Latitude Festival 2019, Stereophonics review: a class act that never fail to deliver a quality show

Welsh rockers Stereophonics performed the penultimate slot on The Obelisk Arena stage last night after Snow Patrol had to cancel due to emergency surgery.

With well over 20 years of performing under their belt, Stereophonics were the ideal band to step in on the main stage of Latitude festival. Thousands of people gathered to watch arguably one of the greatest rock bands of the last few decades.

With a career that has spanned several decades, their music is completely timeless and something that is enjoyed across all of the generations.

Opening with C'est La Vie, the four-piece burst to life with a sound that was polished, refined and superbly powerful. Their experience as musicians and performers is immediately obvious as they deliver their set with absolute class and perfection.

It requires a huge amount of talent to be able to strut around the stage, whilst still shredding out solos and chord sequences, and make it look so easy.

Some people may have been disappointed by the lack of interaction between songs from the band but this wasn't something that personally bothered me. Stereophonics are a band very much about their music - they don't need to be telling crazy stories and have over the top staging to deliver a top quality show.

The set consisted of a whole load of their hits that many of us have listened to and loved for many years. They performed hits like Superman, All In One Night, Handbags and Gladrags and Have a Nice Day before lead singer Kelly Jones took centre stage with his acoustic guitar to open up Maybe Tomorrow.

This was the first point in the set that we really got to hear his voice - and what a phenomenal voice it was. He has such a recognisable sound and it's so much better getting to hear it live.

The hour and a half set drew to a close as the crowd bounced along to Bartender and the Thief. After leaving the stage to almighty applause, they returned for a two song encore that consisted of Mr and Mrs Smith and, perhaps one of their most well known songs, Dakota. The entire crowd danced and sang their hearts out to round off what was a phenomenal performance from Stereophonics.

They really are a class act that never fail to deliver a top quality show