I would say that this is a bit out there for Overtone, but we already have one review of the wonderful man on here! Still, I wasn’t planning on reviewing this. However, both acts put on such a great show that there was no way I couldn’t rave about it! So, let’s dive right into the show, shall we?

My one gripe of the evening to start things off… why were doors at six if nothing was going to happen until eight? It’s an awful lot of time to drag people into a venue for and just leave them waiting around. They could have easily had a second support band on in this time!

Speaking of support, Jack Garrett was actually someone I wasn’t too interested in heading into it from the tiny bit I’d checked out beforehand. However, talk about winning me over! He is insanely talented, both as a musician and a performer, and I think he got more than just me on his side, as the whole crowd was loving it by the end. Being a one-man-band will never not be impressive, and Jack did it in such a fantastic, fascinating way that it was hard to take my eyes off him while he was blowing my mind. From drums to guitar to keys to vocals, we got a bit of everything, and he was a virtuoso at every bit of it! And, on top of that, he’s an excellent songwriter, as I loved each one he played! His unique blend of indie, pop and blues was infectious, and impossible not to love. To the point where, honestly, I’d have LOVED it with a whole band. The loop pedal stuff is certainly impressive, but I think it lost a little bit of the emotion of the tracks at times, and at times it was clear he was struggling with his stage levels of it all. I completely get wanting to do it all yourself, but I’d have somehow loved it even more with him being a vocalist/guitarist/occasional pianist, with other band members also taking the rest of the parts. Still, it was a great set, and he definitely has a new fan in me!

Having seen Mika at a smaller venue, I had no idea what to expect heading into this. However, I certainly wasn’t expecting the AMAZING show that we got! Starting the show descending from the heavens in a giant industrial hamster wheel was definitely not on my 2026 bingo card. Neither was him strapping himself into it later on and spinning around above the crowd mid-song. However, both added so much to the show, as did the rest of the mechanical stage theming. Add to that the pyro, confetti and the giant inflatable megaphone and rainbow, and it was one hell of a stage show!

As for the music itself, it was just as good as you’d expect it to be! His backing band are absolutely phenomenal musicians, complimenting the main man perfectly while also putting on a good show in their own right, when they could. And, as for Mika, he still has one of the best voices in the game today. His vocal range, even live, still blows me away each time, and his charisma is magnetising. He has more energy and flexibility than I do, and I have a solid 14 years on him! As, setlist-wise, it was everything as good as when we last saw him. Opening with two off his latest album was a slight gamble, even though that’s what the tour was and it sounded incredible. But the moment ‘Relax’ hit, the crowd were locked IN dude, bouncing around and singing along to the very end. And, because of that, I felt like the rest of Hyperlove was received better after. Tracks like ‘Spinning Out’ and ‘Excuses For Love’ were amazing live, and fit perfectly around crowd favourites like ‘Lollipop’ and ‘We Are Golden’. Add to that we got him bring back ‘Popular Song’ (because of course), him taking to the stands during ‘Big Girl’, and the one-two-punch of ‘Grace Kelly’ into ‘Happy Ending’ to close out the main set, and it was a tour de force of everything Mika does brilliantly. By the time ‘Yo Yo’ hit, the crowd was spent, in the best way possible! And absolutely phenomenal set!

And there we have it, yet another incredible night of live music so far this year. Both artist were completely different but phenomenal in their own way, and had the crowd in the palms of their hands through the whole night. How this was Mika’s first time headlining arenas in the UK I do not know, but that man owned the stage as if he’d been on there his whole life. I cannot recommend either artist enough, both on track and live, and have listened to both plenty over the weekend!