Bastille @ Manchester Castlefield Bowl - Manchester, U.K.

In what shaped up to be one of the hottest days of the year in Manchester, Bastille somehow managed to turn the heat up even more with their incredible show at the outdoor Castlefield Bowl venue during their special show in celebration of their hit debut album Bad Blood. Bastille have cemented themselves as legends of the music scene ever since the pop rock band formed in 2010, the British band started as a solo project from lead vocalist Dan Smith but later expanded to include the musical stylings of Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris Wood. Since winning the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 2014, the band have gone on to sell well over 11 million records worldwide and have a long-standing discography, complete with iconic pop, rock and dance songs.

In March of 2023 Bastille announced that they would be releasing “Bad Blood X” as a 10^th anniversary of their career-defining debut studio album, coming with never-before heard demos and a range of fan exclusives. Along with this, the band swiftly announced a whole host of outdoor summer gigs across the UK and Ireland. Having already caught Bastille before at an indoor arena venue, I for one couldn’t wait for the chance to capture and see Bastille up close and personal in the Summer’s sun, and boy I wasn’t disappointed. We were lucky enough to catch Bastille in Manchester as they played to a near-sold-out crowd at the Castlefield Bowl.

Support for the night came from the brilliant Michael Aldag and Orla Gartland, making for a phenomenal lineup to a spectacular day. The setlist for the night consisted of the Bad Blood album from back to front, opening with the world-famous track Pompeii and it’s quite honestly hard to argue that you could open a gig of this magnitude with a better song than this, it got an already epic night off to a flying start. Along with the Bad Blood album songs, the band expanded on their studio album by playing a range of recent releases and fan favourites as the sun set on Manchester. Dan Smith had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands throughout the night, from joining the crowd mid-way through the gig, to even announcing the gender of a fan’s soon-to-be born baby in the crowd! Bastille’s love for their adoring fans and incredible ability to perform live is truly a testament to their musical skills and they continue to blow away my expectations every time they touch the stage.

Setlist-

Pompeii

Things We Lost in the Fire

Bad Blood

Overjoyed

These Streets

Weight of Living, Pt. II

Icarus

Oblivion

Flaws (Dan in Crowd)

Daniel in the Den

Laura Palmer