Ben Kweller at Islington Assembly Hall

Ben Kweller

Modern Love Child

Islington Assembly Hall, 7 June 2026 

It felt like a big celebration last night welcoming Ben Kweller back to London after more than 10 years away. There were lots of classics that had everyone singing along but it was equally exciting and moving to hear songs from Kweller's recent album, Cover The Mirrors. On top of all that there were some fantastic surprise guests that made the night even more special.

After a week of queuing for the Rilo Kiley shows, I decided to not get to the venue as early this time but surprisingly when I arrived at Islington Assembley Hall there was no one there and I was the first one in the queue, which was nice. Plus almost immediately others started turning up, obviously everyone having the exact same idea. Because of this, once in the venue (they even let us in early!), I was able to get a plumb spot right at the front in the middle. 

Also nice was the fact that the show started fairly early, since it was a Sunday and many trains stop early, so I was relieved to see support act Modern Love Child aka Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jonny Shane take to the stage before 8pm.

Shane, wearing a cricket jumper and looking very preppy, had a sweet, friendly energy about him and looked completely stoked to be there. He plugged in his acoustic guitar which was covered in stickers from various places like an old well travelled suitcase and with a smile and began singing a very Ben Kweller-esque catchy pop song. 

There was a reason for this, as he told us next, and that is because he's been a big Kweller fan for a long time and he was a big inspiration for why he got into music. He told the story of how one of his first gigs was seeing Kweller for which he got thrown out for being underage. Years later he was in a coffee shop and turned around and Kweller happened to be behind him and they had a good chat. Then, some time after that, in a different city altogether the same thing happened: Kweller was behind him in a coffee shop and this time they really connected and became friends. Since then he and Kweller have toured together and written many songs together.

The next song he played was one of those songs, which appeared on his own album MLC and also Kweller's album Circuit Boredom, a track called Just For Kids, which had the jaunty chorus, "falling in love isn't just for kids."

Because I wasn't familiar with his material I can't tell you the rest of the songs he played in his short set (I think it was only about six songs in all: the chap behind me said "that's the shortest support act I've ever seen" and he may be right!) but the Kweller influence was clear, I also heard the Violet Femmes too, as there was a slightly punky energy to the power pop and melodies. 

His final song he told us was probably his best song, one called Hot Pink Mess, in which he sang "darling I wish I loved you less, cause darling you're my hot pink mess" for a slightly more emotional tune. I enjoyed his set and just because he seemed so tickled to be there he was hard to dislike. It felt really nice that Kweller brought him on tour and the crowd seemed to dig his songs too.

After a short break, the next thing we knew, the lights lowered and Kweller himself, wearing a blue jacket emblazoned with patches and his head a crown of curls, bounced onto the stage, looking super excited and hyper, and sat down behind his small keyboard at the back of the stage.  He then launched into his classic track Thirteen, a very sweet and moving way to start the show, with Kweller playing harmonica as he played piano, in a very Neil Young-esque way. As he sang "We built this world of our own... and that I wasn't alone" it felt very meaningful indeed.

The band then walked on stage to join him, including drummer Ryan Dean (wearing a rather magnificent Western style hat), Jim Campo on guitar and keys and finally, Christopher Mintz-Passe on bass (and if that name sounds familiar that's because he's the actor who played McLovin in Superbad and Red Mist in the Kick-ass movies!).  The quartet then started playing the song Falling from Kweller's much loved debut album Sha Sha. Obviously people were thrilled to hear it as they soon started joining in singing it and at one point Kweller looked up with a huge smile on his face and just said "oh wow!" before continuing to sing himself. It was clear there was such good feeling in the hall and people were just thrilled to see him after almost 15 years since he was last in London.

I didn't actually see him at that show (which was at the Electric Ballroom), but saw him twice on the Changing Horses tour (I loved his brief country era, he even wore a cowboy hat at the Koko show in 2009), but I've always loved Kweller's music. His last album, Cover The Mirrors, though particularly made an impact on me, as if was recorded after the death of his 16 year old son Dorian in a tragic car accident. Not only was the album incredible and one of 2025's best, it felt good to see Kweller getting back out there on tour after such a devastating tragedy and when he announced these shows I just really wanted to be part of it, and I am so glad I was, because the whole show was just a delight and it was wonderful to see Kweller on such good form and bouncing back from such a terrible thing.

After playing keyboards on the first couple of songs (Kweller really is a good piano player I must say), he then ran to the front of the stage and grabbed an acoustic guitar to play Full Circle from 2012's Go Fly A Kite, which was exciting to hear as I had missed that tour.

There's no doubt though that when Kweller played songs from his first few records there was a particularly warm response. I guess it's been over 20 years now since those came out and many people have grown up with them, plus there's no doubt those songs sound like absolute classics now. So when he played tracks like Family Tree, Sundress (still an absolute power pop stunner) and Commence, Tx, the crowd naturally went wild and often sang loudly along, the whole audience abuzz.

