Dogstar at Roundhouse

Dogstar at Roundhouse, London — 2026-06-13

Dogstar’s Roundhouse show unfolded without self-importance, letting patience, space and the trio’s easy camaraderie carry the evening.

Dogstar’s Roundhouse show felt remarkably free of expectation.

That might sound strange for a band featuring Keanu Reeves, playing a London date in support of a new album, but there was very little sense of occasion in the conventional sense. No grand speeches about the band’s return, no attempts to frame All In Now as a defining statement, and no obvious effort to separate the new material from everything that came before it.

Instead, the band played like three people who have settled into their own rhythm. There was an authenticity to the performance that came from its lack of self-importance; Dogstar seemed far more interested in playing the songs than in making a statement about themselves.

The new material dominated the set without announcement or fanfare. “Joy”, “Wing”, “This Sphere”, “Exalted” and the title track arrived without the usual “here’s one from the new record” framing that often creates an invisible divide between audience and band. Frontman Bret Domrose anchored the performance throughout, his understated delivery perfectly suited to songs that revealed their strengths gradually rather than demanding immediate attention.

If there is a defining characteristic of All In Now, it is patience. Produced by Nick Launay, the record avoids the compressed urgency that dominates much contemporary rock. The songs take their time, allowing texture and mood to carry as much weight as hooks. Live, that quality became one of the evening’s strengths. Songs stretched out, settled in and occasionally drifted into one another, giving the set a sense of flow that rarely felt rushed or overly structured.

Keanu Reeves remains an unusual presence on stage. Not because he is arguably one of the most famous actors of our time, but because he appears entirely uninterested in behaving like someone who is. While eyes inevitably gravitate towards him, Dogstar operate as a genuinely democratic trio. At several points, it was possible to forget that the bassist standing stage left was one of the most recognisable figures in popular culture. Reeves stopped feeling like the reason many people had bought a ticket and simply became part of the band.

Fletchr Fletchr proved a smart choice of support. Their sharper, more restless sound acted almost like a palate cleanser before Dogstar’s slower-burning approach took over.

Near the end of the set, drummer Robert Mailhouse paused to introduce the band before “Exalted”. It was a brief exchange, almost throwaway in nature, but revealing nonetheless. Throughout the evening, Dogstar had projected an easy camaraderie that rarely needed to be announced. For one of the few times all night, it was spoken aloud.

Looking at the setlist beforehand, the structure seemed almost random. In practice, it made perfect sense. Songs from All In Now sat comfortably beside older material because there was little sense of the band drawing distinctions between them. Everything belonged to the same story.

By the closing moments, with “Punch The Sky”, “Shallow Easy” and “Breach” still to come after the main set, the atmosphere inside the Roundhouse felt remarkably settled. Rather than building towards a dramatic conclusion, the set simply continued to unfold on its own terms.

The final run of songs reinforced what had been apparent throughout the evening; Dogstar have little interest in controlling the audience’s experience. There were no obvious peaks, no carefully engineered pay-offs, and no sense of a band looking back over its shoulder. Instead, the set unfolded at its own pace, comfortable with silence, space and understatement. The Roundhouse simply followed along.

Setlist

Siren / Lust / How The Story Ends / Everything Turns Around / Joy / Wing / This Sphere / Blonde / Glimmer / Math / The Whisper / Shards of Rain / Exalted / Runway / What Is / Marmalade / All In Now

Encore

Punch The Sky / Shallow Easy / Breach

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