Gabriel Cooper brings saxophone to The Cure in Nîmes
Jason Cooper’s 17-year-old son joins all three sold-out Nîmes concerts, giving “A Night Like This” its live saxophone line inside the Roman arena.
The Cure’s three sold-out nights at the Arènes de Nîmes gained an unexpected recurring guest. Gabriel Cooper—the 17-year-old son of drummer Jason Cooper—joined the band on saxophone for “A Night Like This” on 24, 25 and 26 July.
The part is a brief but defining colour in the 1985 recording, and live versions have often translated or omitted it. Bringing a saxophonist into the six-piece touring line-up allowed the song to recover that brass voice without changing the architecture of the performance around it.
Three nights, three appearances
The first Nîmes concert confirmed Gabriel after he had also played the song during soundcheck. He returned on each of the following two nights, turning what might have been a one-off family moment into a small feature of the residency. Cureation’s setlist records now tag him against all three performances rather than listing him as a general member of the touring band.
The residency itself was built for variation. Each night ran to around thirty songs, with changes reaching well beyond the encore. The first brought “A Letter to Elise” back for the first time since 2016, while the Roman arena gave the band an unusually dramatic setting for the long, dusk-to-midnight programmes they favour.
Gabriel’s appearance belongs in the guest column, not as a permanent line-up change. Even so, it is a memorable addition to the 2026 story: a second generation entering one song with precision, beside a father who has anchored The Cure since 1995.
Sources and further reading: Cure Concerts: Nîmes, 24 July · Cure Concerts: Nîmes, 25 July · Cure Concerts: Nîmes, 26 July · Festival de Nîmes: event page