Back in March 2024, London-born beaux shared a TikTok explaining the process of making his debut album I Thought We’d Live Here Forever independently, after parting ways with record label Dirty Hit. Framed as an attempt to be “open and honest about the process”, the video resonated widely. Lead single to the promo ‘I’ll Be Here When You’re Back’ became a new coming-of-age classic – a track that found its home soundtracking long train journeys or simply moments of quiet reflection. This wasn’t an isolated incident either, with many of his videos reaching well over a million views.
Fast forward to Valentine’s Day 2026 and beaux is closing out the final leg of his first UK headline tour, which quickly “sold out” as he made sure to emphasise on stage. Deaf Institute proved a particularly apt setting: intimate enough to keep the personal nature of his songwriting, but big enough to hint at the ambition of what’s to come.
Harry Strange got things underway with a commendably candid and understated set, centred predominantly on his identity as a gay man and the process of learning to feel proud of himself. The performance remained somewhat mellow and slow, with Strange admitting he isn’t particularly good at writing happy songs. His final song was performed entirely acoustically, an impressive choice for an opener. The more electric, drum-led sound was clearly left for beaux.
After a quick turnaround, the familiar bleeps of ‘State of Affairs’ signalled to the anticipating crowd he was about to take to the stage. Following the opening track, the set drew heavily from beaux’s debut album, which was recorded from his bedroom and supported by funding from the PPL Momentum Music Fund. An early standout was ‘Edge of St James’, a track built around lyrics taken from a Notes app entry written shortly after meeting his girlfriend for the first time. The song’s origins lent it an intimacy which suited the room, reinforcing the personal nature of much of the night’s material.
A snapped guitar string put a brief halt on proceedings early into the set, but the pause was quickly filled by his bass player Tate, who took the opportunity to conduct impromptu interviews with the audience. Leaning into the Valentine’s Day theme, she soon found a teenage couple willing to share how they met. This kind of close-quarters interaction – both between artist and audience, and the audience members themselves – is part of what makes supporting smaller venues necessary and so great. Throughout the tour, beaux has also been distributing disposable cameras to the crowd and developing the photos himself, a small but thoughtful gesture that fits neatly with his wider aesthetic and creative promo.
An acoustic version of ‘Cut My Hair’ was particularly special too, with the crowd confidently joining in. beaux had previously explained on TikTok that he “wrote it during quite a tough time” when he “felt stuck and unsure how to move forward”. Cutting his hair became one of the few tangible ways beaux felt able to make progress during a stagnant time. Kick-starting his career through a DM to head of The 1975’s label Dirty Hit Jamie Oborne simply to commend the band’s headline set at Reading back in 2019, his career has been anything less than straightforward.
Despite the singer-songwriter’s re-found success, tracks from his previous EPs were still a comforting presence, including ‘fall forward’ from his 2021 EP memories written down so i won’t forget them, as well as ‘let’s go’ and ‘Benadryl’ from his 2022 EP how can i sleep? i’m wide awake. Two unreleased songs, ‘You’ and ‘Choosey’, were also welcome additions to the setlist. With the album having been an impressive three years in the making, and despite the production and financial challenges, it’s promising that beaux won’t be returning to the shadows too soon.
The show very much mirrored the album’s DIY ethos. Its unconventional promotional run – which saw beaux visiting fans’ homes to perform private shows – was reflected on stage, where little more than the essentials were needed. It was clearly a family affair too, with his brother driving the band up and down the country and his girlfriend working the merch stand. More than anything, the night acted as a reminder that artists are shaped by those who support them, and that turning up for emerging acts still matters.
Although the crowd were slow to warm up, the show finished with an expected encore, rounding off what started it all once again – ‘I’ll Be Here When You’re Back’. Next on the agenda is a growing list of summer festivals, including beaux’s first international appearance in Paris at Oberkampf.
