The Snuts, who are all in their 20’s have been together since they met as teenagers at school. Many influential artists have noted their presence on the scene, including Louis Tomlinson after playing at his Away From Home online festival. Tonight, however, is about the fans and sharing something with them that has been a long time coming.

The Scottish indie rockers brought their delayed tour to a sold-out Kentish Town Forum, London. The lockdown saw that they did not go on tour to promote their latest album, WL, although this did not affect its performance in the charts as it entered at number one in April 2021. This night marked the band’s first opportunity to celebrate that success with their London fans as the tour to celebrate WL travels around the country.

Before fans could marvel at the gloriousness of The Snuts, they were introduced to Bemz, a rapper Born in Nigeria, based in Glasgow. Bemz began writing music as a teenager with lyrics “rooted in raw honesty and self-exploration.” It seemed like a strange pairing, and many a confused face could be found in the audience. However, the increasingly large crowd down the front of the venue tried their best to make Bemz and his fellow performer feel welcomed.

Their stage presence was good, however, and with another audience at a different show, they may have been appreciated more. Nevertheless, they gave an admirable effort at warming up the crowd for The Snuts, and the biggest cheers they got were when they asked the crowd, “Who is excited for The Snuts.” During their set, they remarked that they thought the crowd was starting to “feel them,” which may have been the case with the help of a generous supply of alcohol. 

A white screen was erected covering the stage that gave the crowd the impression that something top secret was happening behind it. Although when it fell at the beginning of the first song, it was evident that there was nothing particularly unusual on the stage. The crowd was too excited to care about the anti-climax it offered as ‘Glasgow’ kicked in, and they went explosive on the energy scale.

‘All Your Friends,’ ‘Always,’ and ‘Juan Belmonte’ followed, all of which are addictive songs that bring brilliant vibes and a fun time for all. Honestly, the band looked like they were having as much fun as the audience, which is always great to watch. The energy was high throughout the performance, but they gave their hyped-up fans a little downtime with ‘Top Deck’ played acoustically with the help of a cellist. 

Other moments that stood out were when during ‘Elephants,’ Bemz came bounding back on stage and added his own verse to the song. The crowd by this time were much more pleased to see him than they had been earlier. It is incredible what your favorite band’s approval will do to the acceptance of a new artist. In this way, they carry on the traditions that helped them get this far. 

The set ended with ‘What’s Going On,’ and the crowd was left wanting more as they left the stage after an intense 15 song set. Then, the stage went dark, and when the light came back up, there was a new backdrop stating “Burn The Empire.” Their encore was one song, the debut of their new track ‘Burn The Empire’ for which they’d been handing out posters for all night. The political song was hard-hitting, well-performed, and a great note to end the show on.

The Snuts are going from strength to strength and accumulating more fans on this early part of their journey. They are definitely a band to keep an eye and ear on in the coming years. This sold-out show was one for the history books, as it were.