New Hope Club, a British pop trio, brought an energetic and euphoric close to their tour at House of Blues’ Voodoo Room on Oct. 22. 

The band, composed of members Blake Richardson, Reece Bibby and George Smith, have been together for nine years. 

Formed in 2015, the band jump-started their career by posting covers on YouTube. Their videos have accumulated over 900 million views, according to Hollywood Records.  

Following their viral rise, they opened for The Vamps in 2016 and 2017. Since then, they have continued to release new music, becoming especially active after moving from the United Kingdom to Los Angeles in 2023.

In the past two months, they’ve released two new songs and toured with four shows in the UK and six in the US.

San Diego marked the final stop for the trio, with eager fans lined up hours before doors opened.

Actress and singer Bailee Madison was also in attendance to support her boyfriend, Richardson. As she entered the venue, Madison smiled and waved to fans who gasped and covered their mouths in shock. 

The energy in the Voodoo Room was high before New Hope Club took the stage. The opener, The Band Light, a rock group, gave an ear-popping and head banging performance. The energy was so intense that Konnor Dolberry, the group’s lead singer, broke a string on his guitar. 

Following up was Haven Madison, a pop singer who was on American Idol in 2023. In her sparkly mesh shirt, she graced the stage with powerful vocals and meaningful lyrics.

After an hour and a half, New Hope Club took the stage and opened with an old hit “Fixed.” 

The song is from their first EP “Welcome to the Club” which was released in 2017. It was evidently a classic fan favorite. 

From the first chord, fans passionately sang along to the love song. Everytime the key lyric of the chorus “you got me fixed on you” was sung, fans would point to members of the band.

New Hope Club kept the energy alive by playing “L.U.S.H.” and “Love Again” filling the room with their harmonious voices and upbeat tunes. 

“Thank you again for being out here on a Tuesday night,” Smith said. 

The crowd echoed with impressions of his English accent, mimicking the way he said Tuesday. 

Smith fed into the crowds’ teasing, responding with a British phrase, “Tuesday innit.” 

“That’s what you came here for isn’t it? To laugh at us?” said Bibby, smiling. 

Exchanging jokes and banter between songs, the trio’s onstage chemistry invited the audience to laugh along with them. Their lightheartedness and wit created an intimate atmosphere. 

From there, the band transitioned into playing “Trouble in Paradise” which was recently released on Sept. 6, a few weeks before their tour began. 

Despite the theme of feeling lost and disappointed, the rhythmic mixture of the drums and guitar created a strong beat that fans swayed along to. Maintaining the same energy, the band followed with another older fan favorite “Worse.” 

“Don’t Go Wasting Time,” a slower song laced with sentimental emotions, changed up the atmosphere. Fans sang the heartfelt lyrics in harmony with the band while lighting up their flashlights. 

Once the song concluded fans yelled a series of “I love you’s” to the members. Flustered by the comments, Smith wrongly announced the next song before being corrected by Richardson. They shared a laugh, evident that it wasn’t his first time making that mistake.

“It’s not dance time yet,” said Richardson. “But should we play a cover for you? Any moms and dads in the audience–this one’s for you.” 

The band covered “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones, an iconic hit from the 1960s. Throughout their music career, the band has shared how much they love to draw inspiration from 60s rock music. 

After the cover, New Hope Club called on the audience to dance, going as far as to encourage fans to spread out so they could have more space to move.

Performing “Whatever,” “Walk It Out” and “I Like Your Face” brought an adrenaline rush type of energy to the crowd. The groovy and heavy hitting bass lines had the audience actively dancing and jumping despite the fatigue of standing in general admission for hours. 

The exciting discography didn’t end there. Next on their setlist was “Medicine,” a song marked as a competition to see which show can sing the lyrics the loudest. Richardson, as the last chorus played, brought the crowd’s volume to its peak by hovering his mic over the audience. 

The next set of songs captured the essence of summer. “Who Are You,” (an unreleased track) “Getting Better” and “Swimming with Sharks” highlighted the group’s strength of pairing catchy lyrics with their smooth voices. 

“Swimming with Sharks,” was released on Oct. 18, only a few days before the concert. From holding up a sign that read “Play Swimming with Sharks” to paper cutouts of sharks wearing party hats—fans showed they literally couldn’t wait to hear this song live.

“There’s sharks in the room?” Bibby said, after they finished playing the song and noticed the paper shark cutouts. 

“They’re having the time of their lives,” the fan said in response. 

This prompted a spontaneous sing-along of “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner, before the band moved into playing one of their last songs “Permission.” 

“We love you so much. It is so crazy that we can come to San Diego when we are from small towns in England,” Richardson said. “We will see you again.” 

After leaving fans with that promise, the band played their final two songs “Call Me A Quitter” and “Know Me Too Well.” 

The trio threw their guitar picks into the audience, giving select fans a lucky chance to keep the souvenir, before taking their final bow of the tour.