I had the privilege of sharing this experience with one of my uni best friends, and I’m so grateful we got to have such a great time together. Before The Driver Era took the stage, we heard two great bands, Your Favourite Color and Almost Monday. They hooked everyone from the beginning, interacting with the audience and setting the vibes for the concert. I have to highlight the performance of Your Favourite Color. They had me hooked since the beginning, and their songs, especially ‘Medicine’, caught my attention and I have been listening to them non-stop. I hope they do a tour again soon.
When the lights turned off, and Ross and Rocky took the stage, the whole building was not prepared to see them give their everything the entire time they were up on that stage. They started the concert with one of their newest songs, ‘OMG Plz Don’t Come Around’ and everyone was ready to sing their hearts out during the entire set. After their seamless transition to one of their songs from their first album, ‘Feel You Now’, they played their newest single, ‘You Keep Me Up At Night’, released at the beginning of September. The crowd was deafening for this song, and the Lynch brothers seemed happy with the amount of support they received.
Since the beginning of their Europe tour they have been playing two unreleased songs, which Ross stated “should be out soon for you guys to enjoy”. After introducing themselves to the Newcastle crowd, Ross recognised a fan who had been to three of their UK shows and played ‘Welcome To The End Of Your Life’, per the fan's request. The band's oldest fans appreciated this, as it’s one of their most underrated songs.
After their song ‘Low’ they surprised everyone when they covered 'Say My Name' by Destiny’s Child. This song has a similar beat to one of their most known songs, ‘Nobody Knows’, and they mashed it up with ‘I Got A Feeling’, a classic from Black Eyed Peas. What we didn’t know is that after this powerhouse mashup we would be sharing some tears with a beautiful acoustic cover of ‘Heart of Mine’, where all the band got together in the middle of the stage to harmonise and make everyone in the audience teary-eyed.
After a short break, the best part of the show started. The lighting played a big part in this section, setting the ambience for the rest of the show. When the first chords of ‘Malibu’, one of the songs that skyrocketed the band's fame, were played, the whole crowd began to dance and sing so loud that there were some instances where I couldn’t hear him sing.
What we didn’t expect was to see a cover of ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ by Billie Eilish. In my opinion, it was one of the best moments of the night. Not only does this song bring everyone chills, but how they performed it with passion made everyone emotional. After almost sharing more than one tear, they blessed us with one of my favourites, ‘Preacher Man’.
Just when we thought the show was finished, Ross performed one of our childhood songs. When the iconic instrumental to ‘On My Own’ started to play, everyone was on the verge of tears.
Unfortunately, the show ended after the performance of ‘A Kiss’. This show has taken a special place in my heart, and I don’t regret buying those tickets back in May. I would do it again in a heartbeat. New dates have been dropped for a tour next year, so should we expect a second show at the end of 2025?
