The Vamps

On Friday night, The Vamps took to the stage at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith for their ‘Cherry Blossom’ tour, the title of their most recent album which they released in 2020. Rearranged from earlier this year, the anticipation in the crowd was high.

The supporting acts - Lauran Hibberd and JC Stewart - warmed up the crowd. Lauran got the audience going with her rocky yet catchy tunes including ‘Bleugh’ and ‘You Never Looked So Cool’. Following her was JC Stewart, who got the whole audience singing along when he did a cover of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’. He also performed his current singles, ‘Break My Heart’ and ‘Need You to Hate Me’.

The tension reached a peak when The Vamps were about to come on. They had a dramatic start to their set, with their silhouettes appearing behind a curtain and then with a dramatic curtain drop they launched straight into ‘Married In Vegas’, a leading single from The Vamps’ most recent album.

The setlist had an impressive mix of old fan favourites, such as ‘Can We Dance?’ and ‘Last Night’ and new songs, such as ‘Would You’ and ‘Part of Me.’ The Vamps put on a great show. Lead vocalist, Brad Simpson, gave a high energy performance and jumped around the stage, encouraging the whole room to dance and sing along. The performance showcased their new sound, which has matured since their 2014 debut album and moved away from their early boyband sound to something grittier.

The audience enjoyed the on-stage banter. The Vamps understand the importance of bringing their personalities out in their performance and showing the friendships that exist within the group. This added another layer of enjoyment for the fans.

The encore consisted of five songs and included ‘Wake Up’ and the sad ballad ‘Missing You’, which had everyone raising their phone torches to the sky. The night ended with ‘Somebody to You’ and cannons exploding with cherry blossom confetti.

The Vamps have a real connection with their audience, and everyone left with a smile on their face.