Skunk Anansie, Garbage, Du Blonde – Scarborough Open Air Theatre – 20th June 2026

Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre is an unsung hero as far as British venues go. Nestled in park and woodland, and only a stone’s through from the beach, this amphitheatre style venue proved to be the perfect setting on a warm June evening for a bill of angsty, yet uplifting, alternative rock. In the lead up to the show, the seafront and beach area saw families mingling with hordes of punk/metal/grunge/alt T shirt wearing fans, all tucking into fish and chips or enjoying a cold beer while waiting for the venue gates to open. 

DU BLONDE

Opening proceedings in the early evening sunshine were Du Blonde, who may not have the mainstream recognition of the co-headliners but with four albums under their belt have built up a solid underground following and it was easy to see why as Lucky and Dollar Coffee got things going.

As their set progressed, the quartet playfully delivered their pop/indie/punk infused rock while engaging with the front rows (and a shout out to Beth’s mum who was in attendance!). Next Big Thing was pre-empted with a shout out to Garbage and Skunk Anansie and a warning that they hadn’t managed to get it right yet on tour – it sounded good to me! It struck me that the cheerful melodies and pop sensibilities were perhaps at odds with the serious lyrical content, with that particular track for example being about predatory behaviour and sexual exploitation in the music industry.

There was a shout out to everyone who was making the tour a success before the short set closed with TV Star to round off a great opening to the evening. One that will have further added to Du Blonde’s ever expanding fan base. 

GARBAGE

Back in the 90s, in a world dominated by britpop, electronic dance and grunge, a sub genre dubbed alt rock emerged with Garbage and Skunk Anansie perhaps at the forefront of this and this tour sees those two pulled together onto a mouth watering bill.

As this was a co-headlining tour, Skunk Anansie and Garbage had been switching up the order each night and tonight Garbage were up first. Opening with There’s No Future In Optimism and Hold from the latest album was a clear statement that the band are about far more than nostalgia and the crowd lapped it up. Shirley was having a whale of a time, bantering with the crowd and managing to somehow look angry and happy at the same time. I Think I’m Paranoid and Stupid Girl came early and got a huge response from the crowd and as the set progressed, six albums were represented with pulsating rhythms and disco beats mixing with crunching riffs and a huge amount of sass.

Have We Met (The Void) sounded particularly angry with Shirley snarling “Have you motherfuckers been seein’ each other?” albeit with an edgy grin. An epic rendition of Vow followed with a few vocal issues but this didn’t detract from the impact. The set was bought to a close with the inevitable Only Happy When It Rains and then The Day That I Met God which was introduced as “a love song”, although this does not really do justice to the lyrical content. This set had a been a glorious mix of anthems from the 90s with modern day classics and had been enthusiastically lapped up by the crowd. 

SKUNK ANANSIE

After a short turn around, it fell to Skunk Anansie to close the evening with the indomitable andenigmatic Skin leading the charge. The energy levels went through the roof as the band enthusiastically bounced around the stage running through older tracks Charlie Big Potato and Because Of You before we were given An Artist Is An Artist the first of four in the set from the latest album. Drummer Mark Richardson was then introduced to the crowd as a hometown Scarborough boy, before his wife Erika Footman (an accomplished musician) joined the band for Love Someone Else.

There was a slight pause in the music as Skin introduced God Loves Only You with the bottom line being “It isn’t about right or left, but right and wrong,” which was delivered with a charismatic swagger. An emotive version of Shame was dedicated to anyone who has been shunned by their family before an evocative Weak showcased Skin’s amazing voice at it’s most powerful and saw the crowd enthusiastically singing along. Twisted (Everyday Hurts) saw Skin ask that everyone stand up and dance, with everybody happily obliging under a glorious amber sunset. Skin jumped into the crowd during a rousing I Can Dream before crowd surfing back to the stage much to the delight of those down the front.

AS RELEVANT AS EVER

The main portion of the set was closed with a stomping combination of Yes It’s Fucking Political Tear The Place Up and Little Baby Swastika leaving the crowd in no doubt what this band are about. The encore began with Cheers before Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good) saw another loud singalong from the crowd. A cover of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell led into Intellectualise My Blackness, with Erika Footman making another appearance and closing the set. 

This evening with Garbage and Skunk Anansie had been more than a blast from the past – It had been a triumphant evening where two bands with a rich musical history showed that they are as relevant today as ever, if not more, in a world with ever increasing social and political challenges. Long may their legacy continue. 

All photography by Andy Pountney (Event Photography Awards Winner 2024 and 2025). You can check out more of his work on shot_in_the_dark_photography2 on Instagram.

Skunk Anansie: Website

Garbage: Website

Du Blonde: Website

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