The Kooks // O2 Arena London

Indie sleaze icons The Kooks delivered a triumphant career-spanning performance at a packed-out O2 Arena.

★★★★★ (5/5)

Images from The Outside Organisation

Thousands of skinny jeans and leather jacket-clad concertgoers packed out the O2 Arena in London to see indie legend The Kooks, marking the band’s largest headline show in the capital. Touring in support of their seventh studio album “Never/Know” the band have played in sold-out arenas across the country.

A pair of exemplary indie rock acts supported this tour. Days We Ran and The K’s captivated the audience with vibrant performances that harkened back to the 2000s roots embodied by the headliners. They worked to get the assembled twenty thousand fans in good spirits, no doubt gaining swathes of new fans from those in attendance. This meant that as The Kooks made their way onstage, consisting of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, Hugh Harris on rhythm and Alexis Nuñez on drums, the crowd eagerly received them with rapturous applause.

As the band launched into the acoustic guitar-driven “Sofa Song” you could sense the euphoria amongst the crowd as they bopped along while roaring the lyrics. This set the tone for the rest of the evening, as the band delivered a set rich in iconic hits, fan favourites and exciting new material.

Nostalgia was thick in the air and in the set list as most of the 2006 indie bible “Inside in / Inside Out” was performed, the opening to each track eliciting delighted cheers from the crowd as they were transported back through the memories these songs hold.However, The Kooks have never been a band to rest on their laurels and the group is currently riding high on the release of their latest album, the mixture of new material and longstanding hits has made the band’s 2025 tour a celebration of their enduring appeal and evolution.

As expected classics like “Naive,” “She Moves in Her Own Way” and “Ooh La” were met with euphoric cheers, but the set list served to show the deep quality of the band’s discography. From the melancholy “Shine On” from 2008’s sophomore “Konk” to wistful “If they could only know” from 2025’s “Never/Know” the band maintained momentum, with no duds deflating the jovial atmosphere that blanketed the venue. Showcasing a band which has always, and continues to, push boundaries while staying true to their melodic roots.

An especially touching moment came from the band's rendition of “See Me Now” from 2014’s “Listen”. During which Pritchard talks out to his father who passed when he was young. The performance was exceptionally heartfelt, as a poignant hush fell over the otherwise rowdy crowd.

Sophisticated staging helped to complement the performance, further elevating the songs and sonic palette with a sophisticated blend of retro visuals. Acoustically, the sound mix was crisp with each guitar riff and vocal harmony cutting through the cavernous arena with clarity. The band’s tight musicianship, honed over two decades, was on full display.

As the band thundered into an encore of two timeless classics, “Ooh La” and the irresistible “Naive”, they had nothing left to prove. The entire audience was on their feet, lost in the revelries and memories of these near two decades old songs.

Refusing to simply pander to nostalgia however, The Kooks paid tribute to their classic material while demonstrating that they are a band firing on all cylinders, both creatively and in their live performances.

Stream the new album Never/Know: here

Setlist:

Sofa song

Always Where I need to Be

Eddie’s Gun

Stormy Weather

She Moves in Her Own Way

Bad Habit

Westside

Sweet emotion

Sunny Baby

Junk of the Heart

See Me Now

Jacky Big Tits

If They Could Only Know

Seaside

Sway

Shine On

Connection

Taking Pictures of You

Gap 

Down

See the World

Matchbox

Do You Wanna

You Don’t Love Me

Encore

Ooh la

Naive

Review By: Sam McNaughton