Photo + Words: Esme Brigden
After more than a decade of making music, Reading’s The Amazons have built a reputation for their explosive live shows and anthemic indie rock. Arriving at Brighton’s Chalk for the final performance of their 12-date tour, the band wasted little time in reminding the sold-out crowd exactly what they do best, delivering a set packed with the towering choruses, infectious energy and guitar-driven hooks which have made them a formidable live act.
Opening the evening, Gia Ford delivered a confident set, combining dreamy vocals with a darker indie-pop sound. Her storytelling-led songwriting offered a compelling contrast to the heavier indie rock of The Amazons, mostly performing material from her recently released album ‘A Room Within A Room’ to warm up the crowd before thanking the band for bringing her along for the tour.
By the time The Amazons took to the stage, the atmosphere was already primed, with immediate singalongs carrying through the opening tracks. Two new members, George Le Page and Ella McRobb, had joined the lineup since the band’s last visit to Brighton, bringing a fresh dynamic to the arrangements while leaving the familiar chemistry and commanding stage presence firmly intact. “This is our last show as a band in 2026,” frontman Matt Thomson announced, before admitting he had no idea when they would return, joking that it would probably be “when the money runs out, so we’ll see you in six months?” The exchange was met with laughter, capturing the easy rapport between the band and their audience. Despite the sweltering conditions inside Chalk, the energy in the room showed little sign of waning, with the crowd matching the band’s intensity at every turn.
Midway through the set, ‘Stay With Me’ prompted another huge singalong, before a brief cover of Edwyn Collins’ ‘A Girl Like You’ offered a moment of familiarity as the band launched into ‘Blood On The Bone’. ‘One Hot July’ followed, with McRobb stepping to the front of the stage with a microphone, backed only by an acoustic guitar. The stripped-back arrangement allowed the song to breathe before gradually building into a full electric rendition, demonstrating the band’s ability to shift between quieter moments and the heavier, more explosive sound that has come to define them.
Taking a moment to acknowledge the support act and the crew behind the tour, Thomson also reflected on what made a night like this worthwhile. “It feels good to not feel anything and be in the moment with a bunch of strangers who are my best fucking friends,” he told the crowd – it was a sentiment that captured the evening perfectly. In a room packed with people singing every word back at the band, the divide between the band and the audience seemed to disappear, leaving only the shared experience of being there. With just ten minutes of the set left, Thomson made it clear that the band were giving their all before launching into the final stretch.
By the time ‘Black Magic’ brought the evening to a close, Chalk had become exactly the kind of room Thomson had described: a crowd of strangers united by the same songs and the same feeling of being completely present. After 12 dates on the road, The Amazons left Brighton with a fitting reminder of what makes their live shows so compelling. Nearly two decades into playing together, their ability to turn a massive gig into something that feels incredibly personal remains undiminished.
Fuzzy Tree / Ready For Something / In My Mind / Kickin’ In / 25 / Stay With Me / Pitch Black / A Girl Like You / Blood On The Bone / Georgia / Doubt It / One Hot July / Junk Food Forever / Wake Me Ep / Joe Bought A Gun / Mother / Black Magic
