LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: Snow Patrol – Delamere Forest, Northwich – 13/06/2025

This year’s Forest Live series began in stunning fashion on Friday 13th June, as Snow Patrol took to the stage at Delamere Forest for the opening night of this year’s concerts. Set against the picturesque backdrop of one of Cheshire’s most beautiful woodlands, the atmosphere was nothing short of magical. As golden hour settled over the trees, thousands of fans filled the forest clearing, ready foran evening of soaring melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and timeless anthems. From the very first chord, it was clear Snow Patrol were the perfect act to launch this year’s series, delivering a set that was both powerful and deeply personal. I’ll dive into their performance shortly.

Forest Live is an environmentally conscious concert series that supports the preservation of some of the UK’s most beautiful natural spaces. By purchasing tickets through Forestry England, fans help fund the planting of millions of trees each year and contribute to protecting vital wildlife habitats from environmental threats. It’s a unique chance to enjoy live music from some of your favourite artists in stunning outdoor settings, something in my opinion that is a great idea! This year at Delamere, alongside Snow Patrol, the lineup includes Gary Barlow, Rag’n’Bone Man, Busted, and Blossoms closing the series.

The evening kicked off with young Northern Irish four-piece The Florentinas, a regular fixture on Snow Patrol’s recent European tour. Still early in their journey, they delivered a confident, polished set that made the most of the stunning forest setting. Their melodic indie-rock sound was a great fit for the atmosphere, warming up the crowd as the last of the evening sun filtered through the trees. Standout tracks like Sandcastles and Weatherman really hit the mark, with frontman Paddy Boyd sounding great throughout. Bassist Jacob Kane brought plenty of energy, while guitarist Luke Swann and drummer Jacob Swann kept things tight and dynamic. It’s easy to see why they’ve been picked to support Snow Patrol, there’s a real sense that this won’t be the last time they are in the spotlight.

Critically-acclaimed and BRIT-nominated, Freya Ridings was up next, and by this point the crowd had grown nicely, with camping chairs and picnic blankets spread out across the forest floor. She opened strong with her hit Castles, her rich, soulful voice filling the space and grabbing everyone’s attention straight away. There’s something really special about her sound, a mix of heartfelt emotionand raw power that makes you lean in. As she moved through songs like Weekends, Can I Jump? and the ever-popular Lost Without You, backed by her tight band, the atmosphere got even more intimate. You could tell the crowd was hanging on every note, swept up in the mood she created. It was a beautiful moment, full of warmth and feeling, setting the perfect mood before Snow Patrol took over the stage.

Snow Patrol’s headline set was a reminder of why the band continues to hold such a special place in the hearts of fans across the UK and beyond. Opening with the punchy Take Back The City, they launched into a carefully curated set that spanned their extensive discography. The first three songs, rounded out by Chocolate and the tender Called Out In The Dark, served as a powerful testament to the band’s longevity. Written more than 15 years ago, these tracks still hit with clarity and emotional weight, their themes of love, loss and reflection as resonant now as they were back then. Gary Lightbody’s vocals carried both strength and vulnerability, soaring effortlessly over the thick canopy of Delamere as the forest filled with warm, mid-summer light.

The rest of the band—Nathan Connolly on guitar, Paul Wilson on bass, and Ash Soan on drums—delivered a performance rich with chemistry and precision, clearly sharpened by months on the road. Their sweeping, cinematic sound felt perfectly at home in the forest setting, rising through the trees during emotional anthems like Run, Open Your Eyes, and the timeless Chasing Cars, which sparked one of the night’s most powerful singalongs. The set offered a well-balanced mix of crowd-pleasing hits, deeper album tracks, and highlights from their most recent release, 2024’s The Forest Is The Path, a reflective, self-discovery-driven album that felt especially fitting beneath the Delamere canopy. Standouts like The Beginning and All seamlessly blended into the setlist, proving that Snow Patrol’s newer material still resonates with the same emotional weight as their earlier classics.

This show came off the back of a hugely successful UK and European tour earlier this spring, with Snow Patrol playing to sold-out venues across cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, London, and Glasgow. The tour marked a return to form after a period of relative quiet, reminding fans of the band’s enduring ability to connect through soaring choruses and raw lyricism. And their momentum is far from slowing, as this summer sees them take to the stage at several high-profile headline slots and festival appearances across Europe, making their Delamere Forest performance feel like a celebratory homecoming of sorts.

Throughout the evening, Lightbody’s natural charm and self-deprecating humour added a personal touch, creating a relaxed, communal vibe that made the expansive forest feel surprisingly intimate. Whether sharing stories behind the songs or simply soaking in the crowd’s energy, he maintained the heartfelt sincerity that’s always been a hallmark of Snow Patrol’s live shows. With a set that mixed catharsis, nostalgia, and hope in equal measure, their return to the Forest Live stage felt not just like a performance, but a shared moment between band and audience—one that lingered long after the final notes faded into the trees.

Words and photos by Ben Whitehurst (Instagram)