LIVE REVIEWS
After three weeks of chaos and delays, tonight Elbow are the first act to play Co-Op Live, the UK’s biggest arena with a capacity of 23,500. Addressing the crowd before playing the luscious indie-waltz of ‘The Bones of You’, hometown hero frontman Guy Garvey says: “Everybody who’s been working on this building has been so excited today – so nervous and excited – and there was already electricity in the air before you got in here, and now it’s been thoroughly amped up.”
The Bury band were actually the fifteenth event scheduled to take place at Co-Op Live, but numerous high-profile setbacks have seen it compared to Manchester’s version of the Fyre Festival and dubbed ‘Co-Flop Live’. Added to that, there’s the sobering juxtaposition of the city getting another enormodome in a climate where grassroots venues – which provide the key pipeline for arena-filling acts – are imperilled. This situation wasn’t helped by an executive director, who has now resigned, dismissing calls for a vital £1 ticket levy on all gigs arena-sized and above, while ironically claiming that some smaller venues are “poorly run”. The owners have since agreed to discuss the idea with the Music Venue Trust. Attracting high-profile shows like the MTV Awards to the city also comes at a time when spiralling rents are pricing young bands out of Manchester, and gentrification sees city centre venues like Night & Day threatened.
Given the doggedly bad PR, expectations were so low, that if you make it through the gig without an air-conditioning unit falling from the ceiling onto your head, it might be considered a bonus. Inside, it’s sleekly pretty much the same as any other arena, albeit with a top-notch sound system. And, if there’s one band who can comfortably cut through the flux, it’s Elbow, who’ve spent ten albums defying expectations to emerge as national treasures. Dropped by their record label, they responded with 2008 Mercury Music Prize-winning ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ and the ubiquitous anthem ‘One Day Like This’, and have spent the next six albums forging forward creatively and resisting repeating that formula
“Let’s open this venue properly!”, commands Garvey as Elbow raise the curtain with the jazzy croon of ‘Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years’ and the proggy samba-inflected ‘Lover’s Leap’ off new album ‘Audio Vertigo’ – and a brass section digs fully into the record’s Garvey-described “seedy, gnarly grooves”. It’s a night of empathic character studies, big-hearted sincerity, and tracks brimming with needling details, particularly on the synth-driven ‘Balu’, a barstool-bard tribute to hedonistic friends, while the likes of ‘Station Approach’ are coded with the DNA of the city.
Garvey is a reliably charismatic presence, cajoling shimmering fingers during ‘Mirrorball’ (which is accompanied by a glitterball descending from the ceiling) dropping references to local haunts like Oxford Road bar Big Hands, joking that his hair resembles Swiss Toni (“Playing a hometown crowd is like making love to a beautiful woman”, he quips in reference to the Charlie Higson character), and marshalling different sections of the crowd into harmonising on the rollicking ‘Grounds for Divorce’. Before the sumptuous sorrow of ‘My Sad Captains’, he asks: ‘What do we make of this amazing room everybody? How do you feel about christening it?”
Encoring with ‘Lippy Kids’, a beautiful evocation of the piss and vinegar of adolescence that is transformed into a sing-a-long juggernaut, Garvey teases: “You’ve house warmed this beautiful new venue. Shall we sing one last song together? Anyone got any ideas? It’s got to be something unifying…sang in a northern accent from the heart. It’s got to mention soft-furnishings”, before ‘One Day Like This’ suitably brings the house – but thankfully not the air conditioning units – down, as the last tumultuous three weeks are washed away.
Elbow played:
‘Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years’
‘Lovers’ Leap’
‘The Bones of You’
‘Mirrorball’
‘Charge’
‘Fly Boy Blue / Lunette’
‘The Picture’
‘Dexter & Sinister’
‘Balu’
‘Puncture Repair’
‘Kindling’
‘The Birds’
‘Good Blood Mexico City’
‘Station Approach’
‘My Sad Captains’
‘Magnificent (She Says)’
‘Grounds for Divorce’
‘Lippy Kids’
‘One Day Like This’
LIVE REVIEWS
The closing hours of Reading 2026 have finally arrived. Florence + The Machine brought the rain during ‘Dog Days Are Over’ at The Grid, opening the heavens and leaving the festival site completely soaked. The weary fans who have stayed behind are wet, exhausted and clearly feeling the effects of the weekend. What they need now is one final enormous celebration to make the wait worthwhile.
