Afterdrive

Saturday was the penultimate night of Independent Venue Week, with artists and audiences coming together to support grass-roots live music. Norwich venues have been heavily involved all week, and there have been some great gigs already. For Saturday night, the Adrian Flux Waterfront has sold out their events in both the main room and the upstairs Studio. And whilst tribute bands are not really my thing, who am I to argue if it takes acts like Noasis and True Order to get punters through the doors and spending money at the bar?

But I am here to see three original guitar bands from the East of England, one of which has never played before in Norwich, and the real tribute is to the Norwich music fans who have bought tickets and sold out the Studio as well. I'm not sure if I can remember when that last happened, but it has to be a good omen for our grass roots music venues here in Norwich.

First band up is Chance For Good, a four piece rock outfit from Ipswich whose Norwich debut comprises a cracking seven-song set, with new single Stick Around being the standout track. Very little biographical information to bring you, other than they have played gigs in London and Bury St Edmunds, as well as in their home town of Ipswich, but their high-energy guitar work, thrashing drums, and lyrically rich vocals reminded me of both Johnny Marr and Arctic Monkeys. Certainly a name to watch.

Lincolnshire trio Archy And The Astronauts have visited Planet Norfolk before, and I last saw them performing beneath the crystal chandeliers of the Minstrel Room in the Maids Head Hotel, where they performed as opening act for the official press launch of Wild Paths 2025. Safely retuned to the spotlit sanctuary of an independent music venue, Archy Tomas Phipps (vocals, guitar), Nathan Snook (bass), and Travis Coyne (drums) certainly looked more at home, free to belt out their quality tracks, from early release John Doe, to latest single Talk To Ya, all with an energy and ferocity that reminded me of both Muse and Royal Blood.

Headliners Afterdrive have garnered a huge following over the border in that there Suffolk. Guitarist Luke Ellis, drummer Ben Watts and bass player Edward Ruff all met at college in 2018. The band was formed in late 2022 when Ben's younger brother Jo took over on drums, freeing up Ben to concentrate on vocals, and they released their debut single Stick Around the following year. In 2025 they performed at both Latitude and Norwich's Rock and Roll Circus, and also supported Ed Sheeran when he played Portman Road. They have been compared to both The 1975 and Catfish and The Bottlemen, and their songs work equally well in both stadium arenas and smaller, more intimate, venues. As long-term friends, the band have developed an almost instinctive tightness in their playing, resulting in some intense and high-passion performances. The audience inside the Waterfront Studio are certainly well up for it, and many were clearly here when the band supported Stanleys last May.

And, apart from a few sound niggles, Afterdrive delivered. They are clearly on the road to playing much bigger stages than the Waterfront Studio, after heading off in April as UK and European tour support for American singer-songwriter Maggie Lindermann. This will therefore remain a night to remember for their many Norfolk fans. From latest single, Necklace, to their closing track, the uplifting Stick Around, Afterdrive produced a neatly crafted performance that will have delighted their loyal fans.