This time last year, Keo was London’s best-kept hidden gem, playing to rooms of fifty without a single release on Spotify, merely frequenting SoundCloud and YouTube with elusive drops. Built on buzz and hushed hearsay, their word-of-mouth reputation soon solidified them as the next biggest thing. Whether you like or dislike their music, it’s undeniable that they are the band to keep your eyes on.
Selling out an entire autumn tour in minutes without having any music officially out, the alternative rock four-piece is bringing back organic music discovery, where fans are turning up to gigs knowing every word to songs that haven’t even been released yet. Their meteoric rise was, and remains, due to their fans that keep pushing the band forward.
With their debut album, Put A Smile On For Me, being released only a few weeks prior, you might expect the crowd to only know every other song. But that’s where the crowd in Tramshed, this Sunday night, showcased their infamous loyalty; not a single song was left to Finn Keough, the band’s frontman, to sing alone. In fact, at times, Keough was completely drowned out by the sheer volume of the crowd singing the words back to him.
Walking onto the stage to The Stone Roses’ Love Spreads, the venue came alive with such palpable anticipation that it was practically buzzing as the crowd chanted “Keo”. Blaring straight into Be Happy, there was an infectious energy, as if we were all aware we were about to witness something truly special. Keo scarves were waved like flags, and a sea of Kangol hats thrashed around to every beat. Many of these fans have been following the band from gig to gig, some having attended their Southampton show the previous night.
It was the opening chords of That’s Me that really set the crowd afire. People began surging towards the middle of the crowd as a makeshift mosh pit was created to erupt as the chorus sounded; any inhibition had long vanished. From here, the night soared above any preconceived expectations I had going in; They are exactly as good as people say they are. Visibly captivated by Blue Song and Black Dress, Keo transported the room into a world where nothing mattered except the music echoing off the walls.
Returning for an encore, Keo introduced their fans to music royalty, The Doors, with a moody cover of The End. Ironically, this was the quietest the crowd was all night, having seemingly only known the band’s own music. Closing the night with fan favourites Fly and Only We Know, Keo had officially lived up to their name and won over Cardiff. Walking out of Tramshed as David Bowie’s Heroes played, my feet ached, and my ears rang; but all I could think was that I’d just caught a band on the edge of something massive.
Safe to say, Keo are bringing back the thrill of discovering your new favourite band through the magic of live music; something that today’s digital era has quietly reduced to a lost art amid algorithm-obsessed online streaming. Fear not: Keo have arrived, and they know exactly who they are.
Words and Photography by Ellie Evans
