We’ve officially crossed March Madness here in good old South Australia, and between the Fringe season and the Adelaide Festival, why not add even more unique craziness and have Britpop group The Kooks play for us on a Tuesday night?

There’s nothing like the vibes of seeing a gig before the midway point of the week, but everyone and their mum (quite literally in a few cases!) made their way to the Hindley Street Music Hall to see both the UK sensations and American alt artist, Briston Maroney.

The Kooks’ current Australian tour has marked their biggest tour on our side of the world since their sold-out run in 2022, where they celebrated the 15th anniversary of their debut album Inside In/Inside Out.

Along with Maroney, the group has travelled across Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales, where they’ve provided a bit of a sneak peek of their upcoming and seventh album, Never/Know. Even though they’re reaching the tail end of their Australian tour with us and Western Australia on March 6, it's clear they’re still having an absolute blast performing.

After a delayed forty-five-minute start from the estimated kick-off time, Maroney and his three-piece band graced the stage with a groovy and psychedelic backdrop as they performed Body. For an artist that I wasn’t personally too familiar with prior to his performance, Maroney was a very pleasant surprise.

His upbeat personality was welcomed by the Adelaidean audience, especially when declaring his love of Australia, which was the first time he had visited us. “Every day, I look forward to going back to America less and less!” Maroney says.

Throughout the set, Maroney and his drummer, Nathan, and his bassist, Zack, passionately performed various hits and newer releases. The tempos varied quite a bit, creating more faster-paced rock with the new release, Real Good Swimmer, to something with a slower melody like Small Talk. Either way, everyone absolutely ate it up.

Towards the end of his performance, Maroney shared how honoured he was to be a support act for The Kooks, as they were a big point of inspiration for forming his relationship with music.

The way he described a memory of skateboarding while listening to their albums on his iPod Touch was nothing short of wholesome and a bit too relatable! As the crescendo of his performance, Maroney brought it home with Freakin’ Out On The Interstate. When he returns to Australia in the future, I’d say Briston Maroney is worth seeing live.

During the thirty-minute intermission, where the audience kept the vibes going by singing along to Journey and Neil Diamond, we finally got to see the kooky Brits themselves as they kicked off their gig with Sofa Song and Ooh La.

Not long after, vocalist and guitarist Luke Pritchard melted the audience by saying, “My sweet Adelaide, how we’ve missed you!” The group performed in front of a background that played their classic music videos, which showed how they’ve still kept the same energy. Even at 40 years old, Pritchard proved that he still has the lanky swagger as he danced across the stage and commanded the crowd.

His other half, guitarist Hugh Harris, also flexed his falsetto harmonies. For a band that hit massive alt-rock success in the mid-noughties, it was stunning to see people of different age groups not only show up to see The Kooks in 2025, but also sing passionately along to their songs—especially as the Inside In/Inside Out album would potentially be older than some people in the audience.

The group played their hits like She Makes Her Own Way, Seaside, and Sweet Emotion, which were all tremendously performed. Not only that, but the band also brought out lesser-played songs like See Me Now (which brought Pritchard to tears) and upcoming releases for their new album.

Hearing Sunny Baby and Never Know was not only an absolute treat, but it was also good to see them still create new music. The band thought they could trick us by performing Junk Of The Heart (Happy) as their “last song,” but did they think we’d be that… naïve?

As an encore, The Kooks brought out See The World and, of course, their biggest hit, Naïve, which was absolutely flawless. It was the perfect rendition and audience participation. As the four lads gave a bow to the screaming crowd, you couldn’t have asked for a better end to a Tuesday evening.

All in all, I knew, and you knew, that The Kooks and Briston Maroney “would not let us down” in bringing an excellent collection of alt rock.

Featuring classics, hidden gems and upcoming releases, the Hindley Street Music Hall once again hosted an unforgettable night. For our friends in WA, you should absolutely catch The Kooks and Briston Maroney on March 6. For everyone else, keep your ears open for their new releases coming very soon!