Fontaines D.C. debuted two new songs at their first live shows of the year in early August, signaling a fresh era for the Irish band. The band played back-to-back dates in Cadiz, Spain (Aug. 7-8) as part of their summer run, which builds toward headline sets at Reading & Leeds Festival (Aug. 28-29) and Ireland’s Electric Picnic (Aug. 30).
It was the band’s first show in almost a year, and their first headline performance since the unexpected death of longtime manager Trevor Dietz. “Trevor was beside us from the beginning of our journey as a band, we have never known Fontaines D.C. without him, the sixth member of the band,” the band wrote in a tribute. “He cared passionately for us and for what was fair and right in the wider world. He was fearless in his beliefs. We will miss him always.”
The band had hinted at this shift already. Guitarist Carlos O’Connell told NME in January that Fontaines had “been writing, it’s been fun,” and the two new songs in Cádiz offered the first real look at where that writing had gone.
Both new songs push the band further into darker, more electronic territory, drawing on the sonic world they began exploring across Skinty Fia (2022) and Romance (2024). ‘Marianne’ arrived early in the set, its industrial textures revealing a harsher, more abrasive side to the band’s sound. Later, during the encore, ‘Six Shot Morning’ took things in a more synth-heavy direction, driven by a deep, insistent bassline.
The band’s return to the stage continues this month with a run of European dates, extending the momentum of the Romance era before their massive shows headlining Reading & Leeds Festival 2026.
Earlier this month, the band also made history as the final artists to record a BBC live session at the legendary Maida Vale Studios. On August 3, they joined Steve Lamacq for a BBC 6 Music session, delivering live performances of ‘It’s Amazing to be Young’, ‘Big Shot’ and ‘Bug’.
Listen to both tracks below.
Reporting on music, UK-based
