Liverpool band The Kairos say one moment on tour took them by surprise

Indie-rock band, The Kairos, took on the O2 Academy on Friday as they kick-start their UK tour. The four-piece band began their latest tour on October 19 in Newcastle and have sold out venues in Brighton, London and their home city of Liverpool.

Established in 2019, The Kairos released their first EP, Better Late Than Never, last year ahead of a headline show at Hanger 34 on Greenland Street. The band’s following has grown since their 2023 tour and in the past year they’ve supported artists such as Jess Glynne, James, Sex Pistols, Jamie Webster and Red Rum Club.

The ECHO spoke to The Kairos during their UK tour about their plans for the future.

Q: How do you feel about headlining the O2 Academy?

“We knew this was the next big step. I think we wanted to risk it, put on a gamble, and see what happens because if you go for the easy route, you’re never going to prove a point or show anything. The O2 will be the biggest show on the road.”

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Q: You’ve played two tour dates, Newcastle and Birmingham, how did they go?

“They went above our expectations. All the dates are selling up fast and both shows have blown us away. I think they’ve set us up and built our confidence for the Liverpool show too.

“I think what took us by surprise is that the crowd was singing the songs back at us, that was just incredible.”

Q: How is this tour different from the last?

“We’ve got a lot more time, a lot more help and a larger crew. It’s given us more breathing space. Stage time was negotiated on the night during the last tour, but this is our first concrete tour.

“We tend to stick to a formula, a skeleton plan almost, and then we can change and alter it whenever we want to.”

Q: How has the last 12 months been since your sold-out show at Hangar 34?

“We learnt a lot of lessons from playing at Hangar 34. It was the longest show we’ve ever done, and we realised we have it in us to put on a good show, but we’ve had to focus on stamina and pulling together a strong set.”

Q: The audience cap from Hangar 34 to the O2 Academy is a 450 difference – Is that nerve-wracking?

“We were all talking about this last night. The weird thing is we were nervous for Hangar 34, but to be honest we’re excited to perform and prove to ourselves that we can do the big stages in our home city.

“We don’t play Liverpool often, due to demand and ticket sales. A few years ago, we would have done Liverpool every month, now we come back once or twice a year.”

Q: Will you be heading out of the UK any time soon?

“We played Sweden last year and we had a good reaction out there. It would be great to visit neighbouring countries, but the idea right now is to keep growing in the UK.”

“We’ve been going up and down the country and the idea is to not just be a Liverpool band forever, we want to build a name outside of the city. We’re starting to see that happen now and it’s reassuring that we are working in the right direction.”

Q: What’s on the horizon… An album maybe?

A: “Classified haha.”