ThisIsTheMusic

New music legends This Feeling created the ReWired festival to showcase some of the best in new indie guitar music across the land and boy did the day not disappoint. 

ThisIsTheMusic attended the London leg at The Garage where 13 bands played across 2 stages, many of whom were playing their first gig in front of a live audience in 18 months. 

Kicking the day off were Louis & The Shakes who played an exhilarating set, full of thundering drums and guitar licks that you could shake along to! 

The Chase, are a band that I’ve wanted to see live ever since I first heard them during lock-down and they didn’t disappoint: in fact they exceeded my expectations, with their songs being absolute anthems and going down very well with the crowd. Sadly I got too wrapped up in the set to take any videos, but I’ve shared I Just Can’t Believe We Share The Same Name  📺Credit Laura  

As with The Chase, The Crooks, are a band that I was really keen to seen live as they sound great on record and are a band destined for big things. Never mind really got the crowd singing along andIn Time was dedicated to This Feeling gaffer Mikey and had the crowd singing this one word for word back to the band. Ahead of the final track, Frankie, they gave a shout out to guest guitarist Alfie, the frontman of Riviera (another band we’ve heavily supported on ThisIsTheMusic).

Hailing from Glasgow, Dead Pony, are an exciting four piece full of anthems that will have you rocking out to. This was my personal introduction to the band, and I was blown away. Sex Rich is really energetic with thundering drums and furious guitar playing. 

They have a real punk rock sound and a great energy about them, which was epitomised by singer and guitarist Anna Shields who has a great voice and an incredible stage presence.

The Velvet Hands, played a blistering 8 song set, drawing a large crowd and showcasing how great they are as musicians.

Latest single Star went down a storm, with its high energy chorus with Fallout being the highlight. 

The Clause are leading the wave of new indie guitars bands and their set was one of the most eagerly anticipated of the day. They played a great set. Full of swagger and confidence and they were having the Time Of Their Lives, which went down a storm. A big future awaits the Birmingham 4 piece! 

ThisIsTheMusic are long-term fans of Scottish legends Shambolics and are one of the most exciting bands to come out of Scotland in years. Their set was full of energy, great melodies, brilliant harmonies and guitar riffs galore.

They played a 7 song set, including fans favourites, Love Collides, Chasing A Disaster (dedicated to fans who had seen  the band before) and a new tune Sharp As A Razor, a real rocknroll stomper. 

Rats played a scintillating set and have catchy guitar riffs, soaring vocals, relatable lyrics and great interaction with their fans, who danced around to every song. Weekend was the standoutsong for this writer. 

Big Image are a really exciting band, and have carved their own indie, house style sound, similar in vein to Happy Mondays. This was first time I’d seen the band play live and are a band that I can’t wait to see more of in the future. Cool Kids was fantastic and sums up the band in a nutshell. 

The Ks were given the honour of headlining the night and their set was highly anticipated. Despite an early issue with the sound, the band blitzed their way through their highly charged set, which included crowd surfing by Jamie and constant chanting for Dexter to give us a wave. They are a band full of swagger and confidence, captured perfectly on TV.

What a great day this was. It’s great to have live music back, but to be showcasing some of the best in new music, just makes the return of live music a little bit more special.

See you all again next year!