Balu Brigada @ Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide 30/5/2026
The pull of the algorithm is really something with New Zealand indie rock band Balu Brigada selling out Lion Arts Factory with minimal advertising and Adelaide selling out faster than fast. It was a case of good luck getting a ticket to this highly anticipated performance. Who are Balu Brigada? Well, I’m glad you asked. Originally from Auckland this four piece featuring mainstays in brothers Henry and Pierre Beasley have been touring non-stop just about everywhere with everyone wanting them to play in the city yesterday. The words “groove-driven alt pop” focusing on “guitar, groove, dance” and you think a long the lines of The Strokes, Two Door Cinema Club and very early The 1975 you’re part way there to get an insight into their sound.
With a string of EP’s to their credit this tour was very much focused on their debut long player Portal then Golden Gate Girl. The kids loved ‘em and they were hooked right from first drop. I’m a hundred percent certain we will be hearing a lot more from them and don’t be surprised if they land on next year’s Laneway Festival line up. Opening with the title track Portal their energy is infectious as they bowl over Golden Gate Girl, Sideways and Politix. I’m not sure what they were going for with the lighting aesthetic as it did seem like they were performing in the dark making it hard to see them from the back. There were some random musings between songs but one point was very clear was that they were stoked to be touring Australia and playing Adelaide for the very first time.
The set list drew on all twelve songs from the album with a couple more highlights from it including 2good and 4:25 were a couple of good ones followed by Grimes cover Oblivion. Slow song Isolation was reintroduced to the set having stopped playing it as Beasley brothers thought fans considered it to be too boring. Asking the crowd if anyone was having a birthday it was Birthday Interlude that followed. The crowd can pick a banger get up on shoulders on Backseat giving that “Australian energy”. The band did remark and make comments that Adelaide sold out quicker than a show announced in their own hometown of Auckland.
Bedhead was solid as is listed as unreleased with the intention of including on the deluxe edition of the album admitting it took five minutes to write.
Talk about coming home with a wet sail with the band finishing on a couple of bangers from Portal in Butterfly Boy and So Cold. With the crowd fully invested the band returned for an encore asking the question “if you have any energy left let’s dance to this one” with a teaser of Daft Punk’s Robot Rock followed by their anthem Find A Way morphing in to Could You Not.
Smiles all round knowing that this will be one of those shows for the brag book saying “do you remember seeing Balu Brigada at Lion Arts Factory in 2026” when they play somewhere much bigger next time round.
Live Review By Rob Lyon