LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: BASTILLE AT DREAMLAND, MARGATE 22/08/26
Stepping into Margate’s Dreamland for the first time pulls you straight into a seaside nostalgia trap. Framed by vintage amusement rides, flickering neon signs, and the cool breeze rolling off the coast, the venue acts as a literal sanctuary. For the fans gathered by the stage, however, this was a long-awaited reunion. With both Orla Gartland and Only The Poets having previously toured as support for Bastille, the entire day felt like a time capsule. It was a perfectly preserved space designed to leave the real world at the turnstiles, allowing everyone to slip into a collective daydream and simply lose themselves in the music.
Opening the afternoon, Reading’s own Only The Poets set a fiery, high-energy tone. Standing in the crowd, it hit me that this was my fourth time seeing them this year - and somehow, they remain completely effortless.
Despite a wobbly sound mix that swallowed the electric guitar early on, the four-piece didn't miss a single beat. They simply leaned into the raw power of their rhythm section, pushing through with a deliciously bottom-heavy bass that thrummed right through our ribcages. It acted as the perfect anchor for sharp drum work and Tommy’s razor-sharp vocals. In fact, whether it was where I was standing, the quirky venue acoustics, or just genuine progression, this was easily the best Tommy has sounded live. He clearly knew it, too, cheekily showing off with random vocal arpeggios between tracks.
Their down-to-earth warmth on stage is magnetic. When bassist Andy managed to completely derail the setlist—leading Tommy to announce "we’ve got three songs left!" twice - they just laughed it off with genuine charm. It’s exactly these unscripted, human slip-ups that make them so intensely relatable.
The setlist was a smart blend of their 2026 debut album, AND I’D DO IT AGAIN (2026), alongside older staples. ‘Over & Over’ demanded a massive wave of crowd clapping just two songs in, while the pacing stayed brilliant through the cathartic highs of ‘God Knows Where You Were’, ‘Emotionally Hungover’, and ‘Monumental’. Everything was built perfectly toward the sweaty climax of ‘JUMP!’, where Tommy got the early afternoon crowd crouching low before exploding to the beat.
If I had to offer one bit of constructive feedback for their otherwise bulletproof setlists, it would be to bring ‘Crash’ into the rotation more often on these support slots. It is simply too strong and energetic a track to leave aside. But even without it, they are vibrant, incredibly tight, and fiercely passionate. They are precisely the kind of self-made band you find yourself rooting for with everything you’ve got.
We've been teased on socials about a new OTP era a few weeks ago, so maybe we could be expecting new singles soon with a new sound? This is a good time to keep our eyes open for their next move.
Orla Gartland brought a refreshingly candid energy to the stage from the second she walked out, rocking Adidas shorts that perfectly matched her bassist and keyboardist’s tops. Honestly, Adidas needs to sort out an endorsement deal for them immediately.
After affectionately introducing her band - Scarlet Halton on bass and keys and Sara Leigh Shaw on drums - as “the divas”, she took a moment to compliment the crowd, noting that it "says a lot about a band when the fans are this sweet." Warming up the audience with some gentle, rhythmic stomping, her set quickly struck a perfect balance between fiery indie-rock grit and intimate storytelling. Early cuts like ‘Kiss Your Face Forever’ and ‘Codependency’ set a lively pace before diving into ‘Three Words Away’. Driven by a ridiculously funky bassline and tight rhythm guitar, it instantly became an early standout, getting the crowd swaying.
Announcing she was "going to take it back a bit," she whipped out an acoustic guitar for an older track, ‘Madison’. Her voice soared over delicate, multi-layered harmonies, carrying a soft, emotional strength that hits so much harder in person. When the keys and drums finally crashed in after the first chorus, the dynamic shift felt incredibly earned.
Following 'More Like You', she introduced a "cover from my mainland"- The Cranberries’ ‘Linger’. It transformed the crowd into a giant seaside choir, while simultaneously delivering a sudden, thoroughly embarrassing realisation for me: I had completely forgotten The Cranberries were an Irish band. Admitting that out loud as a music reviewer feels deeply unsettling, but we'll just brush past it.
The energy picked right back up with ‘Backstreet Driver’, another massive standout, leading naturally into her own track titled ‘Zombie’. She declared it her absolute favourite song to play with the divas, and it ended with a brilliant shared vocal moment that let her bassist show off a bit, too. Honestly, having a song with the exact same name as the most famous Cranberries anthem of all time is top-tier comedic placement. She really should start playing them back-to-back every night without warning, just leaving the crowd guessing which 'Zombie' they're getting first. It could even be a pause, a tease of each, until the song starts; there is a lot of potential for playful audience engagement here.
