LIVE REVIEW: TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB: CRYSTAL PALACE PARK, UK | Words and Photos by Sky Aldridge

Two Door Cinema Club with support from The Vaccines, James Marriott, The Royston Club and Garage Flower
Crystal Palace Park 2026 Series in London, UK - 26/06/2026
words and photos by Schuyler “Sky” Aldridge

Indie legends Two Door Cinema Club from Northern Ireland were set to make a triumphant return to the main stage in London to celebrate 15 years of their renowned 2010 album Tourist History, which has been beloved by fans ever since its debut.

This show is the first of five lineups for the annual Crystal Palace Park series, run by Festival Republic. With other dates featuring artists like Kneecap, The Offspring, Snow Patrol and Alanis Morissette taking over the scenic Crystal Palace Park, multiple of which sold out, the park was ready to see thousands of music fans take to the grounds. Taking place during one of the UK’s most blazing heatwaves on record, with temperatures exceeding 37 degrees at the first show in the series, the show implemented extra precautions and facilities, such as misting and water refill stations, to ensure fans remained safe.

While all were buzzing for the appearance of Two Door Cinema Club, fans couldn’t help but rave about the support acts, such as London’s own The Vaccines, mixing their indie sound with rock elements, creating an iconic soundscape; Brighton’s content creator turned musician James Marriott, who last year celebrated a number 1 album alongside a sold-out UK/EU tour. Also taking the stage was The Royston Club, perhaps one of the UK’s most well-known names within the indie-rock genre, with hits like ‘Mrs Narcissistic’ and ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’. Finally opening the stage was Garage Flower, an up and coming 90’s inspired guitar-heavy band hailing from Leeds.

With acts as well-known and iconic as these, it’s no wonder the show sold out. Fans could be seen wearing merch from all of the acts, a clear demonstration that not everybody's must-see performance was the headliner, a true testament to the one-of-a-kind lineup.

Garage Flower kicked things off with some super energetic bangers, instantly lighting up the energy in the park as the crowd slowly built up as the endless queue grew shorter and shorter. Their guitar-led sound was quite catchy, showcasing their energy throughout each strum. The band also decided to play some classic covers to liven up the audience.

Up next was The Royston Club; they were met with a deafening roar of cheers as frontman Tom Faithfull walked onto the stage before ripping straight into ‘Shivers’. Fans were losing their minds in the first few rows, with shoulder-level fans waving custom-handmade flags featuring the cover of the band's 2023 album. The band continued to play through banger after banger, seeing the crowd reach a peak level of excitement during ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’, this track features an iconic guitar riff, which the crowd sang back to the band, a tell-tale sign of a legendary song.

The Royston Club finished up with a combo of ‘52’, a song which packs a great deal of emotion and feels like the telling of a great story which clearly resonated with the crowd; fans could be seen holding each other’s shoulders and groups of lads dancing in a circle. Finally ending with an extended version of ‘Cariad’, their set felt like a headlining set, and an incredible start to the day.

James Marriott opened with ‘Ventriloquist’, a now-iconic opener, setting the tone for the set through a physical, artistic portrayal of emotions throughout the performance. Moving into ‘Something’s Wrong’, a lively track which got the crowd moving, especially those in the front row wearing James Marriott merch, clearly battling the heat for hours at this point. Telling the crowd to jump during the first chorus was the definitive moment which had the crowd back and ready to get moving again after the pause between sets.

Unveiling ‘Burn Down the Disco’, a new track, unknown to all but those who attended his intimate warm-up show the night before, the level of excitement and adrenaline that the chorus of that track instils in the audience is unreal. The lyrical shout of “I go insane for you!” has been widely highlighted across social media, showing fans’ reactions to the song and just how well Marriott commands such a large audience.

Marriott had the audience jumping and dancing along, singing back every lyric to popular track ‘Grapes’ as he wrapped up his set.

The Vaccines took to the main stage as the heat finally started to dip, opening up with the instrumental-heavy ‘Blow It Up’. The excitement of the band was clear in their performance, moving around the stage and interacting with one another. Singer Justin Young showcased his vocal ability as he repeated the line “Blow It Up!” three times, each time increasing in pitch and power, holding the final note until the end.

Ripping through other bangers in their discography like ‘If You Wanna’ and ‘Norgaard’, the band were absolutely killing it, and the now almost full park was feeling the energy, completely ready for who was to come up next.

After a long wait in between the sets, where many took the time to fill their water bottles and eat dinner, the stage lights dimmed as Two Door Cinema Club began to make their way onstage, met with an entire park filled with cheers, ready to celebrate Tourist History’s 15th anniversary. Ambient sounds grew as the intro to ‘Cigarettes in the Theatre’, the album’s opening track, began to flood out the speakers. As the full riff played, shouts and screams of joy and excitement could be heard, showcasing the incredible presence and influence this band had on everybody here.

‘I Can Talk’ followed, with the audience repeating the powerful words of “Now I can talk, no one gets off”, but the energy only continued to grow throughout their set. The audience joined in with the opening clap to 'Undercover Martyn’, fans singing back with their arms raised, a beautiful visual of how music connects people and brings so much happiness.

Ending the fantastic night with ‘What You Know’, everybody rejoiced as people had their final dance and gathered with all the new friends made from the day. Throughout the day, there was an image displayed teasing something new for the band; this was later revealed a few days after to be Two Door Cinema Club’s first UK arena tour in 7 years.