Review: The Publics, FREESPIRITS and Headwired at The Sunflower Lounge

Friday night at The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham saw three very different performances from three acts: FREESPIRITS, Headwired, and The Publics.

First to take to the floor were FREESPIRITS, who are a high-energy rock band from Coventry, UK. Brothers Carlo and Lucas Mariani (ex-members of britpop band ‘Hurricane #1’) formed the band in 2013 with the intention of writing authentic, refreshing and inspiring music while having as much fun as possible along the way.

The performance of What I’m Made of, which is their most recent EP released just under 3 weeks ago, encouraged the Birmingham crowd to liven up the most throughout their whole set.

Next up on the agenda were Midlands-based rock trio formed in 2023, Headwired, comprising of George who is on vocals and bass, Jack who is also on vocals and guitar, and finally Joe who is on the drums, these three Black Country natives share a love of creating indie, alternative rock songs with a unique edge.  

Entering the Road to Lakefest competition in 2024 which had thousands of submissions from all over the UK, they placed in the top three, which led them to play the festival and release their unrivalled sound to a completely new audience.

After the second act of the night drew to an end, a powerhouse indie rock from the little town of Mansfield who had come to launch their debut EP,  I know the World Stopped, The Publics came out all guns blazing, bringing an electric atmosphere. Assist Tom Scott, who is well known on the social media platform TikTok, got the crowd riddled up waving his arms up and down to encourage an even greater buzz from the already lively crowd.

After a couple demos released back in 2019 followed by a series of singles that were released each year from then until 2024, The Publics seem to have upped the ante by already releasing three singles and EPs this year alone.

Having already performed at Y Not Festival back in august this year, the band from Mansfield are definitely one to keep an eye out on as they seem to consistently progress throughout the music industry and have their eyes set on BBC Introducing stages at Leeds and Reading Festivals.

Photography by Taylor Ball.