I first saw Cavetown live back in 2023 and I still think about that gig now…back then I recall them as being such amazing high energy performers with such personal songs – every song had a meaning to it and was highly relatable to so many.

Safe to say I was very much looking forward to this gig, but did it live up to my expectations?

At just age 27 they are selling out numerous shows across the UK and Europe and we were lucky enough to catch the Manchester date. This tour celebrates the highly anticipated release of ‘Running with Scissors’ that was just released in January this year.

Cavetown have come out with many hits over the years such as ‘This is home’ and ‘Devil Town’ and whilst being released years ago they are still played over and over again. 

The support act for the show ‘Dreamer Isioma’ is also quite a renowned artist that matches the energy that Cavetown brings to all of the gigs which makes them a perfect opener to get the crowd ready for the main act ahead.

Tonight they were joined by the amazing guitarist Dante Swan who is insanely talented. Dreamer came out with the hit single ‘Sensitive’ which came out back in 2020 and went viral on Tiktok which made them known internationally.

They started the night perfectly with the most energy I’ve ever seen – from jumping around to even getting into the crowd at one point – they brought it all and the crowd loved every second of it. They played many of the songs from their latest album ‘StarX Lover: Supernova’ and the crowd were singing along with all the songs.

They also played their new release ‘Smile’ which is set to be released in two weeks time and I can almost guarantee everyone who heard it will be streaming it as soon as it’s released !- it’s an upbeat song that everyone was jumping around to. And of course they played the viral hit ‘Sensitive’ which was sung back to them by the high energy appreciative crowd.

I will definitely be catching Dreamer Isioma at another show soon…

But the moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived as the amazing Cavetown took to the stage and immediately everyone started cheering and you could see their faces quite literally, light up. It was an absolutely beautiful sight to see.

They were joined on stage by the amazing Nick Johnson on bass and keys, Willaby Morse on Drums and James Rapp on guitar.

They bring an insane amount of energy to every show played. They opened the set with ‘Skip’ from the latest album ‘Running with scissors’ that beautifully transitioned into ‘Cryptid’.

Cavetown always seems to have a deep emotional connection with the crowd and this was evidened tonight within the first 30 seconds of their set. The crowd were singing, dancing and swaying along to every lyric and every beat.

They played the album in its entirety and the crowd eagerly sang every word back.

They also played some of their other songs such as ‘This is home’, ‘Devil Town’ and ‘Juliet’ and the crowd were so excited when the intros to these songs started playing. Even though the songs are quite mellow they always bring the most energy running around the stage and jumping up and down which contributes to the crowd’s excitement.

Everything from the setlist, the lighting and the band was perfect and it transported me back to the gig in 2023. Everything is always thought out so carefully for these shows which is what makes them so special I think.

The band are well known for constantly involving and interacting with the crowd from making heart hands to waving at almost everyone in the venue. They really do know how to make a crowd feel special and seeing it is truly wonderful.

I personally can’t wait to see how much further they go in the future – every Cavetown show is one to remember.

Photos and review by Christina Thompson for THE SONGBIRD HQ