The Devout at Cheese and Grain, Frome

There are tribute acts, and then there are acts like The Devout — a group of music professionals, producers and lifelong Depeche Mode devotees who don't just perform the songs, they inhabit them. On 15 August 2026, they bring their stunning Black Celebration 40th Anniversary show to the Cheese and Grain in Frome, and if you've ever felt the pull of that dark, glacial synth-pop sound that defined a generation, this is an evening you genuinely shouldn't miss.

Forty years ago, Depeche Mode released Black Celebration — an album that rewired what electronic music could feel like. Brooding, euphoric, tender and industrial all at once, it marked a turning point not just for the band but for modern music as a whole. Everything that followed — from industrial to post-punk revivalism to contemporary dark pop — owes something to that record. The Devout understand this instinctively, and their show is built around honouring that legacy with the depth and precision it deserves.

Running at a full 2.5 hours, the set draws on the breadth of Depeche Mode's classic era while placing special focus on the Black Celebration album, including faithful recreations of the original 1986 tour versions of those tracks. This isn't a greatest hits run-through on a bare stage — it's a complete production, with full video and lighting design that wraps the Cheese and Grain in the same cinematic atmosphere Mode themselves conjured at their peak. If you saw them in that era, this will take you straight back. If you didn't, this is your chance to understand exactly what all the fuss was about.

The credentials behind The Devout make this more than just a tribute. These are people with decades of immersion in the band's history, who've followed Depeche Mode across continents and carry genuine insider knowledge of how those sounds were built and why they endure. That depth shows. BBC has called them 'the UK's best Depeche Mode tribute', and perhaps more tellingly, former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder himself has said: 'I urge anyone to go and see The Devout perform.' That's not a quote you earn by being ordinary.

Frome's Cheese and Grain is one of the finest independent venues in the South West — intimate enough to feel the music physically, with acoustics and atmosphere that suit this kind of emotionally charged show perfectly. A Saturday night in August, a venue that gets it right, and a band playing at the very top of their craft. Tickets are available now through the Cheese and Grain website, and given the reputation The Devout carry, this one is likely to sell. Don't sit on it.

Get your tickets here and mark 15 August 2026 in your calendar now.