Neighbourhood Festival 2026, 17th October 2026

It’s day festival time again, this time for Neighbourhood and we kick off with a lovely secret set from Westside Cowboy in a jam packed Gorilla. I’ve been 50/50 on the new album, so I’m intrigued to hear them live again. Fuck me they are good, they bridge the gap between being kinda loose and cool, with a venomous effortless power and it’s bloody exhilarating to watch. Even the more chilled poppier songs with all four of them sharing the vocals, pack a real clout when you’re trapped in a small bunker venue like this. They’re pretty angular and live really lean into the sharp edges. Guitars are attacked and that poor drum kit is being reduced to dust, as over 45 minutes they pummel Gorilla into a seething mass of indie rock euphoria.

Next we’re off to Factory where the singer of The Rooks is wearing sunglasses and helping to bang out some standard but decent indie rock. It’s not bad, the vocals are good and melodies have some hooks, but there’s five guitars up there, which seems a bit overkill for what’s coming out the speakers.

We bail and head across to Yes Basement for Faith in Strangers, a total punt. I don’t know if it’s the guitarist sporting a Floyd shirt, but they’re a bit more chilled. It’s a nice sound and they create a mood, it’s nice, warm, with acoustic guitars and keys, but they’re quite safe sounding. Maybe we need more nice bands in these turbulent times, but I’m sorry, I like something with a bit of bite and this isn’t for me. They seem like a genuinely likeable bunch though.

After some lunch and failing to get back in Gorilla for The North, we decamp instead to Yes Pink Room for Tooth. It’s nice to take in a full set, the scheduling and full venues have been an issue up to this point. Tooth are good though, noisy punky pop with a hefty dose of youthful bravado. A wall of guitars and a rhythm section with plenty of bounce. It’s all attitude, with parkas onstage, despite the room quickly turning into a sweat-pit. You’d be easily fooled into thinking they’re local, but the London accents between songs gives them away. I like them, but don’t quite fall in love. They make a good racket though and remind of a bonkers array of bands from Idlewild to Dinosaur Jr. The room is clearly adoring every minute and after half an hour I’m left with a content buzz.

The buzz is thrown into confusion in Amber though (what used to be Canvas), with Florenteens. The singer certainly isn’t shy and they seem ambitious. The riffs are heavy and they switch up a lot, almost like they can’t make their mind up. It’s fun, but difficult to get in to.

No one has grabbed me as much as Westside Cowboy so far and I already liked them. Is anyone going to match them. Mouth Ulcers are the first band to play, that were on my must see list. So entrenched in Yes Basement, with a clearly more alternative looking crowd, I’m hopeful. They look the part too, teased up hair red and black attire with plenty of goth make up, surely this is gonna be good. Brooding bass riffs and haunting guitars, they sound good. There’s no shortage of bands finding their goth groove right now, but this lot right from  the get go have something. They look and sound beautiful, as they soar through half an hour of menacingly cinematic goth punk. Bloody good.

As is Girl In The Year Above back in Gorilla. I was expecting this to be popular and come the end of the set it is chocker. Who doesn’t love massive slabs of theatrical indie pop after all, especially with a bonfide powerhouse vocal at its core. Seriously, it’s pretty magnificent. They seem genuinely blown away to be playing to an appreciative audience and that enthusiasm is infectious. Their ‘Teardrop’ cover is a bit of an outlier, but my god, it’s one of the best covers you’ll ever hear and live it’s a fucking monster. We’re not done yet, but this is in solid set of the day contention. I had high expectations and Girl In The Above easily matched them. Totally floored.

It’s then back to Yes Pink Room, where my expectations remain high for My First Time. I was thwarted seeing them a few months back and so am determined to catch them today and fucking hell I’m glad I did! They deal in rave punk juggernauts that smack you about the head as you dance. Yes isn’t full and it doesn’t need to be, it still feels like an apocalyptic rave. It’s not just the beats, crisp from the drum kit, the filthy bass played by a Duracell bunny gone goth, the nasty riffs or the vocals that are spat with vitriolic joy. It’s all of this, plus that magic that’s impossible to name, but is etched into every face as wee bounce around like idiots. For 30 minutes they hit the gas and jam the accelerator so hard, I’m not only convinced I’ve just watched the best set of the day, I’m confident it smashes all those other sets I’ve not seen. They’re phenomenal. I immediately want to see them again as soon as possible!

It’s a tough call for anyone to try and follow the last few bands, but on we go with Big Truck, still in Yes Pink Room (after some pizza). I’m not sure what to expect, this is the post Soft Play outfit from guitarist Laurie Vincent. Here he’s wielding a bass and covering a spoken vocal as jazz infused piano makes way for powerful punky chorus’, it’s a definite curveball. They’re loose and raw, possibly down to being very new, possibly by design. It’s certainly challenging but it’s very entertaining. He’s a great frontman and some of it is pretty catchy, some of it, not so much. It feels like the start of something and needs work, but worth keeping an eye on.

The finale comes from Florence Road in a heaving Ritz. Demand for some bands has caught out a number of venues today and it’s a battle to get in for this. I can’t name a single song, not often a problem, but it might be here. It’s clear this audience knows these songs well, on this occasion I don’t and it detaches me. It’s pop rock, more rock than pop and they are good, but they don’t sound that great up on the mezzanine. I’m loathed to say anything negative about them though, they’re not quite my thing, but they do what they do well. Even if the little cunt behind me is more scathing, declaring “she’s not bad for a girl”, needless to say he got told to fuck off promptly. There are a few songs that do catch me though and I can see the appeal. The crowd help, a good crowd always does and aside the cunt (that gets ejected, kicking and screaming like the little shit he was, not gonna lie, very satisfying to watch) this is a great crowd, interacting to the bands requests and singing along to the clear favourite. It’s a pretty straight up power rock set, but they build and build and I’ve got to say, by the end I’m quite taken. This is why a love days like this, I probably wouldn’t buy a ticket to see Florence Road, but I’m very glad I caught them tonight as they end the day in celebratory style. A mixed bag for sure, but that’s half the fun. Same time next year.

My First Time

Girl In The Year Above

Westside Cowboy

Mouth Ulcers

Florence Road

Tooth

Faith In Strangers

The Rooks

Florenteens

Big Truck