On Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026, the UK's Delta Sleep made a stop while on their tour in Durham, North Carolina. They performed at Durham's beloved Motorco Music Hall with fellow bands, Combat and Michael Cera Palin. This tour kicked off on June 4th and will be running until June 28th.
COMBAT
To get the night started off with an energetic start, Combat took the stage at precisely 7:30PM. Combat is an indie-punk/emo band based out of Baltimore, Maryland. While I personally don't prefer this genre usually, I can appreciate the technical instrumental prowess this band possesses! My friend in the crowd stood watching with his mouth agape as these lads performed. He even exclaimed to me after the set, "These guys were like the technical death metal version of this genre!" This band was full of angsty energy and even got people crowd-surfing and moshing, which I don't think I have ever seen happen at a show at Motorco! The crowd seemed to really enjoy this set, and it got them all hyped up for the remainder of the night.
MICHAEL CERA PALIN
Next to take the stage was Michael Cera Palin, another indie punk/emo band based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Not only is their name incredibly funny, but they put on a great show! This style of indie punk is definitely more up my alley and welcomed a calmer, more collected vibe to enter the venue. This band sounded closer to the reasons why I love Delta Sleep so much! I was also shocked to see the bassist, Jon Williams, had just finished performing with Combat on guitar and immediately set up on stage to play this set! With his bass strap hiked up so high, I knew he was about to lay down some good tunes and that he meant business, and that he did. I thought this set was amazing, and the crowd also seemed to enjoy it a lot too. To continue to add to the shock, they also performed a cover of Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy," which was a blast from the past for me personally. I don't think I have ever seen that song covered at a math rock/indie punk show before, but I enjoyed it a lot! They played other songs such as "Boots n Cats," "Laughing Makes It Worse," and "We Could Be Brave." Overall, I thought that this set was great to set the tone for Delta Sleep!
DELTA SLEEP
To finish out the night, Delta Sleep hopped on stage around 9PM. Delta Sleep is a math rock band currently based out of Brighton, England. This isn't their first rodeo with headlining tours in the United States, and definitely not their first time performing in North Carolina! The crowd welcomed them warmly, as they started off their set with "Sultans of Ping" and "El Pastor." They even performed their recent single, "Unread."
This set was full of all of the songs any Delta Sleep fan could ever dream of hearing them perform! As a long-time fan, I was happy to hear material spanning from throughout their entire discography. They played all of their hits, including songs such as "Camp Adventure," "Planet Fantastic," "Old Soul," "Spy Dolphin," and "The Detail." With many of their songs containing so many wonderful narrative story-based lyrics, it was so pleasant hearing the crowd sing along with the band all night too.
Delta Sleep truly always has such a wonderful vibe, and they are always amazing to see perform live! I am always excited to see drummer Dave Morgan shredding away through the whole set and would even consider him one of my favorite current drummers! He's not the only one putting in work on stage, though; every member is always so energetic and looks like they are thoroughly enjoying the music as well. Unfortunately, the night did have to come to a close. They summed up the set by performing "Lake Sprinkle Sprankle" as their encore song, which was a delightful treat and great way to end the night!
Delta Sleep has two shows left on this US headlining tour. If you're in Asbury Park, New Jersey, you're in for quite a treat tonight, as Delta Sleep has announced they are going to be a "Soft Sounds" performance for this show. "Soft Sounds" was a video series/record that was released during the pandemic that was filled with lofi performances that they got worldwide footage from. They only picked 6 locations on this tour to perform this set at, and each of the tickets for these sets includes "Soft Sounds" on vinyl, a tote, and a screenprint.
This tour will conclude tomorrow night in Baltimore, Maryland.
If you need more of a Delta Sleep fix while waiting patiently for Delta Sleep to return to the US, please check out their recent single, "Unread," below!
