The Hoosiers – Indie Pop Nostalgia in Norwich

Saturday night saw The Hoosiers take over Norwich’s Waterfront, bringing their unmistakable blend of indie-pop, infectious melodies and nostalgic singalong anthems to a crowd ready to be transported straight back to the late 2000s.

The Hoosiers have been part of the UK music landscape for more than two decades. Originally formed by school friends Irwin Sparkes and Alan Sharland, the band took their name from Indiana, where the pair had spent time on football scholarships. Joined initially by bassist Martin Skarendahl, they went on to become one of the most recognisable British indie-pop acts of the 2000s. Their breakthrough came in 2007 with the hugely successful “Worried About Ray”, followed by “Goodbye Mr A”, with their debut album “The Trick to Life” reaching number one in the UK.

Fast forward almost twenty years and there is still something wonderfully timeless about their music, as the crowd in Norwich gathered, knowing this show was going to be amazing.

Opening with the energetic “Sleeping With the Light On”, the band immediately had the Waterfront crowd on board. From there came a mixture of old favourites and newer material, including “Lonely Together”, “Making a Monster”, “A Sadness Runs Through Him,”“Cops and Robbers,” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The set also showcased songs from their latest album “Compassion”, demonstrating that The Hoosiers are far from simply living off their past successes.

The atmosphere throughout the evening was exactly what you would hope for from a Hoosiers show. It was upbeat, playful and wonderfully nostalgic. There was dancing, plenty of singing and an obvious sense of affection between the band and their audience. The Waterfront’s intimate standing-room setting only added to the feeling that everyone was experiencing the night together rather than simply watching a performance from a distance.

And the band clearly know how to have fun with that relationship. Their live shows have always had an element of theatricality and eccentricity, and that spirit remains intact, while the songs themselves have matured alongside the people who first discovered them nearly twenty years ago.

By the time the night reached its closing moments, it was impossible not to feel that The Hoosiers had achieved exactly what a nostalgia filled gig should. They didn’t simply recreate the past, they brought it into the present.

There was, of course, one song that the crowd was never going to let them leave without hearing.

“Goodbye Mr A” arrived during the encore, and the Waterfront erupted. It was one of those moments where the distance between 2007 and 2026 seemed to disappear completely. Voices throughout the room joined together, phones being held in the air and bobbing heads as people dances the night away, proving just how deeply that song has embedded itself into the memories of a generation of fans.

For anyone who grew up singing along to The Hoosiers on the radio, Saturday night was a reminder of why those songs became classics in the first place. And for anyone discovering The Hoosiers for the first time, it was a pretty convincing introduction to a band that still knows how to make a room full of people smile, sing and dance.