If there was any doubt about the potential of The K’s to go mainstream, this summer should have diminished those dubieties as they soared to a No. 1 album and put on a memorable night in Liverpool.
By the Leeds and Liverpool canal in Bootle, an emotional connection is made.
Jamie Boyle, frontman and songwriter of The K’s, spots a young a woman in the crowd.
Her friend tragically passed away in 2023, and their love for the band had been a keystone in their relationship.
Upon spotting the girl, perched on a set of shoulders near the front, Boyle points to the fan then towards the sky.
This was the personal connection that the band strives to maintain with their followers, but it mightn’t be possible to remain so in touch with each of their followers forever.
There are 3,000 others in attendance at the sold-out Salt & Tar show and thousands more who have helped the group’s second album, Pretty On The Internet, reach No. 1 in the UK album charts.
Despite their success and life on the road, The K’s remain attached to their roots.
‘We’re The K’s and we’re from Earlestown’ is a line constantly repeated by Boyle throughout the show.
Earlestown is among the suburbs of Merseyside, nestled between Liverpool and Manchester.
This headline show forms somewhat of a homecoming for The K’s, who worked hard, ploughing the fields of Liverpool and Manchester’s clubs to build their fanbase.
With two albums’ worth of releases and more, even for an hour-long set, there were several songs missing that would be the centrepiece of some band’s sets.
On this, the night of August 8, The K’s opened with Icarus, the first track from freshman album I Wonder If The World Knows, after Neil Noa, Megan Wyn and The Clause had warmed up the crowd.
Loud guitars were the order of the night, but crucially the songs incorporated real melodies, allowing for fans to sing in unison.
Some of the hits came out early, as did the acoustic guitar for their fifth number, Hoping Maybe.
This was a song made to be sung, and sing the audience did. The chorus went round an extra time, with Boyle claiming that it was “the best one ever.”
Black and Blue was another highlight, as the live version came with greater peaks & troughs than the recorded track.
This was a band who had played together thousands of times and knew each other inside out.
Even when an issue near the barrier caused the concert to stop for a couple of minutes, they remained calm and made a joke of it, Boyle asking if guitarist Ryan Breslin ‘had dropped his ego?’
As day turned to night and the sun set behind the stage, the new album’s heart-wrencher, Helen, Oh I, nearly brought Breslin to tears.
This was an evening when memories were made and connections compelled.
The north west has long been a hotbed of emerging talent, and The K’s are at the forefront of this generation’s rising artists.
You can follow The K’s here and listen to their new album, Pretty On The Internet, here.
Mersey Music 