Declan Mckenna is an indie rock artist who I have now seen perform live twice. I can easily say both times I’ve seen Declan perform have been the concerts I’ve been to with the best audience energy. Me and a friend saw him perform on May 2^nd at the Royal albert hall London. I thought this venue was great! It has an incredible sound system and lots of standing or seating tickets meaning you can choose whichever you prefer. 

The support act was will Joseph cook who I have seen once before also as a support act. I enjoyed his set even though I didn’t know many songs but “kisses” was one that stood out to me and I really enjoyed hearing it performed. As always the crowd wasn’t hugely hyped throughout the support as I assume most people didn’t know many songs but he did a great job getting the crowd involved and dancing.

This show was a unique one as Declan was doing “Declan and friends” where a few other artists such as Alfie Templeman, CMAT, Jake Passmore and Josh McClory. This may be biased but as a big fan of Alfie Templeman I was super excited about this. All artists he bought on were great and I especially liked CMAT and think hers and Declan’s voices work really well together.  

As always Declan’s performance was immaculate. I loved how he spaced out the super energetic songs with chill ones in between to let us catch our breath as the most pit was insane. He did more acoustic songs this show than the first time I saw him which I liked as you could appreciate his vocals better.

One thing about Declan’s shows is that the audience is Ferrell. If you’re not a fan of super heavy, extreme mosh pits I would make sure you stay back at Declan’s concerts. This is especially important during Isombard where the crowd goes absolutely insane. Although it sounds like it I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I love mosh pits and the people around me were all really kind and helping each other if anyone needed it.

At one point I also stupidly dropped my phone and was terrified but the people around me were super kind and helped me find it really quickly. Another girl near me lost their friend and everyone in our area started chanting the friends name until they found each other. This was such a cool thing to experience. It created a homely and safe feeling knowing everyone wants to help each other so they can all enjoy Declan’s music.

I will recommend Declan’s music and performances forever. His music is very unique mixing often funky, upbeat indie music with deeper lyrics that have meanings based off real life issues. As mentioned before Declan’s shows have an incredible atmosphere that I will always adore.

Setlist:

Daniel, You’re Still a Child, The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home, Sagittarius A*, Humongous, Eventually Darling, Twice Your Size, Don’t Fuck With Me, Baby, Make Me Your Queen, Emily, Listen to Your Friends, Rapture, Isombard, My House, The Key to Life on Earth, Brew, You Better Believe!!!, Be an Astronaut

Encore:

Too Busy, Brazil, British Bombs, You Give a Little Love (Paul Williams cover)