Latest Breaking News Online News Portal
“We’ve missed this so much!” Don Broco’s frontman Rob Damiani shouted, and it was clear from the sheer enthusiasm of the crowd as the lights went down that they did too. It’s been four years since the release of the band’s chart-topping album Amazing Things, and while Bedford’s finest haven’t been completely absent from live music — they’ve still done a handful of shows in the UK and abroad, including a standout slot at Download Festival — their return to London’s Wembley Arena, as part of their UK tour was special. Armed with five new singles and a renewed sense of energy, the band gave fans more than they could have hoped for.
Wembley is familiar territory for the band, who last played the venue in 2019 following the success of their third album Technology, where they rolled in with Neck Deep and Issues in tow. This time, they had assembled a line-up just as impressive including Floridian’s Magnolia Park, Brighton alt-rock heavyweights Yonaka, and pop-punk favourites State Champs. But this time, the band had solidified themselves as a group operating — and enjoying — being at the top of their game.
Honouring their newest chapter, the band, having traditionally opened with ‘Gumshield’ for their last run of tours, kicked off the night with their blistering new track ‘Cellophane’. Released in July following a quiet period online, ‘Cellophane’ and the string of singles that have followed, mark a creative shift for the four-piece as well as a new partnership with Fearless Records.
Beneath stark black-and-white lights and stripped-back staging reminicent of the video, the nu-metal-infused opener hit with real force, immediately establishing the band’s heavier, more aggressive direction. And as the set unfolded, the new singles, drip-fed to fans over recent months, already felt right at home among the band’s established hits.
“It’s taken a long time, but it’s finally done and dusted,” Rob announced, finally confirming the long-awaited new album. Produced by Dan Lancaster and due early next year, their fifth album has been two years in the making, but on Friday it already felt like it was making its mark.
Drummer Matt Donnelly took the spotlight with lead vocals on the sleek, electronic ‘Euphoria’, while Rob’s raw impassioned screams on ‘Disappear’ made it clear the band were relishing performing their new material just as much as fans were listening to it. Meanwhile, the crowd’s excitable reaction as they headbanged in unison to unreleased track ‘True Believer’ made it clear the next track had their seal of approval.
Apart from acting as a showcase for the new singles, the 21-song setlist did well to make room for the band’s biggest hits. ‘Come Out to LA’ has quietly become one of Don Broco’s most beloved live tracks, and the crowd’s response was a prime of example of the anthem like singalongs the fans and band love so much. Meanwhile, ‘Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan’ sparked a roar of cheers before a single note, as red laser beams cued the chaos to come.
The title track from Technology spurred on a wave of mosh pits across the entire floor of venue, while a glowing cowboy hat bounced above the crowd as an affectionate nod to the band’s previous eras, famously marked by cowboys and David Beckham lookalikes.
From there a mid-set acoustic section — including a slower rendition of the five-minute track ‘Further’, featuring Yonaka’s Theresa Jarvis — provided a welcome breather after the relentless energy of songs like ‘Pretty’ and ‘Uber.’ But it wasn’t long before the pace picked up again with a competitive sing-along to “Yippee Ki-Yay” for the Christmas-adjacent, Die Hard-themed song, ‘Bruce Willis’.
Throughtout the night, the band pulled out all the stops, and the final run of infectious tracks;’Endorphins’, ‘Fingernails’, ‘Nerve’, and ‘Everybody’, was a reminder to everyone in the room exactly why they command venues of this size. But whether playing OVO Arena or Clwb Ifor Bach, the band have always come out ready to deliver a high-energy show without bravado, ego, or unnecessary fanfare.
At times, they’ve been underrated and underestimated by people who assume the tongue-in-cheek, laddish vibe of their Priorities album is all they have to offer. But the absence of any debut-era tracks on the setlist is a testament to how far they’ve come in the last 13 years. With each album, the band has returned with sharper songwriting, deeper emotions, and a more sophisticated sense of social commentary, all while keeping up the fun chaos fans love.
As such, while the predictable encore of ‘T-Shirt Song’ prompted a flurry of undressing, it was closing with ‘Hype Man’ that made it clear Don Broco are moving boldly into a new era, with the same chaotic, crowd-pleasing energy. If Friday night was anything to go by, their new album is shaping up to be their most explosive yet, and fans are fully ready to embrace it.
