Florence Road take The Wardrobe by Storm (Live Review)

Starting your career via TikTok stardom is seldom seen as anything but unholy in the music industry and, whilst not necessarily a kiss of death for an artist’s career, it often sets the tone for a tumultuous and/or underwhelming trajectory. Florence Road’s subversion of this trope, however, couldn’t be more masterful in its execution. 

The young Irish four-piece saw themselves splayed across over 50 million screens when their cover of Paramore’s ‘Hard Times’ spread like wildfire across thanks to the coveted TikTok algorithm in 2025, despite only having one original release to their name. Since this voyage into virality though, the group has shone gloriously, releasing a litany of singles and EP’s with sublime variety, ebbing and flowing between velvety soft ballads and grinding guitar anthems, all the whilst crafting an impressive live set across headline dates and support slots for some of the biggest and best the music scene has to offer (Olivia Rodrigo, Wolf Alice, The Last Dinner Party). Their seminal year (and then some) in the spotlight is currently being crowned by a sold out UK/EU tour, a tour which ventured to one of Yorkshire’s finest independent venues, The Wardrobe.

Touted as one of THE band’s to catch on their meteoric rise, filling the aforementioned lofty support slots and featuring on the cover of an edition of NME, Florence Road’s prosperous reputation preceded them. The feverish attitude of the sold-out crowd swelled to a boiling point in the humid basement venue, with fellow Irish upcomer MOIO sent out to bring the bubbling audience to a simmer. His set was poised and sharp, a fine outing on a big occasion.

Alas, only so much can be done in the way of calming a sold-out, rampant Yorkshire crowd. Anticipation melted to awe as Lily, Emma, Ailbhe and Hannah of Florence Road stepped out into their stomping ground for the evening, launching immediately into unreleased track ‘7563’ and fervent fan-favourite ‘Figure It Out’. Never have I seen a band so early in their career look so at ease at an occasion as grand as this. A smattering of further unreleased tracks were offered throughout the evening, with each more impressive than the last. Florence Road aren’t a flash in the pan, they’re carving out a must-see discography with every passing day.

Their promise isn’t merely a prophecy however, with the band delivering the vast majority of their vibrant catalogue throughout the set with the poise and precision of a group much superior in age. By the midway point of the set, recent releases ‘Hanging Out to Dry’ and ‘Storm Warnings’ provided sheering guitar riffs and brash instrumentation, whilst ballads ‘Heavy’ and ‘Rabbits Can Swim’ softened the edges of the setlist with visceral vocal beauty and delicate performance. Florence Road fire on all fronts, oscillating between raging rock anthems and gentle acoustic offerings to frightening avail, simply like no other in the scene right now.

None of their tracks epitomise this better than ‘Miss’. Frontwoman Lily Aron’s mild and calming vocals start the track over a simple acoustic backing, before guitarist Emma Brandon, bassist Ailbhe Barry and drummer Hannah Kelly burst into life with grinding riffs and a skittering rhythm section that is simply breath-taking. The song continually rises and crashes to the command of these talented young artists, producing a sub-four-minute anthem that’d be special by any artist’s standard. In a live setting, this saw the Wicklow rockers at the peak of their powers, with their emboldened performances doing every second of the track justice.

Not long after a brief foray into the crowd from Aron to encounter the adoration of the audience head on during ‘Hanging Out To Dry’ , and a sublime live rendition of ‘Goodnight’ from debut EP Fall Back (2025), the band retreated into the shrouded backdrop of The Wardrobe green room to fulfill the mandatory fake encore that every band has seemingly sworn an oath to in the present day of touring. With the room reinvigorated, Florence Road remerged to deliver ‘Caterpillar’ and ‘Break the Girl’, wrapping a bow on a seamless set of brilliance, proving that the Irish four-piece are worthy of every shred of hype they’ve garnered thus far.

Words by Daniel Brown