Stereophonics – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – Thursday 4th December 2025

KEEPING BUSY

It’s 8:45 sharp and the house lights drop as the Phonics stride onstage with the confidence of a band who’ve been doing this for three decades. This is their Winter Tour… straight after their Summer Tour. They’re clearly keen to stay busy and keep bringing that classic rock ’n’ roll to the masses. And judging by the sold-out arenas across the country, it’s working.

Kelly Jones strolls to the mic with his trademark blend of rock-star cool, impeccably dressed, unbothered and effortlessly stylish. You half-expect him to be wearing sunglasses. Indoors. In December.

They launch straight into Vegas Two Times and the crowd erupts. Jones’ voice could cut through Port Talbot steel. The band are tight, polished and still delivering anthemic rock with that unmistakable Welsh DNA. Though, it must be said, Jones has lost a touch of the strong Welsh twang he used to have. Years on the road (and living in London) will do that. But his love for Wales is still evident. And honestly, who can blame him?

EFFORTLESSLY COOL

The Nottingham Arena stage is huge, maybe too huge, because the band don’t make full use of it. There’s a slight lack of high-energy movement these days, but these guys are in their 50s even if they don’t look it. A T-shaped catwalk stretches into the crowd and during I Wanna Get Lost With You, Jones and lead guitarist Adam Zindani make full use of it trading riffs and looking effortlessly cool. During Fly Like An Eagle a giant starscape appears on the huge screens behind the band and during the beautiful Colours Of October autumn leaves drift across the backdrop.

Each of the band gets a little spotlight, most notably Jamie Morrison on the drums. After an especially drum-heavy ending to one of the songs Jones encourages the crowd to chant his name which of course they do willingly. A nice touch that shows Jones to be not the sort of frontman who only cares about himself getting all the adoration from the crowd.

The band’s stories (too few, but that leaves more time for music) add as much charm as their music and Jones tells a tale of starting the band at the age of eleven with Zindani and how they played their first gig at age twelve.

A couple of new tracks from the 2025 released album – Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry, Make ‘Em Wait are played and they are genuinely excellent – especially live – There’s Always Gonna Be Something and Seems Like You Don’t Know Me. It was an album worth waiting for. I really enjoyed it. The best they’re done in years. The album is really very Stereophonic, in absolutely the best way.

UNRELENTING HITS

The pace rarely dips for two hours and the hits just keep coming. Do Ya Feel My Love?, Mr and Mrs Smith and Local Boy In The Photograph – songs from pretty much every album. Several of the older tracks really resonate with the crowd who sing along, making the Nottingham arena into a church of Welsh rock music. Maybe Tomorrow, Mr Writer and The Bartender And The Thief are big singalongs and it sounds great in the arena which is jam packed to the limit – it feels like someone is going to get a safety report tomorrow saying they had 1000 fans too many in the arena! It’s rammed and the atmosphere is great.

If the set list is missing anything it’s More Life In A Tramps Vest and the one that everyone wants to hear but that the band have clearly made a decision not to play – A Thousands Trees – due to what other the years has clearly been thought of as having controversial lyrics. That’s their decision, we have to respect it, but people still shout out for it and wear the T-shirts. I’d also have liked to hear Too Many Sandwiches (a real deep cut if ever there was one) but I think in terms of touring that little oddity has been lost to time.

C’est la Vie, which includes Jones kicking a balloon into the audience, brought laughter and a touch of chaos to the set, and Dakota ends the four song encore, and the night. Three decades in The Stereophonics are still hitting the high notes and keeping fans happy with a new album and two tours in the same year. If you haven’t seen them live, you’re missing out.

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