Featured image and gallery: Ben Redshaw
Manchester indie rock band The Covasettes performed their biggest gig to date at Academy 2 this weekend. The band made history tonight with a crowd of over 900 fans filling out the venue. Pure joy filled the room as fans could see Chris Buxton, Matt Hewlett, Jamie McIntyre and Matt Buckley were overwhelmed by the support at their show tonight.
The Covasettes have brought out a new support act for each show in a unique fashion. This evening Manchester was treated to Tom A Smith, an upcoming indie rock singer breaking his way into the music industry. At the age of 19, Smith has already performed at Glastonbury Festival three times and had his talents recognised by music royalty, Sir Elton John.
Without hesitation, Smith kicked off the evening with his energetic single ‘Never Good Enough’. The crowd seemed hesitant at first, but that soon changed as Smith, and his band, stormed the stage and put on an exhilarating performance for the Manchester audience. Moving on, he then performed some of his newer songs with, ‘Like You Do’, ‘Weirdo’, and ‘Boltcutters’.
After a conversation with members of the audience, I found out that some fans tonight were primarily here just to see Smith live in concert. One fan said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Tom for a while now and this is the first time I get to see him live.”
Closing his set was his most popular song, ‘Dragonfly’. This was an absolute banger to go out on, keeping up the energetic vibe of his set. By the end, Tom had converted the crowd into fans of his music as he got a huge ovation from Manchester.
Following was a brief interval, he lights went down and an intro of a medley of iconic rock anthems began as The Covasettes took the stage and made history for the band. Over 900 fans screamed the lyrics to ‘Wave’ as they began.
Fans were spotted in the crowd with signs expressing their love and passion towards The Covasettes this evening at Academy 2. One young fan held up a sign reading ‘Say What You See’, her favourite and most anticipated song of the evening. She expressed absolute happiness as the sign was spotted by bassist McIntyre.
Front-man Buxton effortlessly owned the night with his vocals as he performed some of their newer songs including, ‘Duvet Thief’, ‘Big Dreamer’, and ‘Sun Struck’. All high-performance songs and all of it smashed out the park by Buxton with support from guitarist Hewlett, bassist McIntyre and drummer Buckley. Tonight was a night to party with these guys as the band consistently delivered high energy throughout their set.
As the show came to a close, the band performed an iconic track from their playlist with ‘Top Drawer’, a fast and upbeat tune with a fantastic music video filmed in the heart of their hometown. After leaving the stage, the fans demanded more, which was granted with an encore featuring ‘Be Mine’ and ‘This Feeling’.
WHAT’S LOST IS OURS TO FIND is available for pre-order. Visit thecovasettes.com/store.
Tom A Smith Supporting The Covasettes at Academy 2
The Covasettes at Academy 2
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