BIG THIEF OPENS LONDON RESIDENCY WITH A ROAR
Big Thief (Morris Shamah/Northern Exposure)
LIVE REVIEW | BIG THIEF w/ DYLAN MEEK | O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON, LONDON | 23rd April 2026 by Morris Shamah
Big Thief returned to London with their Somersault Slide 360 Tour, in support of their latest record, Double Infinity. The trio were in the capital for a 4 night residency at Brixton’s O2 Academy, their largest run of shows in London to date, following up from a two night run at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo in 2023 and a four night run at O2’s Shepherds Bush Empire in 2022. Big Thief are Adrianne Lenker (vocals, guitar), Buck Meek (guitar) and James Krivchenia (drums), and now features Joshua Crumbly on bass for their live shows.
The American indie-folk-rock band were supported by Dylan Meek, brother to Buck. Dylan opened the show alone, just himself and his keyboard. His soft-cabaret stylings were an interesting choice to open what became a huge shred fest of a show, but there’s no denying that Dylan is a talented singer, songwriter, and performer. His patient performance was peppered with dry humour, featured a tribute to South London’s own David Bowie with a rendition of Life On Mars, and ended with Buck joining him on vocals for the final song, an ode to brotherhood.
Dylan was back on stage for the first song of Big Thief’s set, a new tune that was on the setlist as “Cruel and Beautiful World” but appears to be titled What I Only Dream Of. It’s a delicate ballad, performed here as a duet between Lenker and Meek. A trojan horse of an opening song, the rest of Big Thief’s set was an absolute roaring cacophony of ethereal rock n roll, searing guitar solos, and massive full band jamming.
Big Thief has the kind of band alchemy that every indie rock garage band dreams of – the four of them create in the moment in unison, anchored by written composition but free flowing with creativity at the same time. Lenker tunes her guitar with the volume on throughout the show, which sometimes becomes a full-band jam, the rest of the band grasping on to the noise like they can’t help themselves. Her connection to Krivchenia’s drumming is primordial, while Meek’s guitar flows and finds its way amongst the chaos, and Crumbly’s bass playing fits right in as the rudder, steering and grounding.
A full third of the setlist – 6 of 18 songs – are unreleased tracks, and most of those new to this tour. The show is peppered with audience friendly moments, a huge crowd singalong on Vampire Empire, a double shot of Big Thief’s take on Lenker’s solo material with anything and Real House, and an encore with Laarji, who brought drone and sampling to the studio material and does so here to great applause. There are tears falling and cellphones aloft throughout the set, the London crowd grateful for times of familiarity, but fully open for the journey of the unknown that represents the uniqueness of this performance.
The highlight of the set is undoubtedly Not, from 2019’s Two Hands. Immediately on starting the crowd’s phones all go up, as Not has been a live highlight since it’s debut, known for it’s rock and roll ending. Tonight, the track is extended to nearly ten minutes. Like on the record, Big Thief pulls the song up and down into a soaring noise-jam crescendo, pushed forward by Lenker wrestling sound from her guitar, as they always do. But now they follow that up with a long, patient, groovy denouement, as if they know we all need some extra time to catch our breath before going into Vampire Empire.
Big Thief is not a jam band in the traditional American sense – they don’t follow in the tradition of Grateful Dead, their fans are not in tie-dye and there’s no four-on-floor dance-funk jams that extend for 15 minutes. Instead, they’re a fluid being of contradiction – a folk band that burns it all down with the ferocity of arena rock. A fanbase that’s centered on a deep connection to the thoughtful and soulful lyricism, but elated at new songs, jam breaks, and the overwhelming surrender of vicarious rock and roll. Somehow, every guitar solo seems written, while every verse seems improvised; the set is both a fleeting moment in time to be grasped and lost, and also the key to unlocking a new universe which has always been there, in the back of your brain. To see Big Thief generate noise in person is to see creation itself.
Fittingly, Big Thief end their encore with a slower, more thoughtful and more celestial take on Incomprehensible. The track’s coda goes on and on, Lenker subtling motioning to the band to keep it going, while the crowd continues to sing: “incomprehensible, let me be…”
Big Thief’s Somersault Slide 360 Tour continues in the UK this May with two dates in Manchester and and two dates in Glasgow. All four shows are sold out.
Big Thief 23rd April 2026 Setlist
- What I Only Dream Of (with Dylan Meek) (unreleased)
- Double Infinity
- Beautiful World (unreleased)
- Simulation Swarm
- Muscle Memory (unreleased)
- Real Love
- Shoulders
- Not
- Vampire Empire
- anything (Adrianne Lenker song)
- Real House (Adrianne Lenker song) >
- Christmas Day (unreleased)
- Mr. Man (unreleased)
- Pterodactyl (unreleased)
- Sparrow
Encore:
- Words (with Laraaji)
- Los Angeles (with Laraaji)
- Incomprehensible (with Laraaji)
