Last year saw a heap of beachside festivals come to Adelaide. Summersalt, By the C and on December 28, arguably the biggest of which, Beach Life Festival hit the shores of Glenelg.
Touting major international headliner, The Kooks, in their first performance in Adelaide in five years, Beach Life brought a lineup of beloved indie acts.
Opening and closing was DJ Craig who has been supplying indie and retro market around Adelaide with their favourite hits for over 20 years.
Followed by Mane, an artist who is quickly becoming an Australian festival regular having recently played at Bigsound, Groovin the Moo, Brisbane Festival and Spin Off Festival. Her deep voice and haunting stage presence that Mane is . well known for was in full force at Beach Life.
Brisbane indie rockers, Last Dinosaurs, introduced their new album Yumeno Garden to Adelaide at Beach Life. Their new music reflects their growth as artists and their live performance was so finely tuned with the crowd dancing to new single Eleven just as they would to their major hit, Apollo.
The setting sun over Glenelg (despite a slightly overcast day) timed perfectly with Winston Surfshirt performing on stage. A mish-mash of indie vibes and r&b with frontman Winston grooving on stage alongside the rest of the six-some proves that some bands just sound better when you’re at the beach with a cold drink in your hand.
Finally, the Brighton (the UK one) natives, The Kooks, emerged and set off with a set that displayed just how comfortable they are on stage. The greatest compliment to give to an artist is to say that they sound exactly the same live as they do on record and that was the case with The Kooks.
The palpable confidence of the band could be felt, partly in due to their age, the band being active for almost 15 years. Their performance evoking nostalgia for a time of heartfelt teenage rebellion, a theme consistent for many who remember long summers, a touch of happy alongside a touch of lonely.
The crowd obviously being a chunk of The Kooks’ Adelaide fanbase meant that Luke Pritchard had a host of voices singing along to Junk of the Heart and their prevailing hit, Naive.
The Kooks are touring Australia to promote their newest album Let’s Go Sunshine, a continuation in their well established identity. With No Pressure coming on, a song talking about falling in love with the summer, we found that we fell in love with The Kooks all over again.
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