Words & Photography: Alisha Lawton
Up and coming indie royalty, The K’s, played a sold out show at Keele Student Union ahead of the release of their sophomore album. The Earlestown band played a massive show in Dizzy’s hometown, and they didn't disappoint,
Taking Back Tomorrow were up first to start the night off, playing a set consisting of, mostly, unreleased music. The Stoke-on-Trent originated band gave the crowd a taste of what is to come. The singer and bassist of the band announced to the audience that they started their band at the local college, and asked if anyone else in the audience studied at the same place, which gained a cheer from a few people. They then went on to finish the set with their latest single Better Luck Next Time.
The following band supporting were another Stoke-on-Trent originated band: Camens. They played an exciting set of hitting indie music, getting the crowd ready for The K’s to take the stage. The lead singer mentioned that they had been handing out CDs of their demos to the fans in the queue before the show, and that they would be playing a few songs off that CD in the set.
The energy in the room was ecstatic. The pre-show playlist set the tone with songs from bands like Tame Impala, Doves, White Lies and The Strokes. All around the venue fans waited eagerly for The K’s.
As the lights went down for the show to begin, the start of Icarus played throughout the venue as the band entered the stage, and immediately kicked into the main part of the opening track from their debut album. Moments before the band transitioned into the second song of the set, which was their biggest song, Chancer, lead singer, Jamie Boyle, stated that it had been a while since they had played in the city and that they were happy to be back.
Later in the set, the band's bassist, Dexter Baker, asked the audience if they were excited about their sophomore album, Pretty On The Internet, which is due to be released in the Summer. The crowd cheered and Dexter went on to mention that they would be at the merch desk after the show for the fans to have a chance to meet the band.
Heart On My Sleeve was the next song in the set where immediately the crowd responded; throwing their arms in the air with passion and jumping around to a fan favourite. The audience got on shoulders all around the venue, fully immersing themselves in the show. Drinks were getting thrown in true indie gig style. Straight after this, Jamie told the audience that that was the ‘warm up done!’, and started playing Glass Towns, at which the crowd continued to jump and sing along.
Halfway through their set, the band gave themselves, and the audience, a chance to get their breath back and took a moment to slow things down. Jamie played a rendition of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, where the entire audience joined him in singing the hit song, as the song was coming to a close he transitioned it into another fan favourite, Hoping Maybe. Having this moment within the set allowed the band and audience to connect. The audience sang the song with all their chest. On the last chorus of the song, the entire band encouraged the audience to sing on their own and ended the song with a big cheer for the Earlestown band.
As the set was coming to a close, Jamie thanked the audience for coming to see them on a Monday night and thanked them for being so welcoming, making their first show of 2025 so special for them. Dexter followed by introducing their drummer, Nathan Peers, to which he responded by immediately starting an intense drum solo into their song Landmines. The band went from song to song barely giving themselves a minute to catch their breath. As the band started to play No Place Like Home, the entire audience erupted into a cheer and began to shout the words and clap along.
Just before the end, Jamie lead the audience into a rendition of Dirty Old Town, changing the lyrics to Dirty Earlestown, which is a staple for the band. At the end of the song, he told the audience that he loved them and hoped to see them in April on their upcoming tour. He then asked if they still had a bit left, at which the audience cheered and the band responded with playing one of their biggest songs, Sarajevo. It was clear to see that The K’s have made a mark on the Stoke-on-Trent audience.
