Those tapped into the UK alternative scene will no doubt have seen Little Grandad making waves through online buzz and word of mouth – and gaining a reputation as one of the best emerging live bands.
#Formed in 2025 by the Lower brothers, they’re The Windmill’s latest export and one of London’s hottest prospects. After announcing their debut album Speak Softly, Son, produced by Kev Jones (Wunderhorse, The North), they are now embarking on their first UK headline tour, stopping off at Leeds’ own Oporto to give Yorkshire a taste of the future…
First up was support act Charlie Noordewier, whose blend of folk-americana guitar and poignant, melancholic lyrical imagery filled the airwaves. Based in Devon, a notoriously fertile ground for folk music, Charlie channelled that local history and morphed it into something more powerful, more emotional. With a voice that sliced through the entire room, his intimacy primed the audience for what would be a mesmerising night.
Following that, Little Grandad traversed their way through the tightly packed crowd and up onto the stage to the sort of an ovation one would hear at a homecoming gig.
They opened the set with unreleased tracks from their upcoming album Middle Seat of the Car and A Minute on the Lips – a funky indie song bound to be a fan favourite. “Sunday night… you wouldn’t know it… everyone looks too happy,” says Jack, who picked up the bass guitar to join the band. His brother Harry even admitted to The Line Of Best Fit that he’s played it more during live shows than he has rehearsing and practising. What he lacks in experience, however, he sure makes up for in stage charisma.
‘Real men harmonize’ reads one of their T-shirts on the merch stand, and in Sandalwood we witnessed that first hand, with brothers Harry and Jack Lower taking turns leading verses and all four members sharing vocals during the choruses. The brothers really are captivating, almost mirroring each other and serving up a contrasting concoction of smooth and rough in their deliveries. The group’s synergy is tranquilizing, sharing vocals and often playing multiple instruments. There really is no star of the show here, no obvious group leader. That being said, recognition has to be given to Ned Ashcroft who plays the mad scientist of the group, with a rotating conveyor belt of trumpet, acoustic and electric guitar and vocal duties. It really is captivating.
Oporto serves as an obligatory venue for any band on the come-up, and it feels like a fitting location for Little Grandad’s infectious blend of harmony and charm. When the band played their latest single Tiny Feet, their combined vocals suffocated the venue’s narrow dimensions. The crowd fell so quiet that glasses could be heard clinking at the bar. Everybody was transfixed and Oporto provided the perfect stuffy and sticky-floored setting to consume music as alive and breathing as Little Grandad’s.
We were then treated to a surprise cover of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right with Charlie Noordewier re-entering the stage as a special guest. Drummer James Brennan left his sticks behind and jumped on the bass guitar, donning a Crash Records T-shirt, which I could only assume he bought that day (Jack also had a top on from the women’s section of Asda George because he’d run out of clothes from touring for so long).
Back to the point. It felt like a precious moment. The lights dimmed and only the glint of the hanging disco ball lit the audience’s faces. The band hovered around the microphones and all joined in harmonizing. You wouldn’t know it was their second ever cover.
The gig reached its peak when the band went into Unmasked, a song that built with trumpets, pounding drums and Harry standing incandescently, ten-feet tall as the song crescendoed into a cathartic outro, unleashing the raw, splintering side of his voice into the airwaves.
As the gig neared its ending, Little Grandad played Inside the Memory of You & I – a song not included in their upcoming album. Why, I asked myself, would they leave such a song out? I couldn’t get my head around it. It was electric – the pre-chorus was vicious, menacing even. And the outro exhibited everyone at their best instrumentally, turning the show into an uncontainable jam session.
“This is our last song,” says Jack to the clamorous Leeds crowd. “We’ll be back.” (In a bigger venue, I thought to myself). He went on to mention how this was the band’s first Leeds headline and that this was the first date to sell out on the tour. Well done Leeds. Their gratitude is extremely apparent and what stands out above all else is how they are just such decent people who know exactly how to write a song. This was encapsulated by a shared group hug after playing Closer Babe, We’ve Run Out of Time, a fitting way to end the show.
Despite only having released four songs on streaming platforms, they played the new album in its entirety with a few bonus additions sprinkled in. There’s no doubting that soon Little Grandad will be everywhere, and Sunday night felt like Leeds’ last chance to see one of the UK’s best-kept secrets in a smaller venue.
Speak Softly, Son, the debut album of Little Grandad, releases on 22 January 2027 on Communion Records.
Photography by Jazz Jennings.