More about: Alfie Templeman

The bedroom-pop artist has set himself up to be one of most prevalent faces on the indie scene right now. Following an astonishing couple of years with the release of debut EP Happiness In Liquid Form and critically acclaimed ‘mini album’ Forever Isn’t Long Enough, Templeman’s recognition has been soaring so swiftly it's sometimes easy to forget he’s only 19! It’s a no-brainer his biggest show to date, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, was filled by a nearly sold-out young crowd chanting in awe last night.

Kicking the night off with ‘Shady’, Templeman started the evening off with a charming and energetic flow. It was hard to believe that he has yet to release a full album as he surely appeared to have the confidence and assurance of a shimmering performer. He continued to kick up a gear with ‘Who I Am’ and every second was met with energy and enthusiasm.

The 16 song set delivered a good mix of new and old, spanning genres effortlessly but always coherently including familiar radio favourites, ‘Three Dimensional Feelings’ and ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’ that were greeted with ubiquitous mosh pits. There were also plenty of future hits in his set such as ‘Candy Floss’ and ‘Mellow Moon’, the latter being the title track of the soon to be released debut album coming on 27 May, making fans anticipate new releases from the singer even more.

The multi-instrumentalist made sure to sing praises to his band multiple times throughout the show. The chemistry between everyone on stage was evident, and Templeman even gave his bassist time to shine as they broke into a spontaneous cover of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’.

Despite his young age, and being open about his mental health struggles through his honest lyricism, he’s confident in his ability on the stage and rightly so. He easily transferred his infectious energy to the eager audience (including myself) who danced through the setlist with an extra bit of excitement for bops ‘Obvious Guy’, 'Happiness in Liquid Form' and 'Like An Animal'.

Alfie delivered on every flicker of potential we’ve been witnessing ever since he first dropped onto the scene in 2018. Every track was performed and crafted with a complete lust for life- one more reason why he deservingly stands out from the crowd. Last night was proof that there is already an astonishingly big and ever-growing core of fans, and it won’t be long before we’re seeing him on much bigger stages as he continues to rapidly rise. 

Setlist:

1. Shady
2. Who I Am
3. Stop Thinking (About Me)
4. Candy Floss
5. Film Scene Daydream
6. Everybody's Gonna Love Somebody
7. Mellow Moon
8. Like an Animal
9. Killing in the Name (Rage Against the Machine cover)
10. Circles
11. Colour Me Blue
12. Obvious Guy
13. Wait, I Lied
14. 3D Feelings
15. Broken
16. Happiness in Liquid Form

See photos of the night below:

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More about: Alfie Templeman