Music
Support Act: Reasons to turn up early this month
Don't miss these top acts opening for your favourite band in the coming weeks
We’ve all been guilty of it, the mental gymnastics of working how long you’ll have to rush to the venue after work, cram a Pret a Manger down you for dinner and meet your friend for a drink or two before getting into the venue just before the headliner walks on at nine.
But there’s a lot to be said for getting down to your next show early. Forget the stress of carving your way through crowds to find some sort of view of the singer. Get a lay of lands so you know your bars from your toilets and cloakrooms. Above all, catch the support act. It’s often one handpicked by the headliner you’re here to see, or a local act you never know existed, one that’ll likely be a headliner of their own in a year or two.
In this new series, we’ll be highlighting a few of our highly recommended support acts opening your favourite artist in the coming weeks.
Claire Rosinkranz
Like many rising stars of the 2020s, Californian singer-songwriter Claire Rosinkranz got her break during the pandemic, when her bedroom pop bop ‘Backyard Boy’ went viral. She’s been pretty prolific ever since, with her recent second studio album In Love showing depth and creative progress while remaining fun and peppy – as on the definitely ABBA-inspired opener ‘City’. Expect more of the latter when she opens for Alex Warren later this month.
Pale Waves
For the best part of a decade now Manchester’s Pale Waves have been blending modern pop production with the dynamic synths and pearlescent guitar tones of the 80s. 2024’s Smitten struck a sweet balance between this cleaner, earlier sound and some of the punchier pop-punk elements of recent years, and features some of their catchiest tunes to date.
Sons of Sevilla
Supporting Yin Yin in Leeds, Manchester & London, 14-18 April – find tickets here
There’s a sleepy light-headedness to this project from brothers Reuben and Henry Smith, thanks to their gently paced, sun baked Americana perfect for road tripping. It’s a perfect warm up for Yin Yin, a Dutch band whose own sun-baked grooves embark on a headier global journey.
911
We’re not just here to promote burgeoning young bands, you know; treat this as a reminder that 90s pop trio will be opening each night on Blue’s UK tour this month. Lee, Jimmy and Spike rose to fame in the years leading up to Blue’s breakout, with hits from ‘Bodyshakin’ and ‘The Day We Find Love’. Better start practicing those moves…
Storm Orchestra
Last year Storm Orchestra covered Nelly Furtado’s ‘Maneater’, which perfectly sums up the Parisian trio’s taste for chunky riffs and sassy grooves. This makes them great openers for the epic and melodic Skillet, but don’t be fooled by their set time: this band have the chops and live energy to be headlining these kinds of venues themselves.
