LAKEVIEW - BRISTOL EXCHANGE, 14.06.26

BY SAM & PENNY GOWER

It’s a Sunday evening and there is a sense of excitement and anticipation filling the air inside the walls of the Exchange. It’s as though those gathered here know that they need to take in every last detail of tonight’s show, because country-rock duo Lakeview are undoubtedly about to perform in a 250-capacity room here in the UK for the very last time.

If there were any concerns that Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy, or their band - Alex Drizos (guitar), Jordan Tomb (guitar) and Cory Muro (drums) - might be a little weary after back-to-back shows over the course of the weekend (including a triumphant appearance at Download Festival plus a sold-out show in London), Healy wipes away those concerns as soon as the band step out onto the stage. “We came a long way to get this party started!” he exclaims, before the band launch into the extremely catchy, unapologetic anthem ‘Sorry’. The Bristol crowd comes alive, with arms bouncing up and down and a mass sing-along ensues. ‘LOSER’ and ‘Wrong Side Of The Track’ are greeted with the same intensity. There’s no stopping this level of energy now, everyone is locked in for the duration.

While Lakeview are destined for bigger stages, the small one they currently find themselves on does nothing to hinder the dynamic delivery of their 15-song set. The connection Denaro and Healy have with the audience is instant and, throughout the entire show, the duo are feeding off the crowd’s energy as much as the crowd are feeding off theirs. The result is an intense and celebratory experience. Muro is the driving force for the intensity behind the drum kit, delivering hard-hitting beats that reverberate around the room.  

‘Money Where Your Mouth Is’ is a bold, in-your-face anthem that brings attitude and grit. The working class soundtrack of ‘Dying Breed’ is always a fan favourite live. The newer songs go down a treat: ‘Can’t Live Without’, ‘Matches’ and ‘Name In A Song’ are welcomed with as much enthusiasm as the older material. Before the rousing, uncompromising, ‘See Me In A Suit’, Healy takes a moment to address the audience. “The way you are made, what you believe, how you were designed, is for a reason. Don’t let anything or anybody come into your life to change who you are, if that’s not the right thing for you. Do you understand me?” The roar of approval says they do. 

The room has quickly become a sweatbox, yet Denaro and Healy continue to bound around, getting up close and personal with the crowd, while Tomb and Drizos are either side of the stage, rocking out and pulling shapes as they deliver slick guitar riffs. ‘Hits Different’, ‘Bad Day To Be A Beer’ - Lakeview excel in making infectious anthems and there are plenty of them in the set tonight. When one of the heaviest tracks in the band’s catalogue - ‘Son Of A’ - drops, it’s a signal for the crowd to let loose. And let loose they do.

“How we feeling Bristol?” Healy asks. The question is met with a vigorous roar. “We’ve got one more song for y’all. We don’t do the encore BS and I’m gonna tell you exactly why. We give you every single thing that we have. The first time we show up with everything and I can expect every single person in this room to do the same thing. No one needs to tell anybody in this room, ‘you need to do it twice’, because we show up with everything we’ve got. That is what the home team is all about.” The blistering ‘Home Team’ brings the show to a fervent close.

Lakeview certainly throw one hell of a party! It’s been an evening of singing, clapping and jumping together along to metal-infused country anthems, living the moment as one. So, the next time the band returns to these shores, come along and be part of Lakeview’s home team - it’s a winning side for sure.