Three piece band New Rules came back to Manchester on Friday night to headline the sold-out Club Academy for a full acoustic set, which was a shock difference from their usual tour with electric guitars, bass and drums (which didn’t falter the atmosphere in the slightest – in fact, one of their loudest shows yet). It gave a chance for the band to really showcase their raw talent and it was incredible to hear their vocals and new songs stripped back.
They kicked off the set with ‘Lucky Me’, ‘Happy Ever After You’ and ‘Pasta’ before going into ballad ‘Drunk Texts’.
The band sweetly built the set list around the fans choices by asking their followers on social media; Alec joking, “so if you don’t like it, it’s your fault! It should be perfect,” before dedicating the next song, ‘Go The Distance’ to fans who have travelled to the gig (some coming from as far as Denmark the band pointed out).
Next was one of their older songs, ‘Home Sweet Hotel’ taken from their first EP before they did a beautiful cover of Noah Kahan‘s ‘Stick Season’ which went down well with the crowd. We later heard unreleased track ‘Not Alone’ which Alec dedicated the song to fans, stating they’re all proud of the fanbase and the connection they have cultivated over the years. The track can be pre-ordered here.
“Some say it’s a fan favourite, and it is a fucking Friday night isn’t it?!” Ryan hyped up the crowd before they went into ‘Night Like This’ – which definitely is a fan favourite – the crowd seemingly getting louder, amazed by the atmosphere they have curated from three acoustic guitars and their magnetic energy.
The night before, they debuted live on BBC Radio 1 and announced that from now on we will hear tracks, ‘Go The Distance’ and ‘Late In The Evening’ on the station which is a huge milestone for the English/Irish trio. They did a special performance at the iconic Maida Vail Studios on Maia Beth‘s Future Pop show, and covered ‘Pointless’ by Lewis Capaldi that made its way into the setlist.
They thanked the fans for their continuous support before finishing with catchy single ‘Really Wanna Dance With You’, receiving a massive cheer from the satisfied ear-busting crowd, leaving the band completely speechless.
Check out some photos from the gig below:
Dates and tickets for the remaining shows for the tour can be found here.
Photos and words by Jen Charlie Photography.