On its face, it’s difficult to fathom that Kings of Leon have been a band for 25 years now, but you don’t have to dig very deep to make sense of their quarter-century together. For one, the brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill have known each other their whole lives. So, from that perspective, their tenure as Kings comes as a drop in the bucket.
Family ties aside, longtime fans of the band will have no trouble believing that Kings of Leon have been a thing for as long as they have. After all, they’ve been on nothing if not a journey, both musical and personal, since forming in 1999. There were the gritty-but-poppy days of Youth & Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak, the rocket ride on the backs of Because of the Times and Only by the Night, and the continued commercial success through Come Around Sundown, Mechanical Bull, and WALLS.
With 2021’s When You See Yourself and 2024’s Can We Please Have Fun, Kings of Leon have come full circle in their sound and attitude. Now that their legacy is secure—courtesy of millions of albums sold, billions of streams, and four Grammy Award wins—the boys from Tennessee have recaptured the lighthearted Southern garage rock magic that made them the darlings of indie rock in the late 2000s.
Their visit to Kia Forum in late August only further affirmed their sonic renaissance. Five stops into their latest tour, the Followills brought a flurry of fun, along with a trip through much of their catalog, to an ecstatically receptive crowd in Inglewood, CA.
It certainly helped to have Phantogram as the warmup act. The electronic rock duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, along with their touring band, kicked off the night with a 45-minute set that was heavy on the hits but still left room for new tunes.
They opened with a deeper cut—”Don’t Move”, from the 2011 EP Nightlife—before dipping into the more popular portion of their repertoire by way of “Fall in Love”. From there, they gave a glimpse into their upcoming release, Memory of a Day, by dropping “All a Mystery”. They would go on to nod to their soon-to-be-latest LP a second time by giving “Happy Again” just its third live performance to date.
Overall, Phantogram reserved nearly equal time for their existing albums. Their previous LP, 2020’s Ceremony, worked its way in with “Pedestal” and “Mister Impossible”. They closed out their stint with the iconic “When I’m Small”, from their 2013 debut, Eyelid Movies. In between, they pulled in “Run Run Blood” and “Answer” from 2016’s Three and gave voice to 2014’s Voices with the beloved “Black Out Days”.
That all set the stage for a two-hour tour of Kings of Leon’s discography, albeit one tilted heavily toward their freshest material.
The set commenced the same way their new album does—with the dreamy, contemplative tones of “Ballerina Radio”. Following a four-song run that included longtime staples like “The Bucket”, “On Call”, and “Manhattan”, Kings of Leon returned to their most recent material with “Actual Daydream”,
Rather than run through the new stuff in spurts, they opted to sprinkle it in throughout their 27-song setlist. Newly minted bangers like “Mustang” and “M Television” formed the bread of a second-half sonic sandwich, with “Molly’s Chambers” and “Milk” as the tried-and-true filling. “Nowhere to Run” came in at the midpoint, just before Kings of Leon dug up “Pickup Truck” as their nightly “song for the city.”
“Split Screen” preceded a late-set reversion to “Find Me” and “The Bandit”. After riling up the crowd with “Closer”, Kings of Leon finished off the main set with the more demure “Seen”. On the heels of a brief respite, they returned to the stage by playing “Rainbow Ball” to open the encore.
All told, Kings of Leon’s latest album accounted for eight songs on the evening’s program. As well as they fit into the band’s oeuvre, and as well-received as they were, nothing got more of a rise out of the audience than the old favorites. That was made loud and clear during the second quarter of the main set. Kings of Leon commenced on a run of “Razz” and “My Party” before reaching the night’s crescendo with “Sex on Fire” and “Revelry”. Likewise, the encore got a big boost from “Knocked Up” and “Use Somebody” to finish things off.
For all that they did to play to their fans, Kings of Leon still left plenty of top-tier material on the table. Conspicuously absent from the setlist were foundational tracks like “Taper Jean Girl”, “California Waiting”, “King of the Rodeo”, and “Fans”. Even so, the spectacle of the show provided the packed house with plenty to please. From vibrant videos and flashing spotlights to a spinning mirrorball, twinkle lights that hung over the crowd, and a variety of beach balls that dropped from the ceiling toward the end, Kings of Leon and their crew made their show appealing and exciting to as many senses as possible.
Together, they will bring their all-around spectacle to cities across North America through early October. After a visit to Palm Desert’s Acrisure Arena, Kings of Leon and Phantogram are slated to serenade audiences in Berkeley and Santa Barbara as they make their way up the West Coast into Oregon, Washington, and, eventually, Canada. For a full list of upcoming shows, head here.
Kings Of Leon – “Molly’s Chambers” – 8/22/24
[Video: Dy-No-Mite Dragon]
Kings Of Leon – Kia Forum – Inglewood, CA – 8/22/24
[Video: Dy-No-Mite Dragon]
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