2026/05/14 – Lights – o2 Academy 2, Birmingham
Photo & Review: G. Rossington.
Four years after her last stop in Birmingham, Lights was back in the city as part of her Come Get Your Girl World Tour—and it felt like a proper “welcome back” moment. With her newly released A6EXPANDED album (an expanded edition of her 2025 sixth record, A6), the audience got exactly what they came for: a fast-paced, feel-good set packed with fan favourites and big singalong moments.
In a format that’s becoming more common, there was no support act, so the night got moving quickly. Lights came on stage at around 8:30pm, and there was a clear promise that everything would be wrapped up by 10pm. Good news for anyone planning transport home or juggling work the next day—she kept to schedule.
Even with the earlier start and firm finish time, the show didn’t feel short-changed. The performance ran for about 90 minutes and still managed to fit in a jam-packed 21-song set, with barely any downtime.
This Birmingham date was the penultimate night of the UK run, and it showed in the best way—tight, confident, and well-rehearsed. A big chunk of the set leaned into the latest era, with tracks from the new release getting a warm reception from the intimate crowd.
Highlights from the newer material included: ‘Come Get Your Girl’, ‘Final Round’, ‘Surface Tension’ and ‘Alive Again’.
It wasn’t just a showcase for the latest album. Lights also made sure her back catalogue got a proper look-in, pulling songs from all five previous albums. She also included her duets ‘Batshit’ with Myth and ‘Love Me’ with Felix Cartel, which helped keep the set varied and gave fans a bit of everything.
One of the standout throwback moments came early on from Siberia, where she performed a medley featuring: ‘Timing Is Everything’, ‘Flux and Flow’ and ‘We Were Here’.
And if you’re a PEP fan, you were well looked after too. Tracks from that album were among the biggest highlights of the night, with ‘Prodigal Daughter’ getting an especially strong reaction.
If you’ve seen Lights before, you’ll know she doesn’t just perform at the audience—she pulls everyone into it. Throughout the night she kicked off quick call-and-response moments that had the room joining in without hesitation.
She also stepped into the crowd a couple of times, and at one point she crouched down with everyone before standing back up and triggering a burst of energy that turned into a lively little mosh. It was one of those moments that feels spontaneous, even when you know it’s part of the show’s rhythm.
The encore had a fun story attached: Lights brought out a keytar that had apparently been missing for almost 10 years, only to be found again at her parents’ home. After a quick test, she launched into a high-energy version of ‘Up We Go’, which set the tone perfectly for the final stretch.
The night then closed with ‘Education’ from A6, rounding things off neatly and keeping the momentum right to the end.
True to the promise, everything was completed by 10pm, which made the whole experience feel well-managed and customer-friendly—high energy, but still easy to plan around.
Now we just have to hope it won’t be another four years before Lights is back on British shores.
A6EXPANDED by Lights is available now.
