Fontaines D.C. @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville

May 2nd, 2025: Fontaines D.C., Jadu Heart @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY

Fontaines D.C. | Photos Courtes of: Emily May

Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. brought their current US Tour to Louisville, Ky to a sold out crowd on May the 2nd. Under the looming threat of rain, a long line of fans waited outside the venue for the doors to open, hoping to secure their spot either near to stage or on the balcony once the doors opened. Coming out onto the stage to a crowd of cheering and screaming fans, Fontaines D.C. launched straight into their set, starting out with the title track from their latest album Romance (released on August 23rd of last year). Singer Grian Chatten brought a good energy to the stage, often moving across the entirety of it and engaging with as much of the crowd as possible. On several occasions, he held his mic stand out into the crowd for them to sing along with him and would often raise his arms and hands up in a sweeping motion, as if he was conducting an orchestra. With each raise of his arms and hands, the crowd would scream and/or sing along.

The band performed a varied set list that included newer songs, such as “Death Kink”, “Bug”, and “Sundowner”, as well as some earlier tracks, such as “Jackie Down The Line”, “Televised Mind”, “A Hero’s Death”, “Big Shot”, and “Roman Holiday”. The crowd sang their hearts out, at full volume, to every song and you could feel their love and excitement shining through, making for a really fun and special evening. The band did very little talking throughout the set, letting their music be the focus. Ending their set with “Favourite”, the band left the stage and came back out moments later to a roaring crowd for a 4-song encore. Starting the encore off with “In The Modern World”, they rounded it out with “Desire”, “I Love You”, and “Starburster”. It was a great evening of music that left the crowd buzzing long after the music stopped. Opening the show this evening was English group Jadu Heart, performing music that was at times melodic and etheric, while also giving rock vibes. Aside from the traditional guitar, drums, and bass, the band also incorporated synth sounds that sampled different genres, as well as violin, making for a really beautiful sound. They really had the crowd enthralled and dancing and were a nice start to the evening.

JADU HEART