2024 has blessed us with a fantastic variety of live music; from global superstars like Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay, to next-gen superstars like Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa, to icons like Stevie Nicks and next-big-things such as The Last Dinner Party, bar italia and Maruja. The Indiependent music team brought you reviews from many of these concerts, across the length and breadth of the UK. To end the year, we set our writers the challenge to recall their best live concert moment from this spectacular year.
Dream Wife: Leeds Festival (Bramham Park), 25/08/24
For many who headed to the disappointingly overcast fields of Bramham Park, it might not have been a small name on the poster that stole the limelight of the weekend.
Renée Rapp’s explosive or Lana Del Rey’s literally explosive firework display that closed off the weekend might’ve grabbed the centre of attention for the Leeds Festival. But for me, it was a sweet moment with the Icelandic-British pop-punk outfit Dream Wife. They had a short but sweet half-hour slot at the Festival Republic Stage that ran through the tongue-in-cheek warnings of ‘Hot (Don’t Date a Musician)’, the screeching ‘Leech’ and the title track of their recently released record ‘Social Lubrication’.
My key moment, however, was during ‘F.U.U.’. There weren’t many devoted Dream Wife fans in the packed-out tent, so when front-woman Rakel Mjöll saw me screaming out every lyric we locked eyes for “eye spy with my little eye bad bitches / Dream Wife for life”, and the rest is pop-punk history.
Words by Lana Williams
Jeff Rosenstock: Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 07/02/24
Halfway through ‘You, In Weird Cities’ Jeff Rosenstock bolted offstage. I was too busy pinballing from person to person to track anything else, so I thought he was taking an early break after an intense gig. Of course, when the crowd chant kicked in, I turned to find him up on the balcony conducting the rowdy army of punks with his saxophone. He was crimson red and wedged between speechless fans but he let no energy dissipate as he riled up the audience. It was a moment of juxtaposition only Rosenstock could nail. To everyone in the pit, he was a DIY god on high, yet he had merged with the most distant part of his audience. It punctuated the longing for human connection that permeated the song, and we could only sing in one loud voice.
Words by Cameron Gibbs
Sam Fender: Co-op Live, Manchester, 06/12/24
‘Seventeen Going Under’ doesn’t rank that highly on my list of favourite Sam Fender songs. But seeing it performed live is something completely different. The song’s lyrics are deeply devastating and Fender performed them with the right amount of anger. Of course, everyone screamed the viral lyrics “I was far too scared to hit him / But I would hit him in a heartbeat now” but it was impossible not to when swept up with the crowd’s energy. The song came to a climax at the bridge when everyone sang the lyrics in an almost war-like chant. The Geordie artist knows how to rally a crowd with the “woah-ohs” throughout the song that everyone continued to sing even after Fender had left the stage. No matter what your connection to the song is, it is a cathartic experience to sing it alongside thousands of other fans.
Words by Amy Britton
Stevie Nicks, Hyde Park, London, 12/07/24
“I’ve been afraid of changing, ‘cause I’ve built my life around you”. Tears roll down our cheeks as Hyde Park collectively weeps to ‘Landslide’.
Tonight’s rendition is a moving tribute to the late Christine McVie: the cool, aching voice who became close friends with Stevie Nicks during their Fleetwood Mac tenure. The difference is that tonight would’ve been McVie’s 81st birthday. Her smiling face and bright eyes lighting up the backdrop make the tender song especially heartbreaking. Harry Styles joins Nicks here, having joined her to sing ‘Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around’ earlier. His presence is far from out of place; their raw vocals melt together harmoniously.
Those who often feel existential and fear the loving pain etched into the lyrics of ‘Landslide” appreciate the beauty of this performance.
Words by Kai Lewis Goulder
Kacey Musgraves: Deeper Well Tour, Glasgow O2 Academy, 09/05/2024
It’s May, you live in Scotland, and so far spring has consisted of 100% grey cloud coverage and endless rain records being broken. But inside, in this refurbished cinema, the sun is shining (okay so maybe it’s a disco ball, close enough) and spring is embodied in songs of the divine, community, and poetic contemplation. There’s love in this room and it’s spread through the entire crowd as they sing and sway their arms to the final lines of Kacey Musgraves‘ ‘Anime Eyes’ and, just when the room couldn’t get any more full, ‘High Horse’ kicks in and the world is fun, it’s bright, and actually nothing has ever been wrong and never will be again.
Words by Camille Murray
Taylor Swift: Eras Tour, Wembley Stadium, London, 15/08/2024
When Taylor Swift played the opening bars of ‘Everything Has Changed’, the crowd sensed something extraordinary was about to unfold. After the first verse, she paused to announce, “Ed Sheeran is here.” Wembley erupted in a cacophony so intense it wasn’t just heard—it was felt, a vibration coursing through every chest. Fans clutched their friendship bracelets, exchanged tear-filled looks, and sang every word as Swift’s “second brother” stepped into the spotlight.
Nostalgia swept through the crowd, pulling everyone back to 2012. As they segued seamlessly into Swift’s ‘End Game’ and Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’, the duo’s smiles and glances radiated friendship and shared history.
At that moment, the Eras Tour’s grandeur—its lights, choreography, and spectacle—faded into the background. What remained was the heart of music itself. Strangers hugged, laughed, and sang as if they’d known each other forever. Friendship, togetherness and the way music makes us feel—those are the real headliners.
Words by Andrew Butcher
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