Rachel Brown takes a look back at her top gigs of 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Live music isn\u2019t just background noise, it\u2019s the living, breathing pulse that drags us out of chaos and into something electric. I\u2019ve lost count of the nights I\u2019ve spent squeezed into sweaty clubs or vast arenas, chasing that moment when the lights dim, the crowd roars, and the room erupts. I go a lot on my own too, because it\u2019s cathartic for me. I can fully immerse myself without worrying about anyone else. It\u2019s more than a gig to me, it\u2019s a reminder of how to connect back to myself and others, how to feel fully human in a packed, noisy space where strangers become a single heartbeat. Watching younger generations scream along with raw, unfiltered passion isn\u2019t nostalgic, it\u2019s like witnessing the torch being passed, bright and burning. <\/p>\n So many artists cut their teeth in those intimate grassroots venues, many I\u2019ve visited this year. Think of places like The Leadmill in Sheffield or Brixton Academy, rooms holding 200\u2013500 souls, where bands build real followings. That\u2019s why the Music Venue Trust\u2019s fight against soaring costs, post-pandemic fallout, and closures (over 150 venues gone since 2023) hits so hard without these spaces, there\u2019s no ladder to the bigger stages.<\/p>\n But 2025 ended on a wave of real hope. On December 9, The O2 announced a groundbreaking three-year partnership with MVT, donations for every debut headliner (over 50 this year alone, from Gracie Abrams and Pulp to Architects and Wolf Alice), kicking off with a six-figure boost. It\u2019s a powerful recognition that arena stars are born in those small, vital rooms. Here in Sheffield, Utilita Arena (now under ASM Global) is stepping up too, with marketing support, training, equipment loans, and fundraising through ticketing and bar schemes. It\u2019s quieter heroism, but it\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n For me, 2025\u2019s gigs have felt like the perfect storm, club intimacy meets arena euphoria. With players like The O2 and ASM Global backing MVT, the ecosystem is finally starting to feel a little more balanced, and let\u2019s hope that the future continues to look brilliantly alive.<\/p>\n Anyway, here\u2019s a selection of my favourite gigs from 2025.<\/p>\n SIDNEY & MATILDA, SHEFFIELD, 14 MARCH 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Avalanche Party are one of my all-time favourite bands. It\u2019s their quick, loud, energetic sound, as well as Jordan\u2019s stage presence, which really draws me in. This northern band is a raw, gritty, punk band who bring complete chaos to every event they host. So much so that I even ended up attending a concert in Cardiff that they were playing at as an unsigned band, which led me to miss their performance entirely! But the impact of music has never been so loud. They were unstoppable on stage, and I don\u2019t think they received the appreciation that they really deserved. Jordan\u2019s clever lyrics, such as in \u201cI\u2019m So Wet\u201d and \u201cPorcelain\u201d, with massive riffs tore the entire concert apart. \u201cI\u2019ll serenade your sweetness with Shakespearean song\u201d was enough to hook me from the very beginning. The final night at Sidney & Matilda left on a bittersweet note, but not a clean one. They departed with amps still on, moshes still raging, Jordan still bellowing loudly on stage.<\/p>\n They were something special, and to be honest, many other bands tried to emulate that vibe. Avalanche Party is going to be part of the archives and the stories.<\/p>\n EVENTIM OLYMPIA, LIVERPOOL, 27 MARCH 2025<\/em><\/p>\n The Northern Music Awards pulled off something special this year: a proper Northern knees-up that actually felt like it mattered, raising cash for Nordoff and Robbins\u2019 music therapy work along the way. Liverpool\u2019s Olympia buzzed with that rare mix of fresh faces and proper legends Luvcat\u2019s haunting voice cutting through the chatter, Blossoms stripping it back acoustically, The Zutons bringing the Scouse swagger, and Rick Astley just\u2026 being Rick Astley.<\/p>\n The place erupted when punk poet John Cooper Clarke took the stage for his headline Northern Music Award (handed over by Peter Hook, no less), rattling off poems before the cheers swallowed him whole. Nia Archives snagging Artist of the Year felt like a win for the new guard, while English Teacher\u2019s Album of the Year nod (off the back of that Mercury-winning debut) proved the North\u2019s still breeding game-changers.