Bright Light Bright Light announces Brighton tour date AND new single with Ana Matronic
Bright Light Bright Light - the long-running pop project of Welsh singer, songwriter and producer Rod Thomas - will bring his acclaimed live show Not Like All The Other Boys to Brighton’s Komedia on 15 March, as part of a short run of UK dates announced for March.
The tour news arrives alongside confirmation of a brand new single, Cold Sweat, Hot Boys, a duet with Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic, due for release on 29 January. The track is the first taste of Duets, a new EP scheduled to land later this year.
Marking 14 years since Thomas’s debut album Make Me Believe in Hope, both the tour and EP reflect a career defined by independence and creative self-direction. During that time, Bright Light Bright Light has accumulated a dedicated international fanbase and collaborated with the likes of Elton John, Cher and Scissor Sisters, all while remaining resolutely DIY.
Developed over two years at New York’s Joe’s Pub, Not Like All The Other Boys blends cabaret, storytelling and pop performance. Each show revisits 12 to 14 songs from across Thomas’s catalogue, reframed with anecdotes about the collaborations, queer cultural moments and chance encounters that shaped them. With shifting visuals and setlists, it sits somewhere between a greatest-hits night and an Edinburgh Fringe confessional - complete with the project’s trademark humour.
Thomas has recently performed versions of the show at key LGBTQ+ cultural venues including London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern, noting that audiences are often surprised by the stories behind songs they already know.
Alongside the tour, Thomas will release Duets, an EP that reimagines earlier solo tracks with artists he has worked with throughout his career. Like the live show, it explores themes of creative community, chosen family and long-standing artistic partnerships. Further details will be confirmed later this year.
Its lead single, Cold Sweat, Hot Boys, was inspired by one of Ana Matronic’s DJ sets at New York party Wet Noise. Written after what Thomas describes as a euphoric night on the dancefloor, the song originally appeared in demo form as a bonus track on Enjoy Youth. It now arrives fully realised as a duet.
Matronic said she would “always” make time to record with Thomas, calling their sessions “seamless, joyful and galvanising”. Thomas returned the praise, saying he wanted the final version to centre the atmosphere she creates behind the decks. “As one of my favourite people on earth, it’s a joy to have yet another song featuring this wonderful human,” he added.
Not Like All The Other Boys – UK Tour will also visit Gwyn Hall in Neath on 12 March; Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London on 13 March; Hare & Hounds in Birmingham on 16 March; Night & Day Cafe in Manchester on 17 March and Stereo in Glasgow on 18 March.
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