On November 27th, up and coming Aussie rock stars, The Southern River Band, arrived in London for their much anticipated headline show at The Garage. This was the 6th night of their current UK tour, promoting and performing their latest album, “D.I.Y” (which I strongly urge you to go and listen to).

Supporting band US kicked off the night with a full force set that I was quite floored by. These young rockers from Finland made for the perfect start to the show and delivered a fiery all-go rock performance that packed a punch. Each individual band member presented as a master of their craft and they were all clearly passionate about the music they were playing. (I particularly enjoyed the harmonica!) The band has had a busy year and have been touring on and off since January, with a highlight being their sets at Glastonbury Festival over the summer. I have a feeling that there is a lot more to come from US and I would love to go to a headline show of theirs one day.

9 o’clock rolls around and The Southern River Band take to the stage, opening and instantly capturing the audiences attention with track number 6 of their D.I.Y album - “Cigarettes (Ain’t Helping Me None).” This talented and characterful four piece is made up of frontman Cal, Pat on bass, Dan on guitar, and Tyler on drums. These guys are GOOD. It hasn’t been all that long since the band were last here, just this summer they were playing sold out headline shows across UK venues, including at Camden Town’s Underworld. After getting a taste of the band on the Stan Qualen tour, British fans were left craving more and The Southern River Band paid attention. The crowd was a medley of personalities and eras - some older fans, some seeing them play for the first time. It’s beautiful the way music brings people together. From the get-go, it was clear that these lads thrive on raw, unpolished energy. The boys delivered us a loud, strong spirited, classic rock and roll performance, with an abundance of charisma, heaps of zealousness, and a side of harmless banter. I can only praise the band’s musicianship and stage presence, which were on absolute top form. I didn’t want the night to end and am eager to see them play again on their next UK visit.

The Southern River Band are currently touring Europe and will be wrapping up in Antwerp later this week. There is undeniably so much more to come from these guys and I’m sure they’re gonna go far. Any UK fans eager to see them live will have the chance to catch them performing at Download Festival next June.