Tuesday 25th November saw Northern Irish indie rock band Ash make an explosive return to Oxford’s O2 Academy as part of their Ad Astra tour, promoting their latest album of the same name, supported by alternative indie band Big Image.
Most well known for their early 2000s hits such as “Burn Baby Burn” and “Shining Light”, Ash have returned in 2025 with Ad Astra, in which they manage to effortlessly fuse the high energy nostalgia of their earlier work and style with a fresh feel and modern take. It’s a cold Tuesday evening in November yet the room is pleasantly full; the atmosphere buzzing, and the crowd has a pleasingly diverse age range, showcasing Ash’s universal appeal.
Starting off the evening are Birmingham based four-piece Big Image, who do an excellent job of warming up the Oxford crowd. Their retro feel is already prevalent even before they begin, the stage adorned with flashing analogue televisions. It is never easy to open for a band as well established and as dominant as Ash, and it’s obvious the majority of people in the room aren’t familiar with Big Image yet. Their music is a beautiful and eclectic blend of easy listening alternative indie dance, capturing the essence of late 90s and early 2000s floaty synth – and the crowd instantly catches on.
This is a band who are reaching new levels. Already well established across the festival scene, their presence, energy and performance is elevated and electrifying. They ease the crowd in to the evening perfectly with their chilled out vibe and infectious melodies, raising the tempo when needed and offering flashes of a faster pace to get people moving and hyped for what is coming next. The crowd reacts instinctively, an accord established, and everyone is swaying along to this immaculately curated sense of nostalgia in musical form. Big Image may not have been well known in Oxford at the start of the evening, but their undeniable stage presence and addictive melodies mean they certainly won’t be forgotten about afterwards.
When headliners Ash take to the stage, the room is absolutely packed and the atmosphere is palpable. Beginning their set with a statement they launch straight into new album opener “Zarathustra”. The theme of the evening is to be an atmosphere of newness tinged with a comforting familiarity and juxtaposition. Mellow but with undeniable fervent energy. At times, it is different. But it is unmistakably them. They lift the crowd, free-spirited but still tight, their years of experience blending perfectly with their introduction to their new material.
The setlist is well thought out, going from new to old and back again, incorporating interest and wonder of the new with “Ah. There they are”. They showcase lots of new material upfront but intersperse enough classics to make the audience remember exactly who they are watching. They clearly have a loyal fan base here, as there are an abundance of people singing along to everything, despite some of the material being so new. There is also an excellent variety of songs – from instrumental, mellow and slow, to faster paced high energy numbers that get the room moving – Ash are veterans at work.
“Shining Light” was always going to take things up a notch and it does so instantly. You can see the band feeding off the energy from the crowd, struggling to contain their smiles as they sing and play. Taking us all the way back to 94 with “Uncle Pat” from their first mini album, they have something to please fans who have been there at every stage of the journey – there really is something for everyone. It’s pleasing to see a band with such an enduring career still clearly really enjoying what they do and not taking themselves too seriously. The crowd barely needs Tim Wheeler’s encouragement to crack out their best Beetlejuice dance moves as he powers straight into an epic cover of “Jump In The Line”.
The crowd are slowly but endlessly moving like a rippling tide or a throbbing heartbeat, even between songs. This was music as an entity, distinctive vocals, catchy beats, haunting guitar and almost violent levels of bass that pierced to the very core and demanded to be felt. Title track “Ad Astra” provided an emotive, ambient transcendence and showcased their incredible ability to change direction and evoke different emotions. From slow and swaying, they change again, and “Kung Fu” has the whole room bouncing.
Finishing with 2001 anthem “Burn Baby Burn” to the utter delight of the crowd, Ash put on a statement, stellar performance that provided us all with a reminder of relevance. The room went absolutely crazy at the opening notes, everyone jumping, beers flung, inhibitions left behind. Ash left us with a pure appreciation for excellent music from an era defining genre without being era-cast. “Ad Astra” proves that they are re-establishing this genre, this era, and showcasing it for a newer audience to enjoy. They are fast paced but not fraught. They are loud but not brutal. It’s uplifting, not exhausting. When the final song finishes, everyone is visibility energised from the experience. As a band who have played in Oxford many times over the years, it is clear that Ash’s appeal is still as strong as ever.
Words & images: Kate Elfström
