Words and photos by: Ryan Hill
A Tuesday night in Bristol brought forth Leon Thomas’ Mutts Don’t Heel Tour to the O2 Academy, a night that would be filled with high energy and emphatic highs.
Following the success of his Grammy award winning album, MUTT, Leon Thomas has been on a tour crossing a sold-out America and crossing Europe, with it bringing him landing in Bristol for the first UK leg of the tour. You could tell this was a highly anticipated night as soon as you stepped in the door of the venue, a sold out O2 Academy was packed with style and excitement while everyone awaited the arrival of Leon Thomas to start the show.
The lights dimmed and the car revving sounds that kick off the album with the electric song HOW FAST began and it was met with a roaring cheer from the crowd. Before he joined the stage you could hear his vocal riffs filling out the room as the instrumental built and built until Leon finally was on the stage and straight into the set. Leading immediately into perfected vocal riffs and heavenly guitar solos performed by the band and Leon as he fell to his knees while shredding the guitar performing DANCING WITH DEMONS.
The set continued on with song like: VIBES DON’T LIE, PARTY FAVOURS, I Do and many more to which were all met with immense cheer as they were performed and masterfully played. VIBES DON’T LIE was one of the songs that won Leon Thomas one of his two Grammy’s this year for Best Traditional R&B Performance and his second Grammy was won for Best R&B Album for MUTT.
Taking the crowd through his last couple of releases, Leon Thomas played songs such as, Sneak, Crash & Burn and Breaking Point from his 2023 release, Electric Dusk and songs like, MY MUSE, from his 2025 released EP, PHOLKS, you could definitely tell that the crowd were more than happy with the setlist as Leon introduced each song it was always met with great reception.
Every song had so much of the crowd moving and singing the words back to Leon as he put on a masterclass in performing while on his bedazzled stage that featured two pillars that acted like disco balls and a gem filled silver backdrop that made the lights dance around the room. The incredible sounds were continued as the night began to draw to a close, but not before Leon could play his biggest song he’s released, the title track for the album, MUTT. It, of course, was met with the loudest response as you could feel the entire crowd had been looking forward to this one, the song has gathered almost 400 million streams and was a song that really brought Leon Thomas to the forefront of the R&B conversation for who is dominating it currently. Leon was lit in full red with spotlights on stage and in the crowd creating an almost royal feel to this night and you really felt it for being able to experience the set that was played for everyone. But unfortunately, MUTT, did signal the end of the night and as Leon said his goodbyes, he and his band made an exit as they left their stamp on Bristol and gave everyone an electric night of music and good vibes.
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