Gig Review: The Rosadocs at Gorilla Beer Hall, Doncaster

The Rosadocs performing at Gorilla Beer Hall in Mexborough, Doncaster. Picture: Scott AntcliffeThe Rosadocs performing at Gorilla Beer Hall in Mexborough, Doncaster. Picture: Scott Antcliffe
The Rosadocs performing at Gorilla Beer Hall in Mexborough, Doncaster. Picture: Scott Antcliffe
The South Yorkshire indie five-piece impress once again with an intimate, festive and frenetic set in Rotherham.

On Saturday evening, excited revellers packed into the Gorilla Beer Hall in Mexborough, Doncaster for a festive Christmas show from a band whose name is on everyone’s lips at the minute – The Rosadocs. Tickets were snapped up in a matter of days, not surprising, given the band’s meteoric rise after widespread acclaim over the past 18 months.

Support on the evening came in the form of two local bands with Rotherham five-piece At The Arcade and Sheffield indie-pop sextet Work In TV. At The Arcade were up first and they impressed with a high tempo set. With You and Rock & Rollas were particular crowd favourites – frontman Brandon Walton’s sublime voice echoing through the hall majestically.

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Work In TV made their way on to the stage and they soon had the capacity crowd dancing and signing with their disco-infused, synth pop. Jack Hardwick, another superb frontman, wittily engaged with the crowd. Better Hours and latest song, The Good Life were real crowd pleasers. Both support acts certainly destined for bigger stages in the future.

As the Rosadocs made their way onto the stage, excited chants of “We’re the Rosadocs Army,” echoed through the venue from the loyal, vocal fans, most of whom were donning Santa hats, which the band handed out to everyone as a thank you for coming and for supporting them during an incredible year.

The band opened with At Your Door, which was swiftly followed up with Oak Tree and an unreleased track Bittersweet. The latter is sure to be another hit with its electrifying riffs.

Showing his appreciation, frontman Keelan Graney thanked the crowd for coming, but also for their support over the last couple of years, as heartfelt and appreciative as ever.

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A quickfire trio of Towards The Sun, Stand Alone and Settle Down ensured the capacity crowd were singing in unison with arms aloft and Santa hats bobbing up and down.

A raw, stripped-back Cross to Bear was as popular as ever, with just Graney and guitar/keyboard maestro Myles Henderson on stage, always a poignant song that never fails to raise the hair on my arms.

The anthemic Where You’re Supposed to Be received a rousing reception before the band’s first song from 2017, No.54 was given an airing. Hopeless Optimist and unreleased song The Ladder were both well-received, before Graney made his way into the crowd for his signature Run Away Instead – a real show of unity between the band and their dedicated, loyal crowd.

The band’s latest single, and probably my favourite song from any band in the last five years, Too Much in Time was greeted with a cacophony of cheers- despite only being released less than a week, the song has garnered rave reviews and widespread praise – a real triumph of storytelling and melody.

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The evening took a festive turn when the band played a cover of Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody before concluding the set with the ever-popular concrete.

Once again, another superb evening with a band who continue to go from strength to strength and will certainly be turning more heads on bigger stages and bills in 2025.

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