This even happened in the middle of the show where he did a couple of acoustic numbers after the rest of the band went off stage, and he sang On My Way. There were times where Kweller didn't even need to sing as the whole audience was singing the words for him. 

After this someone shouted out "you take home the gold medallion!" in reference to the song Different But The Same (also from On My Way), and the reference really tickled Kweller, so much so he spontaneously decided to try and play it, as he hadn't played it some time, "do you mind if I try it?" he asked as if we were going to say no! He went back to his keyboards and took at moment to get the chords right, but after only a slightly shaky start as he found the right chords and recalled the lyrics, he soon was playing it as if he played it every night. I love these unplanned moments and the way Kweller interacted and listened to the audience. Kweller genuinely seems like such a nice guy.

There also were some nice moments with his band too, and their chemistry was clear (even Passe blended nicely with the band and didn't stick out like the movie star he is). When he played the Dylan-esque Park Harvey Fire Drill, he started out trashing away on his acoustic guitar before the rest of the band appeared and gathered around his microphone with him, their arms around each other, as they harmonised together on the end of the song, joyfully singing out and smiling the whole time. 

I really wanted to hear some of his new songs from Cover The Mirrors though, and I had wondered if he might skip playing so many because of the background to that album and the fact it might be too painful to sing them, which I could completely understand. But I'm happy to say that Kweller more than delivered, giving us no less than six songs from the record.

In particular it was wonderful to hear Killer Bee, written for another tragic teen, Nell Smith, who once recorded an album with the Flaming Lips as a kid and died aged just 17 in a car crash. It was beautiful and strangely joyful, such a lovely tribute to her.

Even more moving though was when Kweller played Oh Dorian for his son who died in 2023. Before he played it he spoke about losing Dorian and how hard it was, but he wanted to share that it's possible to get through even the worst things in life and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. He also said that he believes we will see our the loved ones we've lost again. It was so touching to hear him speak so frankly about something so personal and painful to him and when he then sang Oh Dorian, it really felt all the more poignant and emotional. I felt really privileged to have experienced that moment and hearing him sing those songs which have such meaning and depth.

Despite the sadness behind those songs, there was such joy in the air too, it really felt like people were thrilled to have Kweller back and that he too was thrilled to be there. Nothing summed this up better though than when he announced he was bringing on a special guest: Tim Wheeler of Ash.

The pair hugged and Kweller explained how they had met years ago and become friends and over the years have written many songs together, which hopefully will see the light someday (his words not mine!). Why there hasn't been a Wheeler/Kweller album by now I don't know but they should make it happen!

They then played an absolutely electric version of the Ash classic Shining Light, with Wheeler and Kweller taking turns on the verses and then joining in on the end. Kweller looking like he was having so much fun playing with his friend, while Wheeler himself couldn't stop grinning. It was so infectious and fun to see and best of all it sounded fantastic.

And then to top it off, Kweller brought out yet another guest: Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, who feels like an old friend now (from afar of course)! Having completely fallen in love with Caws after his two support slots with Rilo Kiley earlier this week and how nice and cool he seems (plus I haven't been able to get his song Only You And Me out of my head), it was exciting to see him turn up again at another gig and I think in future I'm going to be disappointed when he doesn't turn up at the shows I go to!

Caws grabbed a guitar and along with Wheeler and the band, joined in playing a raucous, Penny On The Train Tracks, the full stage brimming with happiness and comradery, and Kweller bouncing around from Wheeler to Caws and back to his microphone again. If that wasn't enough the whole crowd joined in, absolutely shouting the chorus back to Kweller and the boys for a truly fantastic and triumphant end to the show.

If this had been the end I would have been more than satisfied but obviously there were calls and cheers for more, so Kweller returned to the stage. I was hoping the show would end early as it was Sunday and I knew I'd have to leave by a certain time in order to catch my train, otherwise have another nightmare journey home, and indeed Kweller addressed this, saying he had four more songs to play and then everyone would be able to get safely home. Someone in the crowd shouted out "we have a hotel!" which made him laugh and I think probably encouraged him that most were okay with him continuing on (and I'm sure they were).

I did get to see him play the upbeat and jaunty Hospital Bed and the melancholic In Other Words on the keyboards but then sadly I had to leave (and I did indeed just get there in time to catch my train). As I left the venue, outside I could hear them playing Dollar Store from the new record, which I would have loved to have heard, so that was slightly gutting. Apparently they then ended the show on his classic Wasted & Ready, which I'm sure was a rocking and joyful way to end the show, but alas I didn't see it.

Nonetheless, this was such an uplifting and happy show, full of lots of good feeling and love towards Kweller, which I think he really felt. Before the show I overheard drummer Ryan Dean talking to a couple of fans outside the venue saying that Kweller is feeling really driven at the moment, "he has a fire underneath him right now" and that he was sure he would be back soon. It was certainly evident tonight and it was really wonderful to see him doing his thing again with so much joy and better than ever!