You Me At Six bid farewell to their Nottingham fans with three shows at Rock City on their Final Nights of Six Tour. Intensity and nostalgia were mixed with the undeniable energy of a band at their peak...
It’s been over 20 years since You Me At Six first formed. Birthed in the era of MySpace - where opening band Mallory Knox themselves admitted they first discovered them - the band quickly found success with their debut, Take Off Your Colours, and its follow-up, Hold Me Down.
Their rise only continued, with each album charting two places higher than the last until Cavalier Youth claimed the number one spot in 2014. After a couple of slightly more divisive releases (Night People and VI), SUCKAPUNCH earned them a second number one in 2021, before their eighth album, Truth Decay, arrived in 2023.
Despite their ups and downs in commercial success, it still came as a surprise when they announced they’d be splitting in 2025. But after two decades, it’s understandable that they’d want to move on. What their Final Nights of Six tour proves, however, is that this decision has nothing to do with a lack of ability or passion.
Before diving into their set, opening act Daytime TV deserves a mention. The least established band on the bill, they formed much later than both You Me At Six and Mallory Knox, but the Rock City crowd welcomed them warmly. Across their 30-minute set, they showcased impressive variety - a rarity for newer bands with smaller discographies. A standout moment came when the band froze like statues before an instrumental drop, heightening the audience’s anticipation before launching into a high-energy finish. They closed with Lost in Tokyo, leaving the crowd primed for the return of Mallory Knox.
For alternative music fans, Mallory Knox’s debut Signals was a defining moment, landing at number 33 on the charts. Their follow-up, Asymmetry, performed even better, earning them airplay on BBC Radio 1. But after frontman Mikey Chapman departed following 2017’s Wired, the band released a self-titled album without him, before announcing their breakup in 2019.
Then, in 2023, the unexpected happened: a reunion. Initially set for a one-off Slam Dunk performance in 2024, it soon became clear that Mallory Knox was back for real. Following an Asymmetry anniversary tour, they were added to the bill for You Me At Six’s Rock City show - a huge draw for fans who missed their 2024 dates, as Nottingham hadn’t been on the itinerary.
Their setlist reflected their Asymmetry-heavy comeback, opening with Ghost in the Mirror and Shout at the Moon, bathed in pink and blue lights that matched the album’s cover. The crowd erupted, relishing songs they once thought they’d never hear live again. They wove in hits such as Sugar and Better Off Without You before closing with Lighthouse - the track that first put them on the map.
As Don’t Look Back in Anger echoed through Rock City, the anticipation was electric - You Me At Six were about to take the stage. It was a full-circle moment; exactly 17 years ago, on their Take Off Your Colours tour, they had played this very venue. For many fans, this night felt like both a celebration and a farewell to a much-loved band.
They kicked off with Room to Breathe - a song that belongs in an arena but somehow felt equally as powerful in this intimate setting. From there, they tore through Loverboy, Stay With Me, and Save It for the Bedroom, covering their first four albums within the opening four tracks.
Later material held its own, with Deep Cuts, Night People, SUCKAPUNCH, Give, and Straight to My Head making an impact - the latter two being standouts among their post-2017 releases. Tracks from Cavalier Youth (Fresh Start Fever, Lived a Lie) and Sinners Never Sleep (No One Does It Better, Crash) hit hardest, though the crowd also knew every word of newer songs including Take on the World and Beautiful Way, which closed the main set before the encore.
For a band with such a rich discography, an encore needs to be definitive. And with Sinners Never Sleep being a fan favourite, its most iconic tracks - Bite My Tongue and Reckless - were the obvious choices. Then came the inevitable closer: Underdog. While Take on the World overtook it as their most-streamed track in 2017, Underdog remains the anthem that defines this band, especially beyond their core fanbase.
This won’t be their last time on the Rock City stage - they still have two more sold-out shows on 17th and 18th March. But tonight was a statement; they could have filled the Motorpoint Arena, but instead, they chose somewhere more personal and intimate, despite having to perform three times to fulfil intense demand. It felt like a proper send-off: Twenty years, eight albums, and countless memories for their fans, new and old. You Me At Six chose to go out while still at their peak, leaving a legacy that will never be forgotten.
You Me At Six performed at Rock City on 1st March 2025, with support from Mallory Knox and Daytime TV.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