<\/p>\n More than the trophies, nights like this remind you the industry\u2019s scrapping on, grassroots talent rubbing shoulders with icons, all in aid of something bigger. Roll on 2026.<\/p>\n GET TOGETHER FESTIVAL, SHEFFIELD, 17 MAY 2025<\/em><\/p>\n The Moonlandingz are definitely one of my favourite live bands. I saw them for the first time at the Leadmill when they were promoting Interplanetary Classics, and I was hooked. It\u2019s a rare thing when a band can make me want to dance and wave my arms about even when I\u2019m not drinking, but this psychedelic display did just that. The band are a collection of musicians with a heavy dose of punk rock attitude, strange beats, and a healthy helping of theatre-induced pandemonium that drags you into their bizarre realm with no qualms. The band has a bold leader in Lias Saoudi, whose frontmanship has a mesmerising, unpredictable edge that veers from a smooth, sultry tone to a shouted bellow in a split second. I have been lucky enough to see them on various nights at different gigs, from small clubs to side stages at festivals, but every single event has left me buzzing with a sense of confusion, happiness, and a strange feeling that my brain is being rewired by the music in real-time. For a psychedelic injection with that sort of potent effects potential, who needs EMDR, anyway? Maybe I should pay to Moonlandingz instead of a therapist. If only\u2026<\/p>\n This particular Saturday, the Get Together stage became a carnival of weird occurrences, thanks to these guys and girls, who brought with them a stage that came alive with bodies and sounds that catapulted the crowd into a trance, some were clearly in it, others clearly shocked to have stumbled upon it. It started with my laughter at how mental they were, but with their apparent intensity, I was hardly freaked out after all I\u2019ve seen some sights from their performances, so I continued to dance as if tomorrow didn\u2019t exist. It is exactly this that festivals are all about, not the programmed performances, but these instances when literally anything might happen, especially with Lias Saoudi on stage.<\/p>\n The Moonlandingz finish the year 2025 with a sold-out date at Crookes Social Club in Sheffield, and I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll bring that same level of madness with them. In 2026, they have festivals lined up at Rockaway Beach and FOCUS Wales, where even more antics are bound to ensue. That past Saturday left me different, my ears ringing, my mind expanded, a part of that sense of madness with me, proving that music such as theirs is what keeps the universe from becoming too bland, too beige and too boring.<\/p>\n THE LEADMILL, SHEFFIELD, 27 JUNE 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Miles Kane\u2019s proper rock \u2018n\u2019 roll swagger with his sharp suits, razor riffs, that effortless Scouse cool has always hit like lightning in a bottle. From his Rascals days to solo bangers, I\u2019ve caught him in dingy clubs and festival madness, and he never fails to electrify. But this Leadmill night? It was the end of an era, the final gig in a venue that\u2019s been Sheffield\u2019s beating heart for 45 years, scrapping against eviction right up to the bitter close.<\/p>\n The room thrummed with pride as locals packed in for Miles, with Tom Rowley and Creeping Jean warming the stage. His set crackled raw energy, crowd singalongs, that encore leaving me choked, a heady mix of joy and gut-wrenching sadness. This wasn\u2019t just a show; it was a farewell to the grit and community that built legends like Pulp and Arctic Monkeys here. The building shutters in June, set to reopen as Electric Studios in early 2026 under new owners, shinier, sure, but can it capture that irreplaceable soul? Nights like this scream why we fight for these spaces, they\u2019re fragile, vital, and once the original spark\u2019s gone, so\u2019s a piece of us.<\/p>\n Miles embarks on a UK\/Europe tour with his album Sunlight in the Shadows in 2026.<\/p>\n ROUNDHOUSE, LONDON, 23 SEPTEMBER 2025<\/em><\/p>\n The AIM Independent Music Awards are always an electric event for anyone who supports independent music. The AIM Awards have been at the forefront of indie music for the past 15 years, recognising musicians who operate on their own terms. I\u2019ve been to a couple of these nights, but this Roundhouse event felt massive, with a host of people who take rebellion and turn it into art.<\/p>\n London was alive that night. Getting to see Ezra Collective, representatives from Fontaines D.C., and Gilles Peterson on the same bill felt a lot like a passing of the torch, blending jazz-influenced beats with post-punk energy.