It’s the same old drill – the lights go out, the room goes quiet and suddenly the band Amber Run, the group you’ve waited for all night, enters the stage, the stroke of a guitar accompanying the band’s entrance. It’s like every other gig you’ve been to before, with just one very important difference – you’re not in the room with them, but sitting on your couch at home. Welcome to concerts in 2020.

‘These are strange times we’re in right now, but we’re so happy to be back and playing shows again. And we hope you guys enjoy it at home,’, says lead-singer Keogh, taking a look left and right to his fellow two bandmates, the bassist Tom Sperring and keyboardist Henry Wyeth. And truly, it’s been a tough couple of months for the world of live music. Ever since the end of March, the Covid-19 pandemic and the crisis it brought with it have stopped any kind of live shows or gigs from taking place, very much to the chagrin of both artists and their fans. But throughout all this madness, the Nottingham-based indie group has found a way to reconnect with its fanbase, by streaming their very first show ever since Corona happened from the famous London venue Omeara to their fan’s homes all across the world.

Despite the strangeness that comes with watching a gig you would nearly die for to be able to watch in person, the trio delivers with every note and every line, making their fans feel like their right there in the room with them and visual artist Jake-Andrew creating a one-of-a-kind artwork in response to the performance. Whether it be fan-favourite ‘I Found’, the ever so heart-breaking serenade ‘Amen’ or the emotionally packed track ‘The Weight’, even through hundreds of screens and cameras instead of a crowd, Amber Run once again proves that their music will always be about connections and human interaction. With a true multitude of sounds and emotions, peaceful guitars, echoing bass lines and Keogh’s angelic, booming voice to carry it all home, the band’s sheer talent hints that they might just be the most underrated British band right now, even surprising their fans with their newest musical creation ‘I Hope It’s Not Like This Forever’, whose title couldn’t fit the current times any better.

Live shows may not be possible right now, but music always has and always will find a way through all the hardships that will come our way – and Amber Run proved just that. In the end, it was the sheer love for music that brought them and their fans together and provided the evening with its special glow that lingered on long after the last chord had been played. Until the day we can finally reunite to celebrate the music we love together.

You can follow Amber Run on twitter and Instagram or listen to them on Spotify or YouTube.

Words by: Laura Weingrill