The Struts' Smashing Return to Toronto

This past weekend, The Struts finally made their long awaited return to Toronto, with the support of Barns Courtney. For those who may be living under a rock don’t know who anything about The Struts, they’re a British rock band that has been performing all around the world for over a decade. The band consists of members Luke Spiller (lead vocalist), Adam Slack (guitarist), Jed Elliot (bassist), and Geth Davies (drummer). I had the opportunity to catch these guys on tour many times last year, and have always been blown away by their incredible live performances.

One thing about me is I always adore the bands that open for The Struts and they have introduced me to a lot of great artists and they always have fantastic choice in openers. Barns Courtney was no exception, from the moment the band stepped on stage I was obsessed. The energy right out the gate was awesome, this band knows how to immediately have the crowd hooked. I even caught myself taking pauses (when I should’ve been taking pictures) to just watch the band perform.

Midway through Barns Courtney’s set a woman ran past security onto the stage and to my surprise it was Canadian musician Kiesza!! She joined the band for the song “Kicks” and it was incredible!!
I was beyond impressed by the bands set, and will 100% be catching these guys when they come back to Toronto!! Their stage presence and energy was something I really love to see and I feel like I don’t see near enough.

Once the crowd settled after Barns Courtney’s set, it was time to get ready for The Struts to take the stage. The moment the lights dimmed, the audience was buzzing with excitement just waiting for show time.

In the darkness I could see the band taking the stage and in the blink of an eye the lights came on and they went straight into playing their first song “Primadonna Like Me”. I will be totally honest I was in the photo pit singing my heart out while taking my pictures of the band, it was hard to focus when I just wanted to watch the guys perform!

One thing I always love about seeing The Struts is how incredible they are live. Truly they are one of my favourite artists to see because when they perform they do not hold back. Luke always hypes up the crowd and gets everyone singing while Geth, Jed and Adam all have their respective solos and are highlighted throughout the set.

My favourite part of the set was when they did a couple acoustic songs. Luke and Adam took the stage and performed “Mary Go Round” and “I Won’t Run”. Luke’s vocals were absolutely breathtaking, I’d love to see a full acoustic set from them sometime. To top it off I got to hear my favourite song of theirs, “Wild Child” in full for the first time which was awesome!

Overall, as expected, The Struts exceeded my expectations and put on a stellar show. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend anyone who can see them… should! They truly are masters at their craft and I think deserve all the praise and love they get! I can’t wait until I can see them again!