and song construction. Wishbone Ash built their reputation on a very specific sound architecture. Rather than relying on the typical verse-chorus rock format, their songs often unfold in sections, with multiple guitar solos serving as key parts of the composition.

After snapping photos I sat back and just enjoyed the show. Andy gave a shout out to a couple of fellow musicians from other bands that also performed onboard the cruise who were in attendance this evening. That is another great aspect of many music cruises departing from the various Florida cruise ports is that bands performing on the ships will often add in a few dates on either side of the cruise and we locals are the decided benefactors. There was very little in between song banter, although Andy did share a couple of personal family stories from his memories of the local area. I hope he was joking about his UK English parents getting lost after trying to drive in Bradenton during a family visit being away for “…a night and a day…”. We all had a laugh when he mentioned that Wishbone Ash recorded several albums in the Miami area during the 1970s and joked how the band had lost half of many days to just trying to get their guitars tuned just right after sampling some of the local Jamaican imports that were prevalent in the area at the time. That story segued right into their instrumental song F.U.B.B. where the acronym in the title stands for “F–ked Up Beyond Belief”. This song was the musical highlight of the show for me because I had the thought during the song how it exemplified the band’s sound and sometimes they just happen to add words to their other songs.

The band played a crisp setlist that spanned songs across eight of their twenty four studio albums, mixing songs from their discography that went back to their first, self-titled, album and stayed mostly prior this century, only playing a trio of songs off of 2002’s release ‘Bona Fide’. That is proof of how deep musically this band is, that much material to construct a set list from. Just as I expected, I give props to the venue’s sound team for the crystal clear sounds that we in the audience enjoyed. It was a fantastic show in a great venue. No mention of when the band might return to the United States after a handful of remaining Florida dates. Hopefully the 2027 cruise season! This was my sixth time seeing them live and I am really looking forward to my seventh!

For Wishbone Ash tour dates, see here.