The Gallery tent comes alive as the speakers blast ‘Favourite’ by Friday’s headliners and fellow countrymen Fontaines D.C., receiving the kind of reaction usually reserved for ‘Mr Brightside’ at a drunken wedding reception. Moments later, Kneecap display their familiar statement accusing Israel of carrying out genocide against the people of Palestine and Lebanon, with support from the UK government. It captures the Belfast rap trio perfectly, combining serious political messages with an unapologetic party atmosphere.
“We use our platform to talk about what we believe is right,” Mo Chara explains during the performance, before recognising those who “aren’t so fucking lucky” and whose voices have been suppressed. He soon encourages the audience to roar “fuck Netanyahu” and “free free Palestine”. Later, he starts a powerful chant of “Aaaaaa-ndy Buuurn-ham’s a waaaaaaan-ker” to the melody of ‘Seven Nation Army’, targeting our new Prime Minister over his claim that “a united Ireland is off the table”. Laughing, he asks: “The BBC won’t broadcast that, or will they?” As it turned out, they did not.
Away from the headlines and the controversy, there is no denying the connection Kneecap have built with their audience. Politics may shape the conversation, but the crowd also came to enjoy themselves, ready for a rave after the rally. The performance begins carefully with the heavy rumble of ‘Smugglers & Scholars’, before exploding during the Grian Chatten collaboration ‘Better Way To Live’ and the threatening energy of ‘Sick In The Head’. “Are ya ready for a mad one?” Mo Chara shouts. The response is already obvious.
The atmosphere becomes increasingly chaotic as the hip hop rhythm of ‘Cold At The Top’ and the hypnotic trance sounds of ‘An Ra’ send the entire tent into motion. The trio jokingly thank the UK for everything it has given Ireland, listing UKIP, fish and chips, a mental health crisis, Jimmy Saville, HP Sauce and Bloody Sunday. However, the show reaches another level once the second half begins. The explosive ‘Sayonara’ brings the ‘beef’ to ‘IBEEFA’, while ‘Get Your Brits Out’ and ‘Guilty Conscience’ give the crowd every reason to obey Móglaí Bap’s demand to “oooopen up the piiiiiit”.
Anyone watching closely may have questioned why the cameras continued to focus on Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara. The pair eventually reveal that they have spent recent weeks performing alongside a “provisional” DJ Próvai. Wearing the familiar tricolour balaclava, the temporary replacement handles his role as the crowd agitator with confidence while their bandmate enjoys some paternity leave. “Some things are more important than music, and that’s family,” they explain. How sweet. Móglaí Bap quickly destroys the tender moment by adding: “As you might know, the Brits took all our potatoes from Ireland; they took all our cocaine,” before declaring, “but we still have all our caaandy.” The group then charge directly into one of the biggest tracks ever written about extremely powerful ketamine.
‘Liar’s Tale’ sparks another huge reaction with its response to Keir Starmer, “genocide armer”, while the group warn that “you’re not getting away with doing nothing”. It is a politically charged message hidden inside an irresistible anthem from musicians who have experienced the “belly of the beast” through the legal system. Their latest album, ‘Fenian’, has helped Kneecap fully embrace the celebration that has always been part of their identity. Their live production now feels capable of filling arenas, blending the intimacy of a late night lock in with the rhythmic force and visual scale of The Chemical Brothers, the reckless electronic punk spirit of The Prodigy, and the fearless political honesty of Public Enemy. The spectacular visuals complete the experience.
Kneecap fans at Reading 2026. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
Kneecap fans at Reading 2026. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
Closing with the powerful combination of ‘Fenian’, ‘H.O.O.D.’ and the enormous ‘The Recap’, Kneecap bring our final celebration at Reading to a thrilling conclusion while also finishing their last festival appearance of the summer. “It’s been a pleasure to spend it with you mad c**ts,” Mo Chara says before leaving the stage. The feeling is mutual.
Return to NME here for the newest reports, reviews, photographs, conversations and further coverage from Reading & Leeds 2026.
