Everything rearranged for me the night I saw Kae Tempest support Fontaines D.C. at Cardiff Castle. And in turn, everything rearranged again when Fontaines D.C. rocketed onto the stage.

I’ve been carrying around many feelings as of late, the most prominent of them is feeling out of place in my own life. Not in a dramatic, “oh my god the world is going to end!” kind of way, but more so a quiet hum of displacement, a constant question mark over my head. Am I on the right path? Should I be moving away? What do I really want to do with my life? I know this all sounds like a lot, but sometimes it’s just where you’re at. And, it really is where I’m at. 

The air was already thick with anticipation for Fontaines D.C., who proved themselves to be exactly who they have always been: explosive and introspective in the best of ways. But, everything shifted when Kae Tempest took to the stage. The atmosphere in the crowd changed from a boisterous hum to a captivated stillness. And then, Kae’s words came. Cutting through all of the noise and straight to the heart of it all.

“I hope you find peace,” Kae shouted out into the crowd, a simple phrase that felt impossibly vast. A hush fell over the crowd and I could feel it — letting this wish sink into our bones and into the drinks everyone was clutching too. 

I hoped for it too, you know. I hoped for peace from my thoughts, from the never ending to do lists and thoughts about my future. Peace alongside my family, friends, peers, the world. I hoped for world peace. That’s a big one, isn’t it? Peace is such a powerful, poignant word. I wonder if we’re ever truly at peace, if we can ever find it. Is it a destination you arrive at or just a series of fleeting moments you’re always trying to desperately hold onto? I knew one thing for certain, I didn’t want this evening to just be a series of fleeting moments I forget about a couple of weeks down the line. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, I hope I find peace. I hope you find it too. 

Kae Tempest’s set was truly a catalyst. For something bigger, it left me in a heightened state of mind. My mind expanding with thoughts I only typically let my journal peek at, I suddenly wanted to tell everyone around me about them.

Kae’s genius lies in their unapologetic vulnerability. Questions flashing on the screen behind you that gets you thinking and feeling like you can be vulnerable too. They lay it all bare on the stage and it’s truly electrifying. Shocking you to the core, leaving you slightly dazed, before you grab ahold of your new friend’s arm and try to make sense of everything that’s being said to you. It’s a jolt to the system, but not a bad one. Sometimes you need that, don’t you? A reminder to think, to feel, to question. Even if that thinking has to hit pause when Fontaines D.C. hits the stage and all of a sudden the energy shifts again and you’re met with something completely new and something else to ponder.

The instrumentals were a powerful undertone, a rhythm that carried Kae’s words and amplified their impact by thousands. Nothing too intense, but enough to get you moving if you so wished too, but to be honest I didn’t want to as I was so enthralled with what Kae was saying. Everything about the tracks, hits you in the heart, whilst staying in your mind. 

Kae asked questions I don’t think I have the answers too, but I know one day I will. But they also reinforced statements that validated feelings I had been under the impression I’d been carrying alone. 

And then — just as I was deep in thought, thinking about the messiness that can sometimes be life — right there in the middle of all of the thoughts that Kae Tempest’s set had left me grappling with — the energy shifted. Everything was put on pause, because it was time for Fontaines D.C.

They didn’t so much walk onto stage as they erupted onto it. A sudden explosion of sound that  felt like the natural, chaotic conclusion to the quiet hum of Tempest’s set. Frontman, Grain Chatten, dressed in all black, was a coiled, restless energy from the moment he arrived to the moment he left. 

His stage presence was a physical force that knocked you over and couldn’t have cared less whether you got up again or not. The band were so effortless in the way they weaved through their hit-heavy setlist, feeling like they were always one step ahead of the crowd. 

Even if you didn’t know all of the songs on the setlist, you didn’t need to. The visuals took up a lot of my mental space, completely taking my breath away, as political statements shone and words were left hanging heavy in the air. 

Peace followed with heavy footsteps from Kae Tempest’s set into Fontaines D.C. Reminding me that even in a world that feels truly hopeless right now, joy is and always will be, the true resistance. And that night, it felt like the only currency that mattered. In the middle of the crowd, surrounded by thousands of strangers, we all found it. It was a tangible, electric feeling, written on every face, transmitted from the band and shared between us all. 

The crowd went absolutely wild for them. I did too. Bodies were on shoulders, hands in the air, people moving from side to side, jumping up and down. Phones were poised to capture all of the important moments — you can’t deny their talent. It came in abundance, sending chills down my spine, tracks like ‘Favourite’ leaving me to dry my tears. Looking at the new friend I made as a giggle slipped and I bashfully wiped my tears away, hoping no one around me thought I was crazy. It’s just what music does to me!

And as the set came to a close and they strolled off stage, screams of admiration and devotion following them, I felt that familiar knock on my heart of disappointment. That feeling of wanting more, of not being ready for the music to stop or the night to come to an end. 

The Cardiff crowd, me included, had welcomed them with open arms, embracing them and giving them everything we had. But when it was time to find our way out of the castles, bodies pushed together, a collective reluctance filled the air. It was a bittersweet release — the kind you feel when you realise something special has to come to an end. 

The whole night, from start to finish, felt like a journey. One filled with hope, figuring out parts of yourself and most importantly: a space for me to live in the beautiful chaos of not quite having all of the answers to my many questions. But knowing that, that’s okay. We’ll get there someday, won’t we? 

Written and Photographed by; MEG IVY BRUNNING