Brighton Centre – 5th October 2025
The Kooks’ show at the Brighton Centre felt like a proper homecoming. From the moment Sofa Song opened the set, the crowd went wild. The band leaned into their Brighton roots all night, and the crowd responded with full-hearted enthusiasm.
Luke Pritchard’s vocals were in fine form, rough edges and all, which only made the familiar tunes feel more human. The guitars bit through the mix cleanly, and the rhythm section held everything together with a confidence that showed this band had long passed the finding its feet stage.
There was interplay and tightness in their delivery, especially on tracks like Always Where I Need to Be and Bad Habit, where the energy really spiked. On the quieter songs they didn’t lose you. See Me Now was one such moment. Luke sat at the piano, took a breath, and delivered it with vulnerability. He dedicated it to his late father. It was one of the show’s emotional highlights.
The setlist mixed the old and newer material really well. The audience got early favourites like She Moves In Her Own Way, Eddie’s Gun and Westside, as well as tracks from their latest album Never/Know, such as Sunny Baby and Junk of the Heart (Happy). It never felt forced and the newer songs fitted naturally into the flow of the evening rather than standing out awkwardly.
One particularly memorable moment came with Seaside, an affectionate nod to the band’s Brighton heritage and a point in the evening when everything slowed down just enough. The crowd’s voices softly swelled and phones were held aloft. It was intimate, even in a big venue like the Brighton Centre. The contrast between those moments and the high energy ones was where the gig really shone.
The encore felt inevitable. Ooh La opened it and the floor became a sea of motion, arms waving, voices raised. Then Naïve closed the show. Even though that song had been played countless times over the years, it still landed perfectly. When the band stepped back and the audience took over the chorus, the night almost stopped being about them and became about everyone together.
The Brighton audience was completely in tune with the band. There was clapping, singing and happy reactions all round. The band as a unit deserved credit. Luke was front and centre, charming and open. Hugh Harris and Alexis Nunez on guitar, bass and drums brought musicality and drive. They had grown, and they weren’t just a nostalgia act. The songwriting had matured, the arrangements had broadened and their live performance reflected that growth. They knew their strengths, from melody and lyrical quirk to the satisfying build and release of their choruses.
If there was one small criticism, it was that with 26 songs in the set, the pacing could occasionally feel long for anyone who wasn’t already a devoted fan. A few of the deeper cuts might not have landed as strongly as the big hitters. But that was a fair trade for those who wanted the full experience.
Overall, The Kooks delivered a lively, fun and well-balanced show in Brighton. There was a clear sense that the band still cared deeply about their songs, their history and the people who sang them back. For a hometown crowd, it felt like a victory lap that proved The Kooks remained as charming and relevant as ever.
The Kooks review – 5 stars
The Brighton Bucket List 