Kawala's Farewell Tour: Live in Newcastle
Featured Image Credit - Parri Thomas for The Line of Best Fit
In December 2024, the North London group Kawala announced their plans to embark on one final tour before calling it quits. The tour, which was set to begin in February 2025, would feature dates across England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands. I caught their Newcastle show on 7 February, with openers Teenage Dads, as Kawala gave their fans a heartfelt Farewell Tour.
Doors opened at 7 PM, and upon entering the venue you could immediately understand the love the fans have for this band. Several attendants made a beeline to the merch table, intent on grabbing some ‘Farewell Tour’ items.
Teenage Dads didn’t take to the stage for another 35 minutes or so, allowing my good friend Ellie and I to secure some drinks and a good spot. They certainly kicked our Friday night off with some intense mullets, gnarly guitar riffs, and catchy melodies. The crowd gave their full attention, singing and dancing along, cranking the energy in the room all the way up. The Australian indie-rock band have been together since 2015, and their decade-long commitment to music was apparent through the ease with which they occupied the stage. They spoke personably to the audience between songs, transitioning seamlessly back into their set.
Near the end of their set, they announced that their next one would be ‘dedicated to all the milfs’ before playing ‘Video Killed The Radio Star.’ This was a real stand-out of their set, everyone was grooving.
In an interview with Milky, they talked about wanting to remain conscious of their live capabilities while recording music - let me be the first to attest to their success. Teenage Dads were a stupidly fun, and musically impressive beginning to the night.
After a brief intermission (during which I opted against another £6 cider, c'mon guys) red and yellow lights flooded the stage - enter Kawala, and the audience was immersed in song, chanting lyrics right from the get-go.
The band is made up of Jim Higson, Daniel McCarthy, Reeve Coulson, Dan Lee, and Ben Batten, who all met in Leeds while at music college. On this Farewell Tour however Ben, who is typically on drums, was unable to attend. Who was he replaced by, you might be asking? Only Suren de Saram, Bombay Bicycle Club’s drummer. For long-term fans of the band, this won’t come as much of a shock, seeing as Kawala opened for Bombay Bicycle Club during their 2024 tour.
One memorable moment of the night came from a sweet anecdote Daniel shared with the crowd. Before playing ‘Animals,’ a song off their 2022 extended album ‘Better With You,’ he shared a story about how they have had not one but two proposals during live performances of this song, both in Southampton. It was a charming way to introduce the song, and the crowd apparently thought so too, swaying along with the plucking of Daniel’s guitar.
The lighting throughout their set deserves a massive shoutout, setting the mood for each song perfectly. A particular favourite lighting moment of mine came during the song ‘Moonlight,’ when the band were bathed in the yellow and blue glow associated with a midnight sky and full, bright moon.
Towards the end of the setlist, things got a little slower, and a little more sombre; understandable considering this gig was the band’s first headline show in Newcastle, and also their last. ‘Mighty River', ‘Echoes’, and ‘Funky’ got the audience 'in their feels', but they didn’t let us feel down for too long, moving swiftly into ‘American Adrenaline,’ afterwards.
The energy of the band matched that of the crowd, maintaining a steady excitement right until the end. The setlist spanned their entire discography as Kawala played some newer tracks, from an accompanying farewell release, ‘KAWALA Collection’ as well as their OG classics. It was a dance-filled, fun-filled night for both long-term and newer fans of the band. If you’ve not yet had a chance to see them, get in there quick, it’s quite literally your last chance!
