There can be no doubt that rising Irish band Kingfishr picked the best day to play in Sydney, playing to a packed crowd on St Patrick’s Day. Walking into the Enmore Theatre, the joyous atmosphere was palpable with Irish fans, flags and football jerseys all around the venue. Unsurprisingly, the crowd was absolutely pumping and as loud as can be as Kingfishr took to the stage.

The band have had an incredible rise from their days studying engineering as uni students, with hits all around the world as fans have flocked to their indie rock stylings. When the band took to the stage, the crowd was raucous and the band fed off that energy, with lead singer Eddie Keogh delivering fantastic vocals to kick off the night with “I Cried, I Wept” as the first song. Keogh even seemed shocked when the whole audience chanted back the lyrics of “Shadow” and “Hold Me Down”, with his voice in fine form as he was well supported by Eoghan “McGoo” McGrath on the banjo and Eoin “Fitz” Fitzgibbon on the guitar.

Some classic Irish regional patriotism was on display, as there was a hefty mix of cheers and boos all in good spirit when the band mentioned that they were from Limerick. But this was followed by a unanimous cheer when they said that they thought they would be back in their jobs after six months to pursue music but have been playing ever since.

An early highlight of the show was when Keogh got into the crowd to sing “Shot in the Dark”. Amazingly, while the sea of phones was visible in the vicinity of Keogh when he went into the audience, the group around him mainly kept their phones away, instead taking in the moment of hearing the Kingfishr frontman so close. The joy in the room was palpable and Keogh delivered a great performance, bringing unbridled energy and top class vocals.

The joy on people’s faces was emblematic of the show, with everyone just seeming in a really happy, bubbly and celebratory mood, which the band played on to give an electric performance. At times, it felt like a soccer crowd with an ‘Ole, Ole, Ole’ chant moving around the venue but this only added to the atmosphere and pumped up the band even more.

The music on display was a good mix of rock and pop with a little bit of Irish folk mixed in, with a sound that somewhat resembled The Script in parts. After they performed “Gloria”, they played an unreleased track called “Tell Me It All Works Out”, which the audience enjoyed before the pumping “Diamonds and Roses”. The band were very affable throughout the set, really connecting well with the crowd and displaying high levels of musicianship. 

“We f***ing love you, Sydney” said Keogh to the crowd, to which he received a huge cheer. “We’ll never be able to explain what you’ve done for us. Every single one of you has changed our lives” 

After “Diamonds and Roses” it was time for the biggest hits, with “Killeagh” having the whole crowd up on their feet as they sung along before the band performed “Anyway”. It was a short set, with the main set spanning over an hour before a three song encore, but it did not matter much given how high the energy was. After a banjo interlude, the band performed “Eyes Don’t Lie” and “Caroline” to close out the set, which was a great way to finish a wonderful night of music.

Overall, this was a high-octane, fantastic show, showing off the best of live music with the Irish rockers in fine form on their debut tour of Australia. The crowd was as happy as could be, celebrating St Patrick’s Day with one of Ireland’s current finest bands and the band seemed genuinely chuffed by the reception they received. A great night of music and energy and given the amount of Irish love in Australia, it will undoubtedly not be long before Kingfishr are back with a vengeance.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Kingfishr – Enmore Theatre – 16 March 2026