As December Falls Review: Live at the Tunbridge Wells Forum

The British pop-punk band embarked on a grassroots venue tour at the start of the year which stopped off at my local venue.

Back in 2020, I got an email from a guy called Ande thanking me for making an order on their band's website. With a lot of time on my hands due to a global pandemic, I replied by saying how much I enjoyed their music and recommending my local venue for a place for them to play once the pandemic was over. Ande would thank me for the reply and then ask for details about the venue to which I sent him a link of the venue. Fast forward to 2024, Ande band is now playing at my local venue, the Tunbridge Wells Forum. The band in question is As December Falls who are a UK Pop-Punk band that I've been a fan of for a little while now and you may have seen appear on some of my blogs before. The band have been on an incredible ride (excuse the pun) in 2023 with them earning a top 20 album in the UK for the first time, Playing major festivals such as Download Festival and going on a UK tour with Dream State and Lizzy Farrall. The band started 2024 by going on a grassroots venue tour which saw them stop in Tunbridge Wells. It's crazy to see this band play here after telling them about this place via emails. Did I have something to do with this gig being booked?, probably not (if that was the case I'd probably lose my mind and never shut up about it again), but one thing was certain. We were in for a very special night.

Before I dive into the band's performance at The Forum, I wanted to quickly talk about Artio. A four-piece Alt Rock band who caught my attention that evening. Their eight-song setlist showed the band's ability to blend electronica and alternative rock similar to the likes of Enter Shikari and Cody Forst. 'Product of my Own Design' is a great example of this and acted as a great set-ender for the band. The blend made their set a standout for me as well as the bands on stage presents. The band mentioned they would be doing 2000 Trees this year and I will be there to check them out for sure.

Now, back to the main band of the night. As December Falls started the set with a bang. opening with 'More To You and 'Join The Club' but then the band started to work up the crowd with 'Mayday' where the band split the crowd to do a wall of death just before the breakdown in the song. The crowd obliged causing a catholic yet fun atmosphere in the crowd. Lead singer Bethany Smile is a mixture of great energy and fantastic vocals. She can hit the high notes as well as work up the crowd into a frenzy. She spent the whole show with a beaming smile on her face. It was clear that she was very happy to be on stage at the forum and was enjoying every moment. Ande also would address the crowd in between songs saying how they are an independent band and without their fans they would not be doing what they do. This is part of the reason why I love this band. Their appreciation for their fans is always felt at their gigs and it always feels like you are part of the band. You can also see their enjoyment on stage which not only enhance their performance but also show how much this project means to them and how much they love what they do.

Not only was their performance great at The Forum, but their setlist was a great selection of their very best tracks. 'No Money' allows the band to make the fans part of the performance as they sing the chorus back to the band which always gets a loud response. Then their final song of the evening was of course 'Ride'. The band's most popular song and it made for the perfect closer to their set with the crowd singing and moshing their way through the song.

I also got the chance to speak to bassist Timmy Francis after the show where we talked about how the show went and also their upcoming sets at Slam Dunk 2000Trees. I remember Timmy saying that he was unsure how the crowd would be on that night but was very happy with the result and was also looking forward to being on the main stages of both Slam Dunk and 2000Trees. While as a fan it is an exciting time to see the band get on the bigger stages, It was also amazing to see them play in a grassroots venue, especially one that I had spoken to one of the members about and that made this show even more special than it already was.