Five reasons to see The Lathums live in Bootle

The Wigan lads are fresh from a sold-out show at Castlefield Bowl in Manchester last week, which came just a few days after they went down a storm on the Other Stage at Glastonbury.

The Lathums are bringing their melodic indie tunes to Bootle on Friday night to open a weekend of concerts at Salt and Tar.

Their Friday night show at Bootle’s canal side opens up the festival which will also see local band Red Rum Club perform to a capacity crowd on Saturday, followed by Cast on Sunday.

Here are five reasons why you should see The Lathums live.

They have some of the best singalong tunes around right now

Mixing up melodic guitar riffs and clever lyrics, The Lathums create a sound reminiscent of 80s indie that also feels right up to date.

Lead singer Alex Moore spends most of his spare time holed up with his guitar creating gorgeous music. Songs like Just How Beautiful Life Can Be and Struggle sound wonderful live and provide a great opportunity for a singalong. The more upbeat Fight On, and I See Your Ghost have proved to be crowd favourites at recent gigs.

So whether it’s love songs or big tunes, you’re sure to get the chance to belt out a few tunes this Friday night.

They love Liverpool

From honing their early skills with a sold-out gig at The Arts Club back in 2019, through to their triumphant return to live music at the big Sefton Park test event that helped end lockdown, The Lathums have performed some of their best gigs in Liverpool.

They even chose Jacaranda Records Phase One to celebrate the release of their last album From Nothing to a Little Bit More in March this year, with an intimate acoustic performance.

Bass player Matty Murphy, who joined the band last year, is from Liverpool and the band always get a very warm reception in the city where audiences appreciate Moore’s humour and chat between tunes.

They’re at the top of their touring game

The band, who met in music classes in Wigan’s Pemberton area as teenagers, really come across as a gang of mates having a great time.

But behind that lies a real desire to entertain and produce great music and top-class performances. Two number one albums can’t be wrong.

The sold out the 8000 capacity Castlefied Bowl in Manchester last week and made their debut at Glastonbury on one of the biggest stages at the legendary festival.

They have toured with The Killers and even sung on stage with the Las Vegas band’s frontman Brandon Flowers.

Lead singer Alex Moore is a one-off

With his broad Wigan accent, quirky sense of style, infectious smile and earnest song lyrics, Moore is one of the best British frontmen in the business.

He always speaks with affection about the band’s fans and seemed genuinely overwhelmed at the response from the Glastonbury crowd.

He is also a prolific songwriter, admitting in a recent interview that he has notebooks crammed with lyrics that he hasn’t got time to sort through and ‘so many songs and not enough release dates’.

Guitarist Scott Concepcion is a special talent

Anyone who has seen The Lathums live will have been impressed to see Concepcion in action.

With his mop of brown hair and intricate play, he is often compared to a young Johnny Marr from The Smiths.

He brushes aside talk of comparisons thoug and just plays naturally and clearly loves what he does on stage and in the studio. Guitar fans – if you haven’t seen The Lathums live, what are you waiting for?