South Arcade

This show was moved from the Lido to the Columbia Theater.

It starts with sparks flying in the network and ends with a collective frenzy of sweaty halls. The number of clicks on social networks is exploding, while at the same time an absolute state of emergency is breaking out on stages all over the world. The British quartet South Arcade from Oxford has created a radical, untamed hybrid that pulverizes all genre boundaries.

Her story sounds like the script for the perfect pop myth. Singer Harmony Cavelle and guitarist Harry Winks have known each other since childhood, have been making music together forever and finally ended up at the University of Surrey in Guildford in 2021. Through an ad, they are looking for like-minded people for a daring experiment. What is needed is a melange that sounds as if the riffs of Royal Blood, which weigh tons, collide with the dazzling pop intelligence of a Charli XCX. Bassist Ollie Green and drummer Cody Jones are biting and the line-up is in 2022. The band is moving into Cavelle's parents' house together, rehearsing until they drop and quickly borrow their name from a sign at the Westgate Oxford shopping center.

What these four musicians fire off is what they themselves call “Y2K Core.” It is a journey through time with a built-in turbocharger. South Arcade uses pain-relieved stocks of the late nineties and early noughties, crossing the brute sledgehammer guitars from Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit with the sugar-sweet, outrageously catchy hooks by Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears or Gwen Stefani. Hits such as “DANGER”, “Nepo Baby” or the terrific “2005”, whose music video is a visual homage to Apple's legendary iPod commercials, shoot through the roof on the Internet and have played well over twenty million streams each.

But the actual magnitude of this earthquake cannot be measured in algorithms. You have to feel them. Live concerts and worldwide tours are the beating heart of this success. Her shows are high-energy discharges that transform the audience into a raging sea from the very first chord. After a completely sold-out headlining tour across North America last fall, the band is now eager to conquer larger arenas. The schedule reads like a sporting announcement: Whether as support for the stadium greats from 5 Seconds of Summer, on the holy festival floors when downloading and reading, or in the middle of the North at the Deichbrand Festival: South Arcade demolish every stage that you set for them. The award as “Best UK Breakthrough Artist” and the nomination as “Best Breakthrough Live Artist” at the Heavy Music Awards confirm that a new live giant is growing up here.

If you want to experience this raw energy, the mark-shaking riffs and pure ecstasy in person, you have to paint the coming spring red on your calendar. In March 2027, South Arcade are coming to Germany for three concerts to prove how loud the future really is.

The dates will be presented by Messed! Up Magazine and Frontstage Magazine.