The year of 2018 is setting up to be a big year for English rock band The Hunna. The indie-rock four-piece are preparing the release of their second full-length album Dare whilst still riding off the back of their debut 100. The 2015 debut saw the band reach #3 on the UK Indie Chart, headline the Festival Republic stage at Reading and Leeds festival and more recently, sold out the iconic O2 Academy in London. However, before The Hunna begin to reach even further heights with Dare, the boys in The Hunna decided to head down under to play to Australian fans for the first time in intimate venues around the country. And it was safe to say fans were lining up outside Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory and huge anticipation.

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To start off the night, Brisbane based quartet The Comfort graced Oxford Art Factory with ‘Everstone’, the first song off their critically-acclaimed debut EP Love. The band played a variety of songs from their debut, along with their new single ‘Mesada’ and a cover of The 1975’s ‘Robbers’ that had everybody singing along. Most of the time, the band had the audience intrigued, however, there were times during the set that left everyone with disinterest. The timing of the songs was occasionally sloppy and the stage presence left concertgoers more distant from the band than connected. All in all, The Comfort have plenty of room for improvement and being a long-time fan of the band’s work, I was left a little disappointed from the performance.

After The Comfort was British indie-pop outfit COASTS, who kicked to a rocky start with some technical malfunctions. However, the technical faults didn’t effect the band’s stage presence in the least. Vocalist Chris Caines was a force to be reckoned with, conducting the crowd with mirrored dance moves. COASTS had the crowd hooked with catchy melodies and interaction, playing a variety of songs from their two albums COASTS and This Life Vol 1. Songs like ‘Let Me Love You’, ‘Oceans’ and ‘You’ had the audience turn into the wavy seas, jumping along with all the members and singing the ad-libs to every song. And by the end of COASTS’ set, everyone in the room became their biggest fan, I included.

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Once The Hunna graced the Oxford Art Factory stage, everyone in the room was captivated by the sights and sounds of front-man Ryan Potter. Songs like “You & Me” and “Bad For You” had the crowd screaming every word back to the band, leaving them with awe spread across their faces. After every song, the band would be in disbelief that the crowd knew all the words to their songs and that made the essence of the room more magical. Even the song “Flickin’ Your Hair”, which only came out a week prior, had everyone in the crowd singing the lyrics.

The crowd interaction between the band and their fans shone through within the in-between song banter. The band talked about the rivalry between Australian cities and how Sydney was better than Brisbane, along with learning about the iconic Australian term ‘shoey’. All 4 members did “shoeys” on stage by the end of the night, which left the crowd chanting for more. Even before songs, Potter would talk about how happy they were to be in Australia, stating that the song ‘Summer’ would be the song that reminds me of their time here.

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The Hunna came back on stage after roars for more from the crowd and delivered in the form of ‘We Could Be’. The song resulted in the crowd going insane, with fans on shoulders and failed attempts of crowd-surfers to the front of the stage. Even Potter jumped into the crowd soon after, with fans holding him throughout the entire venue.

It’s safe to say The Hunna’s debut Australian tour has been more than a success so far. The way they present themselves to the crowd proves they’ve earned their spot as one of Britain’s most promising exports in recent times. And with Potter stating during the show that they will be coming here “three times this year”, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be filling much bigger Australian venues in 12 months time. However, for now, the countdown for The Hunna’s next Australian tour begins.