<\/p>\n I still remember the roar of the crowd when Cosey Fanni Tutti went on stage to collect the Innovator Award. It\u2019s a perfect demonstration of independent pride in all its glory, a dedication to a true innovator who has influenced the music of multiple decades. For me, it wasn\u2019t an evening of awards. It demonstrated that our indie music industry is still a force to be reckoned with, with Fontaines D.C. taking home the prize for Best Independent Album and Ezra Collective winning the prize for Best Independent Track.<\/p>\n THE OCTAGON, SHEFFIELD, 24 & 25 NOVEMBER 2025<\/em><\/p>\n Kneecap are a Belfast hip-hop trio who rap in Irish and English, blending sharp political commentary with hedonistic energy. I\u2019d eat my hat if you haven\u2019t heard of them. Their live shows are notorious for turning venues into absolute mayhem, crowds surging, Palestinian and Irish flags waving with chants echoing. I caught them in a packed Octagon for two nights where the bass rattled your ribs and the room felt like it could explode at any second. Tracks like \u201cH.O.O.D\u201d and \u201cGet Your Brits Out\u201d hit with satirical bite, but underneath the chaos is real fury about identity, language, and resistance. In a year of polished arena triumphs, Kneecap reminded us why sweaty, defiant club nights still matter most, raw, unfiltered, and impossible to ignore. It has been suggested that the politics overpowers the songs, but this is far from the case, the beats are solid, and they are etched into your memory.<\/p>\n They\u2019re going into 2026 with festivals such as Primavera Sound, Reading & Leeds, and many more. The vibe is extending throughout Europe, from stages to pits.<\/p>\n UTILITA ARENA, SHEFFIELD, 7 DECEMBER 2025<\/p>\n Stereophonics have soundtracked my life from scraped-knee teenage years in pubs and cars to festival fields and now these massive arenas. They\u2019re not just a band, their songs are stitched into the fabric of ordinary days, love, loss, escape, the lot.<\/p>\n Walking into Utilita Arena felt like stepping into a cathedral built from anthems, the air already buzzing before a note hit. Then Kelly Jones strides out, voice cutting straight to the bone, and the place erupts. Classics like \u201cHave a Nice Day,\u201d \u201cMaybe Tomorrow,\u201d and \u201cMr Writer\u201d yanked us back through the years, but \u201cDakota\u201d? Pure communal therapy. Strangers locking eyes, belting every word like we needed it to breathe, that shared release in a room full of thousands.<\/p>\n In a year when we\u2019ve lost irreplaceable grassroots spots (farewell to the original Leadmill\u2019s grit), nights like this remind you why live music endures, it\u2019s a lifeline. Stereophonics closed out 2025 with this epic run of arenas, Sheffield included, no 2026 dates yet, but here\u2019s hoping.<\/p>\n THE O2, LONDON, 9 DECEMBER 2025<\/p>\n Jamiroquai at the O2 demonstrated why music is so essential as it rewinds, lifts, and propels us all forward. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n After six long years away, Jamiroquai crashed back with The Heels of Steel Tour<\/em>, turning arenas into throbbing discos. Jay Kay, hat game strong, energy off the charts strutted out and flipped the switch, from the opening basslines, the place erupted into one massive groove.<\/p>\n \u201cCosmic Girl\u201d launched us into orbit, \u201cVirtual Insanity\u201d had thousands mimicking that iconic video slide (badly, joyfully), and \u201cCanned Heat\u201d turned the floor into a sweat-soaked dance-off. Lights pulsing, horns blazing, bodies moving like the \u201990s never ended it was polished escapism at its finest. In a year of furious club riots and heartbreaking venue goodbyes, this was the reminder we needed, sometimes live music\u2019s magic is just letting the funk take over and dancing till your legs give out. Welcome back, don\u2019t stay away so long next time.<\/p>\n Reflecting on 2025, it\u2019s been far more than gigs. It\u2019s been a demonstration that music is a form of testimony, but also a form of activism, a form of happiness, a form of mourning, a form of survival. Every concert has been a connection with me, but ultimately a connection with all of us.<\/p>\nAVALANCHE PARTY<\/h2>\n
NORTHERN MUSIC AWARDS<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nMOONLANDINGZ<\/h2>\n
MILES KANE<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nAIM INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nKNEECAP<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nSTEREOPHONICS<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nJAMIROQUAI<\/h2>\n
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\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n