Rival Sons Ignite Bournemouth with Vintage Rock Power
- Sam Holt
- Jul 4
- 3 min read
Bournemouth O2 – Tuesday 1st July
IMAGES / WORDS SAM HOLT
California’s Rival Sons are back out on tour. Not only are they playing alongside Guns N’ Roses and squeezing in a few European festival dates, but they’ve also returned to the UK for several headline shows. Tonight, they’re joined by an emerging young band from Brighton, Creeping Jean, who, to me, are a perfect fit for an evening of ‘70s-inspired rock.
Creeping Jean has the image—most likely inspired by frontman Olly Tooze’s vintage shop in Brighton—and the six-piece band’s musical style aligns perfectly. It’s ‘60s/’70s inspired, yet brought up to date. Using vintage equipment has helped create that vibe. Their name, I gather, comes from their love of The Kinks’ song Creeping Jean.
The band played an enthusiastic, though short, set. I loved the track Spice Rack, and there was some great guitar work on Business Is Dead, the title track of their 2024 album. They gave it their all, working to warm up the audience. At one point, Olly went down to the barrier, encouraging the crowd to clap along. It worked—and by the end of the set, the crowd interaction had picked up significantly.
Rival Sons’ set was largely made up of tracks from their 2015 album Great Western Valkyrie and their 2019 release Feral Roots, with a solid selection from their wider catalogue.
As the lights dimmed, guitarist Scott Holiday cut a dashing figure in a dark short-sleeved shirt and white trousers, playing the intro to End of Forever. Barefoot and enigmatic, frontman Jay Buchanan took centre stage. It was a powerful opener, combining classic heavy rock riffs with their own distinct style. Electric Man and Open My Eyes followed—the latter having the crowd joining Buchanan in great voice, singing “Somebody, Somebody, Somebody come and open my eyes.” From this point forward, it was clear: the audience and the band were completely in sync.
Slowing things down, Jay’s solo version of Shooting Stars—just him and his acoustic guitar—had everyone singing along with the line: “My love is stronger than yours, my vein is deeper than yours,” not forgetting the “Ooh-oh-ohs.” It was incredibly moving. Tonight, the 49-year-old frontman dedicated the song to those caught in the crossfire of war—while, as he put it, “those waging war sit comfortably.” As he took the spotlight, the crowd was captivated.
On social media, the band later thanked the Bournemouth audience, who were definitely in fine voice, especially during Rapture from their 2024 album Darkfighter. For me personally, the highlight of the set was Feral Roots. It was an amazing version delivered by the whole band—and judging by the crowd singing it back, it was received with open arms. Jay explained how they get “lost” in the title track from their 2019 album, before moving into a fantastic rendition of Keep on Swinging, which gave him the opportunity to thank the audience for coming out to support live music.
Tonight’s venue was a great setting. The Long Beach quartet, well into their tour, played with passion. The sound was spot-on, and the gig was packed out. It’s obvious rock ‘n’ roll is far from dead—especially in Bournemouth. But with just a few select UK dates, I do wonder how many in the crowd were actually local?
SETLIST
1/ End of Forever
2/ Electric Man
3/ Open My Eyes
4/ Pressure and Time
5/ Manifest Destiny, Part 1
6/ Shooting Stars
7/ Mirrors
8/ Rapture
9/ Too Bad
10/ Belle Star
11/ Feral Roots
12/ Faces of Light / Sacred Tongue
13/ Do Your Worst
14/ Keep on Swinging
15/ Secret / Oh Well
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