Dogpark Dig Deep for Their Long-Awaited London Debut
London, UK | September 15th, 2026
Photographed and Written by Niall Mirza
When Dogpark took the stage with ‘Dive Bar Named Nirvana’, I was thrown right back to the start. The rush of discovering a band before their first major project. Watching their live-in-studio originals and covers on repeat and praying to be in the room where it happens. Almost three years later, at their first London show, my wish finally came true. For every OG fan in the sold-out room, the wait wasn’t just a measly half hour after the opener. It felt like the culmination of all those years. So, while Dogpark could have easily opened with a newer track, the first song they played felt owed to those fans.
Beyond its meaning for longtime fans though, the grooviness of the song served as the perfect introduction to the band. Their chemistry was clear in the interplay between the dual guitars and heavy bass, feeling more like a jam session than a sold-out headliner. It was there in frontman Eamon Moore’s choruses meeting guitarist Billy Apostolou’s faded backing vocals, and in the precision and tactful restraint of Christian Conte’s drums. Interestingly, ‘Dive Bar Named Nirvana’ hasn’t opened many sets on their current tour, but judging from the fan response, the decision to bring it forward clearly paid off.
The stretch following the opening track turned almost trance-like, moving through mid-tempo and downbeat tracks split neatly between their released projects. Moving smoothly from ‘What’s My Line Again’, off their latest project, to the earlier single ‘Far Away From You’, Dogpark crossed eras seamlessly. This section felt more like a showcase of Dogpark as a unit than of any individual track, though ‘Dreamwalker’ still emerged as a standout. A lot of modern indie-rock frontloads energy, and while there’s merit to that, Dogpark cement themselves as a band that can thrive in the groovy middle-ground that sits a few steps below in-your-face rock.
Kicking the set back into gear with the punchier ‘Make It Happen’ was a testament to both their setlisting and versatility. As frontman Eamon Moore towered over the audience at the front of the stage sporting dark sunglasses and singing “I could make it happen for you”, he carried a confidence that felt deservedly cocky and undeniably cool. Here, the band felt at their most jam-ready, with Moore’s vocals passing the torch to the instrumental outbursts. On songs like these, lead guitarist Declan Harris particularly stole the show, his guitar’s uncut strings protruding so far from the headstock that I couldn’t see where they ended when the house lights cut out. He looked every bit the seasoned guitarist as he rocked the entire room out.
A closing three-track run of ‘Breaking in Brooklyn’, the title track from their 2024 EP, their hit single ‘Caviar’, and debut single ‘Now It’s Over’ sent the show soaring. The cheers from the crowd on the first notes of ‘Breaking in Brooklyn’ were insane, and when we were asked to sing, we screamed. After almost an hour of playing, the band didn’t show an ounce of fatigue, and they had no plans of slowing the set down again. From the crowd, Eamon Moore tossed every last one of his uniquely raspy belts to the fans in the front row, and then hopped back on stage to throw himself into the smoothly-crooned verses of ‘Caviar’ like nothing had ever happened.
When Dogpark announced their last song, ‘Now It’s Over’, bringing the main set back to where their story started, the crowd poured everything they had left into jumping and screaming with the band. If their opening track felt owed, their closing track felt like a celebration. They’d won the crowd over a long time ago, but they still kept going, even into an encore of the wistful and passionate ‘Washington Square Park’. Starting and ending both the main set and encore with songs from their first project wasn’t something I expected from a band who had just released an incredible new EP, but I wouldn’t have wished for it to go any other way. For their first London show, the band dug deep into their entire discography and struck gold.
