How the Wicklow four-piece are driving it to the top.
Just off the back from opening for Wolf Alice on their European tour, Florence Road came home to play their biggest headline show to date, and it definitely won’t be their last.
Excited fans filled both floors of the sold-out Academy, already singing to the pre-show playlist before the first act Dog Swim took the stage to set the scene for the rest of the night.
The band had an immediate impact on the stage, although they seemed shy and nervous when thanking Florence Road for having them open the show, as soon as the first note of their song was hit, their nerves quickly faded.
Performing original indie rock style music, they captured the audience’s’ attention quickly and held it to the very end of their set. It was funny to see how innocent they were between the songs, but their confidence was immense once they started playing their instruments.
I think that’s what made them so loveable and definitely ones to watch out for in the future.
Once Dog Swim played their final tune, anticipation filled the room in preparation for Florence Road to come out on stage.
The lights went dull and as soon as they stepped on stage, the Academy erupted with cheers and loud whistles from the back of the audience.
Everybody knew the lyrics to their first song ‘Figure It Out’, which took me back to the first time I seen the band live when they were opening for Olivia Rodrigo in the summer.
The song hooked me in at Marlay Park and it had the exact same effect in the Academy, but this time the intimate venue reflected their growth over the past few months.
I remember Florence Road making multiple appearances on my TikTok for you page at the start of the year, with their covers of popular songs skyrocketing their views on the platform, which is why I think when they covered Phoebe Bridgers’ tune ‘Georgia’ on Sunday night, we were reminded of how much this band deserves to be where they are today.
You can really see how close this band is on the stage and off it, with Lily Aron leading the vocals, she often sneaks grins to her bandmates either side of her – Ailbhe Barry on the bass and Emma Brandon on guitar, and Hannah Kelly at the back on the drums who smiles at the girls in front of her as they perform their rock songs.
Their music is meant to be played live, each song hit harder than they do on their EP with amazing vocals and guitar riffs that wavelength throughout the crowd.
They have a talent to connect people emotionally to their music and their live debut of ‘Don’t Say It’, had a lasting effect as the fans took in the lyrics with an approving applause straight after.
Out of all the gigs I have been to, I’ve never experienced a band so connected to their fanbase like Florence Road. Fans made posters and brought gifts, and one fan in particular brought a massive flag with the band on it, which Lily took up to the stage to show the crowd.
They also took their time to sign posters which were available at the merch stand and before the show they placed 5 drawn bunnies around the venue, and the first five people to find them got a free signed vinyl. It felt refreshing to be recognised by the band, another reason why they deserved the academy stage.
To close of the set, they came back for an encore to play their first released single ‘Another Seventeen’ and a very fitting last song ‘Goodnight’. The academy filled with cheers as the Wicklow four left the stage for the last time, but the fans remained excited when they announced they’ll be back for a home gig next year in the 3Olympia.
As I left the Academy, smiling fans were waving their merch and still singing songs which solidifies the fact that Florence Road are truly one of a kind. They are natural performers, fantastic artists, and I’m sure we will see them on bigger stages in the future.
Ciara is a third-year student studying Journalism and English at the University of Galway. She is from Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Ciara has started writing for SIN in 2025 and is excited to write more for SIN in the future.