Bears in Trees in Hamburg – A Room Full of Inclusion and Celebration

Bears in Trees, a band from Croydon, London, played at Nochtwache in Hamburg on February 27th, 2026, joined by Soot Sprite as their support act. It was the last show of their "Tour Is Unlikely" tour, and with that also the final show on their first European tour. Just before this tour, they released their latest EP, Success Is Monumental.

First on stage for the evening was Soot Sprite, a band from Exeter. The band is made up of four members, namely Alex Hall (guitar), Elise Cook (vocals, guitar), and Sean Mariner (bass), joined by Harry Menear (drums) on this past tour run. The first song they played carries the same name as their last album: "Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon" and was received with massive cheers! They then went on to play "All My Friends Are Depressed" and "Days After Days". Elise thanked the crowd for having come down early to their show and later on expressed gratitude to Bears in Trees for having them on tour.

The last song they played was "Vicious Cycles". The band went off-stage after a heartfelt "Thank you so much, Free Palestine!" by Elise. Fans with particularly keen eyes might have also noticed a small Palestine flag on Alex’s guitar strap throughout the set.

Not much later, for the last time on this tour, it was time for Bears in Trees to get on stage. When the pre-show playlist faded out along with the lights, the crowd erupted in excited screams. The band's members, namely Iain Gillespie on vocals and bass, Callum Lichtfield on vocals, Nicholas 'Nick' Peters on guitar, and George Berry on drums, entered. They opened their set with "Left, Right, Goodnight!", then went on to play "Things That Look Like Mistakes". Iain then talked about it being the last show on their tour and noted that, two songs in, the crowd is already singing along loudly.

Before playing "Some Character Development", Callum did a quick vibe check with the audience. The cheers that he received without a doubt proved how good an evening everyone was having. He, just like Iain before, remarked how energetic and loud the crowd was from the get-go. After the song, Iain surprised a fan in the crowd by wishing them a happy 25th birthday.

A lot of jokes and good vibes came from the stage this evening. The band joked about how they would do a musical at some point in the future and introduced their next song, "Heard It In A Dream", by saying, "until then, you’re just gonna have songs like this, musicalesque". After playing "I Can’t See Anything I Don’t Like About You", the band started asking the fans who travelled the furthest to the show. They concluded it must be someone who had travelled from Michigan, USA. 

For the next song, "We Drop A Stitch Sometimes", people started singing along right from the first note. Callum jokingly said, "You’re crazy". Before "Reverberate", Iain explained that it’s about the love they have for their friends and how one can be truly themselves in a friendship. Fans kept on applauding after the song.

Nick thanked the crowd and said he's "at a loss for words." He also said that the weight of the band was a lot last year and said it might be contradicting since they’re "just a silly little dirtbag boyband." On the other hand, he mentioned they’re all "much more than that."

This band is our history, it is our adolescence, it is our adult lives, it’s the way we process what has happened to us, it is our joy, it is our dream.

He finished his speech by expressing gratitude on behalf of everyone in the band for being able to play the show and be in the position they are in, also recognizing the fans' importance in this. Iain went on to explain that the weight he mentioned came from a place of looking for and focusing on recognition and success in places and an industry where people did not have their best interests in mind. However, to him and the other members, looking around in a room like they were in right now, their "success already felt monumental."

Then Bears in Trees went on to play "Large Hadron Collider". After that song, two fans got to come on stage to play Mario Kart against each other, one on team Nick and one on team Iain, while the band performed their song "Incredible Speed". Team Nick ended up winning! 

Towards the end of the set, Iain once again thanked the crowd for being there. They also talked about the rise of hatred and oppression in the world and their disdain for this happening:

In the world that we currently live in, it is so beautiful for me to be in a room with strange people, of freaks, of misfits, of weirdos, of trans people, and queer people. It is so beautiful that you’re all here alive today. Thank you for being alive with me!

They strongly voiced their belief in a better world being possible if communities like the Bears in Trees fanbase, one where everyone is welcomed, continue to be built.

As a surprise, the band added "Apathy Is Boring" to the set, and before they started with the last song of the evening and of the tour, "Fresh Concrete", Callum thanked venue staff, Soot Sprite and their crew, Hayley and Alex, on behalf of everyone in the band. When the song ended, the crowd cheered the loudest they had all night.

They took a group photo, with fans waving their hands in the air, and walked off stage. It was a room where everyone was free to be themselves; people could be carefree and have the best time through a night full of celebration.