I’d describe English rock brand YONAKA as a clear dark horse in the UK rock music scene, a sheer talent that could be rapidly gaining traction and propelling themselves to the top. The Brighton-based group consisting of Theresa Jarvis on vocals, George Edwards on guitar, Alex Crosby on bass and keyboards, and Robert Mason on drums are a perfect combination of everything great in a rock band. The levels of energy that this group produce is unmatched and quite simply scary, from the very second they touched the stage in Manchester the whole room knew that they were in for a treat. We caught the rising act that is YONAKA as they took over the Manchester O2 Ritz as part of their biggest UK tour to date. Support for the night came from July Jones and Northern band King No-One.
For North-West band King No-One this Manchester show in support of YONAKA was somewhat of a homecoming one and it was evident that these lads wanted to leave their mark on the Mancunian crowd in attendance. The group consisting of members, Zach Lount, Joe Martin, James Basile and Rob Gration are up there as one of the best supporting acts I’ve ever seen. These lads turned the crowd into their own and you wouldn’t have been wrong to have mistaken it for their very-own headlining gig. From standing on top of the barriers and being held up by the crowd, to getting the whole room on their feet and dancing, they did it all in their support set. These lads, much like YONAKA, are something special to keep your eye on and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them headlining venues like the O2 Ritz in the very near future.
With the crowd’s energy already dialled up to ten, it was time to take it up to an eleven as YONAKA were prepped and ready to take the stage. As the band members flew onto the stage with lights flashing and screams beginning to pour in, there was one member missing. Theresa Jarvis then joined the fray in a sparkling attire and the whole group were finally in place to rock the venue, they started the night off with a bang with ‘Ordinary’. As the night continued the group would completely blow every single expectation out of the water as they delivered a memorable performance and didn’t skip a beat once. Members of the band stood atop of the huge speakers on stage which sent fans into a frenzy whilst YONAKA treated the audience to fan favourites such as ‘Seize the Power’ and ‘Punch Bag’. The encores for the night were the brilliant tracks ‘Anthem’ and ‘Rockstar’. It was a gig that will be long-standing in my memory having seen such a phenomenal performance and I for one can’t wait to see what YONAKA deliver on their next studio album when the time comes.
YONAKA
KING NO ONE
Photos by Lewis Roberts| Exclusively for @Music,Why Not!