Pubs packed with band-branded football shirts and fans fill the streets around Finsbury Park. There's a collective buzz for what's ahead, a summer occasion many have anticipated for ages. It's a prime setting for Blondshell to take the stage, her commanding freedom setting her apart. 'T&A' and 'Sepsis' soar as she controls her story through grungy hooks. The massive stage feels natural, her set drawing everyone in. 'Kiss City' on the big screens takes on new life, spiralling into a glorious breakdown that captures what makes Blondshell vital. Today proves she's becoming your favourite artist's favourite artist.
For every column inch about Kneecap these past months, one point sometimes gets missed: just how electric they are live. Finsbury Park today is the perfect ground for their unstoppable hurricane, lighting a fuse that burns through their 40-minute set. 'It's Been Ages' sets course for a relentless performance, sparking moshpits at every turn. Energy defines cuts like 'Fine Art', 'Guilty Conscience', 'Rhino Ket' and recent single 'THE RECAP' - pure pandemonium under the summer sun. It peaks during 'Better Way To Live' as Grian from Fontaines joins them for a shining version. Their message stays vital - highlighting the Palestinian cause and addressing recent controversies. Before 'Get Your Brits Out', with thousands on shoulders, they declare "Kneecap will always use this platform to talk about Palestine" and note their global audience, including Gaza. It's an essential message within an essential set.
Amyl & The Sniffers maintain that fury. Their journey echoes many bands playing today, making their stage presence sweeter. A blistering run through fearless punk anthems serves as the perfect preview - 'Guided By Angela' and 'Hertz' igniting a set impossible not to love. That energy builds like a feverish rush; 'Jerkin' draws a rabid response fitting their essence. Amyl and the Sniffers remain uncompromising, now reaching heights where the biggest stages belong to them. A test run for what's ahead? You can't count them out.
In full cinematic glory, Dear Reader, it's Fontaines D.C.. The crowd filling Finsbury Park is at boiling point by the time they take the stage as a formidable run of 'Here's The Thing', 'Jackie Down The Line' and a pit-crashing 'Boys In The Better Land' punches into every person gathered. They haven't just got the crowd on board: the crowd are with them during every moment, like this headline spot is theirs as much as the band's. That's what defines the best bands' journeys, and it's what defines this moment for Fontaines D.C.. Tonight, they show why they're ready for it. A dizzying 'Televised Mind' leads into a mass singalong to 'It's Amazing To Be Young', finding a band not just celebrating a high but catching it on their way to superstardom. That spit and venom that bubble as the DNA of their latest album, 'Romance', make every move grit-filled. 'Death Kink' growls in a manner that dares you to fight back, while 'Motorcycle Boy' dips into a syrupy magic that's sticky but powerful. The communal singalong of 'Bug' reaches national anthem levels - met with such fever it's almost deafening.
It's peerless form. A show that leaves no gaps but pulls you through an incredible run that makes you wonder why they weren't headlining sooner. 'Nabokov', a closer on '
Skinty Fia' but a longtime fan favourite, is their secret weapon, flexing into an extended show before 'Favourite' cements itself as a festival anthem. After an encore break, a snow globe becomes the calling card that is the self-titled 'Romance' opener - then pure release follows. '
In The Modern World' sparks a singalong before it begins, and 'I Love You' swells into an unstoppable eruption. As 'Starburster' ricochets around with a reaction confirming why it isn't just "very good" but an "elite level banger", nobody doubts. Fontaines D.C. are THAT band. The band of the moment. The band to believe in. The band to stand beside while going into battle. Welcome to the next era: we're all invited.
