The Kooks at the O2 Arena
Two decades into their career, The Kooks move with ease between old favourites and new material. At London’s O2 Arena – their biggest headline show to date – the Brighton quartet delivered a set that reaffirmed their status as a staple of British indie music, all while confidently exploring elements of their latest album.
The production opened with the crisp immediacy that has long defined the band’s sound. Clean guitar tones, buoyant rhythms and Luke Pritchard’s distinctive, elastic vocals surrounded the arena. Much of the set drew from Never/Know, their seventh studio album, whose polished production and electronic undertones came alive in that space. Meanwhile, fan-requested tracks like Gap, rarely performed live, sat comfortably alongside the classics, showing just how invested the fanbase remains.
Complementing the music, the stage visuals added another layer to the experience. A growing red rose stretched on the screen behind the band, tying the set together, while montages from the band’s past gigs accompanied older tracks such as You Don’t Love Me. The lighting design shifted smoothly between sentimental glow and the sharp intensity of their recent compositions, matching the range of the setlist.
This visual storytelling reached its most emotional point when Pritchard paid tribute to his late father, Bob. Pictures of his early childhood, strumming an acoustic guitar, intertwined with projections of a grown-up Pritchard navigating the city, filled the venue’s screens as the crowd lit the auditorium with their phones. Performing the song he wrote from a letter to his father, his voice carried a raw sincerity that briefly turned the O2’s enormous space into something more personal.
The touching tribute gave way to the band’s tight, energetic performance. At the O2, Pritchard’s vocals cut through the mix, the guitars rang bright, and the rhythm section kept the songs moving without ever feeling overpowering. Occasional bursts of guitar soloing added grit, keeping the set lively and unpredictable. When Seaside came around, the crowd joined in, singing along to its breezy, beachy melody and giving the arena a surprisingly intimate, summery vibe.
And of course, audience engagement peaked during the closing stretch, particularly during Ooh La. This became a communal singalong, while the inevitable encore of Naïve lifted the hall into full release – a reminder of the song’s lasting hold on mid-2000s indie fans.
Rather than feeling like a look back, the Kooks’ O2 show was a statement of intent. By weaving new sounds into their familiar framework, the band proved that its longevity in indie pop relies on a willingness to evolve just as much as on nostalgia.
Dionysia Afolabi
Photos: Virginie Viche
For further information and future events, visit The Kooks’s website here.
Watch the video for If They Could Only Know here:
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