Live Review: The Hunna – BRITs Week 2023 – Lafayette, London

Starting a little under 15 years ago, the annual BRITs Week’s celebrations have been a prominent charitable event within the UK’s music scene, giving fans the opportunity to see their favourite big artists playing small venues. The events have seen over £5 million raised to support War Child’s efforts to help children and young people affected by armed conflict and war. In 2023 War Child’s challenges grow ever greater, with 1 in 6 children now being affected by armed conflict across the world.

In support of the event, we headed down to catch The Hunna play to 600 lucky fans at London’s Lafayette. With support from both Lucy Deakin and Noisy the night was set to be an energetic (and sweaty) celebration of music for a great cause. Here’s what went down at this intimate show.

Boldly strutting back and forth across the small stage between barriers made up of the second supports keyboards, Lucy Deakin put on a tireless set. Anyone who was lucky enough to get down to the venue early was treated to a bouncy performance which set the energy levels high for the night. Treating the intimate room to both her own original songs and a cheeky Avril Lavigne cover, Lucy performed a set that was received well and worth the early admission. ‘bad in love’ made for a highlight in the set with some of the early arriving fans even being able to sing along.

Pushing the energy in the room even higher, electrifying trio Noisy delivered on their name bringing the loud rock-rave to the unsuspecting crowd. Their genre defying set saw the first pits opening in the small room while also introducing quite the bounce to the crowd. Frontman Cody kept on top of the London crowd constantly dictating their every move.

NOISY

While it didn’t look like everyone in the room was onboard with their radical genre mixing set, those that were on board really went for it, particularly for songs like ‘ALLIGATOR’ and ‘Days Go By’. I’d highly recommend you check them out next time they’re in town, especially if you’re into bands such as The Prodigy.

It was finally time for the main event, and The Hunna didn’t mess about getting straight into it with ‘The Storm’ followed by ‘Trash’ – The first of many from the band’s latest self titled album to be played on the night. Right from the first note of ‘Trash’ the band were on it, displaying a high level of energy as they rocked out across the tiny stage. This liveliness would continue across the night as the band played through their well curated setlist, with each song being played with an incredible level of passion and energy.

As the night drew to a close, The band played a double whammy of bangers with ‘She’s Casual’ and ‘Bonfire’. With every note you could feel how privileged everyone in the Lafayette felt to have witnessed the hour long set. To great applause and feedback from the final note of ‘Bonfire’, Ryan Potter and Co left the stage (but not before taking a quick few selfies with the front row).

Overall, The Hunna’s performance at Lafayette was nothing short of amazing. The band brought their A-game and left the crowd thirsty for more. An intimate show is always going to feel special but the band really helped secure the memory of it with their energy and musicianship.