Live Review: Imagine Dragons – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London 26/07/2025
Imagine Dragons bring a triumphant finish to their ‘LOOM World Tour’ as they take over London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a night of jubilation and celebration.
London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium may normally be associated with rowdy chants and passionate football supporters, but tonight the turf is swapped for a stage with none of the energy lost as Imagine Dragons close out their ‘LOOM’ World Tour on a triumphant high. The global, chart-topping pop-rock band easily fills the stands with sensational sing-alongs and boundless energy, presenting a slick show that may be predictably formulaic but nevertheless hits all the dopamine spots. With confetti canons, smoke machines, fireworks, and giant beach balls forming some of the props of the evening, the band is unapologetic about pulling out the classic stops to guarantee a good time – but there’s some truth in the saying that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, as the crowd seem to be enjoying themselves and we are certainly having fun.
The party starts early, with FLETCHR FLETCHR coming on when people are still slowly trickling into the stadium and trying to reserve their energy for what lies ahead. It’s not easy to warm up such a vast space, particularly when the band only have three released tracks on Spotify, but they make a valiant effort with undeniable enthusiasm and a few saxophone solos thrown in for good measure. Combining punk rawness with rock melodies and unfiltered lyricism, the band don’t shy away from tackling feelings of angst and turmoil, embracing the messiness and confusion of life in all its shades. Joking about how they went from playing to 200 fans in Camden two days ago to over 20,000 in the stadium now, they hold their nerves well with driving drums in ‘Jet Black’ and up-tempo ‘One For The Road’, before finishing with the crowd clapping along to ‘Life’, an affirming anthem dedicated to Matthew Fletcher, the late father of lead singer Rohan Fletcher. With more musical material on the horizon, we’re sure that this will not be the last we hear of the band.
Declan McKenna feels like the sunshine that comes after the rain as he treats Tottenham to his glittering indie-pop tunes. He immediately conjures a desire to dance with groovy opener ‘Nothing Works’, throwing both hands in the air in a beckoning invitation to join along. The mellifluous ‘Elevator Hum’ is followed by the trippy ‘Mulholland’s Dinner and Wine’, before the slower start of ‘Mezzanine’ gives a moment for pause and swaying along to the airy vocals and gentle brass tones. Declan’s command of the stage is impressive, as he quickly guides the crowd into the frenetic ‘Isombard’, where urgent keys and a restless bassline descend into a barely contained psychedelic frenzy with swirling background visuals.
Stripping back for ‘Be An Astronaut’, Declan’s vulnerability is rewarded by a captivated stadium audience, who latch onto every aching piano note, jazzy progression, and aching lyricism that comments on societal pressures and expectations that “boys will be boys // they should listen, do as their mothers told them”. The unmistakeable opening notes of ‘Brazil’ garners a massive cheer as fans’ expectations are satisfied, with the breakout hit forming a staple of every Declan McKenna set, but Declan’s energy peaks in finale ‘British Bombs’, as he runs, spin kicks, and cartwheels all over the stage in an acerbic criticism of British foreign policy. Whatever political opinion you may or may not share with Declan, you certainly cannot fault his commanding stage presence that leaves you feeling charged and ready for the main act of the evening.
The start of Imagine Dragons’ set feels like the musical equivalent of sunrise, as the band slowly rises onto the stage while the opening piano chords of ‘Fire On These Hills’ draws you into a warm cocoon of flickering beats and tranquil electronics before an explosive final chorus sees the first (of many) confetti shower being fired in celebration of how far we’ve come through life. Following ‘Thunder’ doesn’t give any pause for breath, but the crowd seems barely able to contain their excitement alongside the fireworks and smoke machines that literally set the stadium ablaze with energy. Frontman Dan Reynolds barely needs to do anything to further stimulate the crowd as he declares that “tonight is just for you to be free”, before the tantalising bassline of ‘Bones’ kicks in with yet another confetti canon that has come to be expected from the Las Vegas quartet’s polished production.
Between the grungy rock influences in ‘I’m So Sorry’ and the jubilant celebration in ‘Shots’, the performance traverses a spectrum of human emotions and experiences in a career-spanning setlist. Massive beach balls in ‘Take Me To The Beach’ and Jaws-esque background visuals in ‘Sharks’ provide some lighter moments of reprieve from the otherwise introspective lyricism, and the mix of both makes for a potent combination that allows you to appreciate the depth of Imagine Dragons’ musicality. ‘Whatever It Takes’ makes for a particularly obvious example, especially as Reynolds prefaces the track with an inspirational speech that may be a touch cheesy, but nonetheless achieves its purpose of uplifting fans when Reynolds earnestly expresses his “hope [that] every single person is doing is doing exactly what they want to do.”
Keeping the pace varied, the heartstring-tugging ‘Next To Me’ sees a sea of waving flashlights, which is a sight to behold as a visual representation of the adoring fans that the band have amassed. An acoustic rendition of ‘I Bet My Life’ sees Reynolds strengthening the bond further by coming down from the stage and walking along the barrier, high-fiving fans by the side in a moment of connection that makes you forget that you’re in a stadium with a capacity of 62,850. The pace quickly picks up again with the thrilling ‘Wake Up’, accompanied by another confetti blast, before beams of laser shoot upwards for the pounding electronics of ‘Radioactive’. Culminating in a drum battle, it’s a mesmerising end that breathes new life into a track that has stood the test of time as the crowd resoundingly chants “I’m waking up” along to the final chorus.
Yet the most explosive part is saved for last track ‘Believer’, which sees an emotive performance from Reynolds as the crowd shouts along in a joint catharsis, taking back control from painful moments and transforming them into moments for self-growth and reflection. With a final deep bow, the gratitude flows both ways between the band and fans in this last night of tour; without the fans, the band would not be where they are yet without the band, the fans would not have found such a connection and community with others who are similarly trying to make sense of our shared living experience. While Imagine Dragons may not have reinvented the wheel with their slick, commercial production, there’s no need for them to change it when their shows leave you feeling full of joy and eager anticipation for the next time you can see them – and that’s exactly how we left Tottenham, already looking forward to when the band will return to the UK.
Words by Athena Kam
Photography by Abigail Shii