Capping off her performance with a catchy instrumental bridge in ‘Late To The Party’ -complete with some aggressive marching on the spot - she launched into an explosive finale of ‘Little Chaos’. The studio version is great, but it is by far her best song to experience live.
Bastille took the stage as an expanded seven-piece force, joined by long-time touring partner Charlie Barnes, singer AK Patterson, and percussionist Gabi King. However, there was one glaring piece of the puzzle missing: Rittipo! His saxophone has become such an iconic fixture in their live shows that I simply can’t unhear it on tracks like ‘Shut Off The Lights’ and ‘survivin’’. His absence was definitely felt, so hopefully he’s back in the mix next time availability allows.
That missing sax aside, they didn't waste any time, kicking things off with the classic dramatic setlist intro thud of ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’ before rolling straight into ‘Shut Off The Lights’ and the deceptively upbeat bounce of ‘Good Grief’.
Large screens broadcast live, intimate video feeds of frontman Dan Smith darting across the boards, capturing his raw, unvarnished energy. He was wonderfully candid on the mic - during ‘Flaws’, he playfully mic-managed the stage, explicitly directing Woody on drums on exactly when to shine a flashlight into the crowd and when to drop it, laughing through the instructions.
The mid-set pacing was spot on. They shifted seamlessly from a unique, slowed-down snippet of ‘Quarter Past Midnight’ into the heavier, guitar-driven edge of ‘Blame’ and ‘What You Gonna Do???’. Later on, Smith self-deprecatingly asked the band if anyone actually remembered the chords from a surprise song of their second album, introducing a beautifully stripped-back arrangement of ‘Fake It’ that Charlie Barnes had put together.
The absolute peak of the night arrived with their iconic OTHER PEOPLE’S HEARTACHE mixtape segment. Handing the spotlight over to AK, the set morphed into a massive nostalgic house party. Despite only joining the live setup relatively recently in 2024 for the & project and the All Sides Tour, she was given the reins here and completely owned the stage - it is very clear she isn’t going anywhere and will be present in future projects. Her stunning vocals anchored a heavy medley weaving through ‘Adagio for Strings’, ‘No Angels’, ‘Requiem for Blue Jeans’, ‘Don't Let Go (Love)’, ‘Dreams’ and ‘What Would You Do’. This bled straight into ‘Of The Night’, where Smith got thousands of people down on their knees before the final drop sent the entire field airborne.
Watching this massive ensemble bounce off each other, you are reminded that despite the early beginnings, Bastille was never meant to be a solo project. Their live gig is a deeply collaborative, theatrical experience. Seeing how easily they control a crowd and weave a narrative on stage, it makes total sense that Dan is now venturing into writing for musicals. They don't just stand there and play songs; they build an immersive world.
The real talking point of the gig, however, was the debut of their unreleased track ‘In The Light Of The Morning’. Smith introduced it, noting they haven't been touring so much lately and that they have a new song they love to play live. Carrying the same pulse-pounding, midnight-synth weight as their heavier material, it plays like the ultimate thematic sequel to their DOOM DAYS era. Where that 2019 concept album trapped us inside the chaotic, apocalyptically anxious walls of a 3:00 AM house party trying to block out reality, ‘In The Light Of The Morning’ is the moment you step through the front door as the sun finally breaches the horizon. It captures that euphoric, hazy dawn after the storm - the realisation that the night is over, the world didn't end, and we actually survived (ironically, the next song), but hey – maybe I’m overthinking it.
After easing the tension with ‘Survivin’, which Dan introduced as a song with “very deep lyrics” – lyrics being “Ooh yeah, Ba, da, da, da, da, da, da” of course - they framed the finale with the explosive pop euphoria of ‘Happier’ and the gospel-infused vocal power of ‘SAVE MY SOUL’. Naturally, they closed with ‘Pompeii’, sparking a crowd-wide chant that you could probably hear halfway down the beach, proving exactly why Bastille remain at the tippity top of cinematic indie-pop.
As the final, sky-shaking chant of ‘Pompeii’ faded into the Margate dusk, the magic of the evening settled quietly over the coastal fairground. Live gigs have that rare, fleeting ability to anchor a specific moment in time, but this lineup managed to construct an entire world within the walls of a vintage amusement park. This show provided a temporary haven where a devoted fandom could gather, catch their breath, and leave the weight of the outside world behind. Strolling back down the seafront as the stage lights went dark, we were spoiled with the kind of memory that leaves an entire crowd desperately wishing they could rewind the clock and do it all Over & Over again (pun intended).
Words by Vlad-Paul Ghilaș
Photos by Ed McCay