Photo Credit: Chelsea Costello

Fresh from the release of their long-awaited debut album Elsewhere, Always, Overpass arrived at Rough Trade Nottingham with plenty to celebrate. Having already played a matinee show at the same venue earlier in the day, the Birmingham quartet returned for an evening performance that formed part of a short run of stripped back in-store dates marking the album’s arrival. 

The setting could not have been further removed from the festival stages and larger headline rooms the band now find themselves stepping into. Instead, Max Newbold, Elliot Rawlings, India Armstrong and Jake Bishop stripped everything back, presenting Elsewhere, Always in its most immediate form to a room packed with fans already familiar with every word.

Opening with lead single ‘Union Station’, any suggestion that the crowd might still be finding their feet with the new material quickly disappeared. The first notes alone drew audible reactions, quickly followed by voices from the crowd joining in. Without the weight of full production, Newbold’s vocals took on an added significance, allowing the emotional core of the songs to become centre focus. The stripped back arrangements revealed details in the band’s instrumentation that can be sometimes overlooked.

Elsewhere in the night, ‘Sandman’ and ‘Is This Real?’ were met with instant quietened singalongs, with Newbold frequently stepping back from the mic to let the crowd take over. Released ahead of the full album, both tracks have already become clear fan favourites.

‘Fall In Love’ followed with similar energy, its chorus carried confidently by a room that required little encouragement, while ‘Bonnie & Clyde Pt. 2’ shifted the mood entirely. Stripped back to just Newbold and guitar, the track revealed a more fragile side to the band’s songwriting, its slower pace landing with real weight in the intimate setting.

As the set moved forward, full band tracks ‘Forever, You’ and ‘Spinning’ rebuilt momentum, demonstrating the versatility that runs through the group’s work. ‘I Will’ continued that upward trajectory, while ‘Get Up!’ introduced a sharper edge, its heavier energy cutting through the stripped back format without losing impact. By the time ‘Heaven’ arrived to close the set, the atmosphere had settled into something communal. Newbold once again stepped away from the microphone, leaving the final chorus to the audience. 

Following the performance, fans were invited to meet the band for a signing.

If anything, the night underlined just how rapidly Overpass have outgrown spaces like this while still thriving inside them. There’s a sense that ‘Elsewhere, Always‘ has already accelerated their trajectory, and shows like this are simply catching up with it.