Wet Leg
w/ Hana Vu, Mary in the Junkyard
Marathon Music Works; Nashville, TN
September 23, 2025
Photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship
English indie rockers Wet Leg released one of the best albums of 2025 with their sophomore effort moisturizer, and are currently touring the world in support, recently returning them to Music City for the first time in a few years for their biggest Nashville headliner yet- a sold out show at Marathon Music Works! A little different from a regular tour stop, this performance was part of a monthly, four-city showcase series presented by Rolling Stone called Gather No Moss, and featured support from Hana Vu (special support for this show) and mary in the junkyard (who’ve been touring with Wet Leg).
Unsurprisingly, this show sold out early, and even with two openers, there was a decent crowd already before the first band took the stage. Also hailing from the UK, trio mary in the junkyard kicked things off the on a mellow note. Despite song titles like “goop,” “blood,” and “drains,” the group have a pretty jangly, indie/art rock, low-key sort of vibe, which has a very unique dimension thanks to viola player Saya Barbaglia. Along with guitarist and vocalist Clari Freeman-Taylor, who magnetically commanded the stage, and drummer David Addison, who held down the pocket, the young band sounded really fantastic, and felt like a perfect sonic compliment to Wet Leg (no surprise why they invited them on tour).
After a quick changeover, and as the crowed continued to pack in, it was time for Hana Vu, the one American on the lineup, hailing from Los Angeles. Vu’s been making earnest, heartfelt, and resonant indie rock and pop since her teens, and has been pretty prolific in her releases since the late 2010s, with latest LP Romanticism dropping last year, and a stripped-down EP, Movies, earlier this year. Though Hana’s earlier work was a bit more mellow and lo-fi, Romanticism packs a bit more of a punch and more layered instrumentation, which the singer-songwriter and her band perfectly captured live, delivering a more energetic set than expected, which lots of great musical interplay. Vu played Brooklyn Bowl back in the spring in support of Soccer Mommy, but we’re glad to see her back so soon- she’s an impressive rising star in the indie scene, and her live show is fantastic, helping the crowd get appropriately hyped up for the headlining set to follow.
With the venue now noticeably full, and buzzing with excitement, it was finally time for Wet Leg to take the stage a little after 9, the room hazy with fog and lit with moody, vibey strobe lights. The band, who hail from the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England, previously played both The Basement East and Brooklyn Bowl in 2022, just as their eponymous debut album was becoming a viral hit, and positioning the former duo- vocalist and guitarist Rhian Teasdale and guitarist Hester Chambers- as huge new stars of the indie scene (Wet Leg has since welcomed drummer Henry Holmes, guitarist Josh Mobaraki, and bassist Ellis Durand into the lineup as permanent members, after previously being touring players). A few years later, and Wet Leg feel bigger than ever, returning to Music City after countless tours, festival and television appearances, major awards (including Grammys), and further viral singles. One things that sets this band apart in the indie space, is though while pop-accessible and great at hooks, Wet Leg is a rock band first and foremast, and they perform will all of the energy, freneticism, and unpredictability of a truly live act, which was apparent from the moment they took the stage, and launched into “catch these fists,” from moisturizer.
Rocking gold shorts, pink hair, and a fluorescent green guitar, Teasdale looked immensely cool, and even since the last Wet Leg graced Music City with their presence (which was great), has become a more captivating performer, energetically running around the stage, eliciting singalongs, employing props like a telephone mic, and delivering her songs with a hypnotic emotional intensity. Chambers, rocking a cowboy hat, is just as adept at making a live show extra special, and the pair have excellent chemistry to the point where they almost seem to be able to read each other’s mind, adding subtle flourish to the songs that really elevate them in concert. The rest of the band, too, perform like a tight unit, and certainly seem like they’ve earned their place as permanent members, which felt particularly apparent on the newer material, all of which they were involved in creating. Performing a generous set- all but one of moisturizer‘s 12 tracks, and eight from their debut- Wet Leg sounded impossibly great live, and really seemed to feed off of the energy of the crowd, who loudly cheered and danced and sang along to every word.
From that propulsive opener, Wet Leg took it back with few cuts from their debut, including singalong earworm “Wet Dream” and frenetic noodler “Oh No,” before a few more new tunes like heartfelt dance song “liquidize” and layered jam “jennifer’s body.” From the propulsion of “pond song” to the breezy singalongs of “Ur Mom,” the delicate indie pop of “davina mccall” to the rock and roll riffs of “pillow talk,” the range of Wet Leg is pretty unbelievable, and despite basically playing every single song you could ask for, we still left wanting more. Towards the end of the performance was a long stretch of older stuff, before, of course, breakout single “Chaise Lounge,” which almost certainly promoted the loudest singalongs of the night. Newer cuts “mangetout” and “CPR” would close out the show, and Wet Leg took their exit looking just as grateful and fulfilled from the performance as we felt from witnessing it. Just two albums in, it’s already clear that this group will go down as one of the best and most important indie bands of the decade, and we have no doubt that whenever they return to Nashville- hopefully sooner than later- it’ll be to play for an even bigger crowd. Until next time!
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All photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship
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Setlist:
catch these fists
Wet Dream
Oh No
Supermarket
liquidize
jennifer’s body
Being in Love
pond song
Ur Mum
don’t speak
davina mccall
11:21
pillow talk
u and me at home
Too Late Now
Angelica
Chaise Longue
mangetout
CPR