For 15 years, Dylan Shepherd’s band was as shut as you may get to seeing Oasis onstage.
Shepherd fronts Supersonic, an Oasis tribute act that’s nailed each element of their Manchester heroes’ reside units, from Liam Gallagher’s anorak jacket-bedecked swagger to the exact jangle of his brother Noel‘s guitar. For followers frightened that the famously acrimonious Gallagher brothers would by no means reunite after their chaotic 2009 cut up, Supersonic was a strong different.
By no means has a band been happier to be upstaged.
“Like everybody else, we have been shocked and elated when Oasis introduced they have been getting again collectively,” Shepherd stated. “We got here up with the idea of going and doing a bunch of exhibits in cities simply earlier than them to get individuals much more fired up, if that’s even doable.”
On Friday, simply earlier than Oasis performs the Rose Bowl, Supersonic will headline the Whisky a Go Go, the location of Oasis’ notorious drug-fueled meltdown onstage in 1994. Supersonic will doubtless behave higher than the Gallaghers, however for Angeleno Anglophiles, this week’s revelry is on par with Taylor Swift’s Eras tour or a BTS reunion coming to city.
For one weekend, L.A. will roughly grow to be Manchester with palm timber.
“We went to their first Manchester present in July and it was unbelievable, the ambiance was simply buzzing,” Shepherd stated. “Out of each store window, each bar, you may hear Oasis, and so they sounded higher than they ever have.”
In a time when large pop excursions are the barometer of well being for the reside music business, Oasis’ reunion feels each old school and refreshing — a hard-partying, live-wire rock band is all of a sudden the most popular ticket on the town. The band’s exhibits within the UK remodeled its metropolis facilities with a fervor nearer to nationwide heritage than mere rock band fandom.
Now, for the primary time since 2008, it’s L.A.’s flip.
Anybody who has seen the documentary “Depeche Mode: 101” or attended a Morrissey present with a Chicano-heavy crowd is aware of that L.A. seems for its idols throughout the pond. Some superfans right here couldn’t look ahead to the band to make it over.
“I’ve been a fan because the ‘90s, however I by no means bought to see them again within the day and I’ve simply been ready for them to resolve issues,” stated Rose Ghavami, an L.A. promoter and DJ who flew to the U.Okay. for 2 Oasis exhibits. That wasn’t almost sufficient, although.
Followers of rock band Oasis arrive for an exhibition of photographer Kevin Cummins’ work on the band at Musichead Gallery in West Hollywood on Sept. 4, 2025.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Occasions)
“I’m loopy. I’m going to the Rose Bowl on Saturday after which to see them in Mexico Metropolis the next weekend. Centering travels round these live shows has been super-emotional. I undoubtedly cried alongside with everybody, singing each phrase,” Ghavami stated.
Between these exhibits, she’s internet hosting an Oasis-themed pre-party at Cha Cha Lounge in Silver Lake on Friday. Amongst her contingent of Britpop followers right here, she sees parallels to a different group’s historic sweep of American stadiums.
“I wasn’t round for Beatlemania, however this feels much like that,” Ghavami stated. “It’s often cringe to put on a band’s shirt to their live performance, however this will get a cross as a result of individuals have been head to toe in gear from their bucket hats to their socks. I see individuals strolling down the road right here with Oasis gear, and also you cease one another to ask ‘Are you going to the present?’”
Customers exhibiting off their Oasis merch
(Vivien Killilea)
Certainly, the strains on the Oasis pop-up merch mart in Hollywood have been formidable, as followers rushed to commemorate the reunion they feared may by no means come. The tour’s rapturous opinions — and a notable lack of drama between the Gallaghers — cemented this because the must-see rock occasion of the yr.
Even for seasoned Oasis tour vets, the outpouring of goodwill and camaraderie between the band and followers has been invigorating.
Kevin Cummins is a British photographer who captured the group in its earliest days, simply earlier than releasing its debut LP “Undoubtedly Possibly.” He’s exhibiting pictures from his guide of that period, “Oasis: The Masterplan,” at Musichead Gallery in Hollywood beginning this week. Even he’s stunned by how frictionless and joyful this reunion has been.
“I watch soccer with Noel in England, and we’d talked a couple of reunion on and off over years. He’d at all times say no, it’ll by no means occur, it received’t work,” Cummins stated. “So I used to be as shocked as anyone concerning the scale of those gigs and the reception they’re getting. After I communicate to Noel after the gigs, he says every is healthier than final one. I don’t assume even they fairly imagine how large this has grow to be.”
Cummins has photographed the band for 3 many years, and at all times admired how Oasis followers recognized with their working-class insouciance and biting humor. In a political local weather the place each cultural determine can grow to be immediately polarizing, Oasis’ reunion was the closest factor the U.Okay. bought to a nationwide consensus.
In an L.A. ravaged by fires, ICE and a doom-stricken temper in its hallmark leisure industries, Oasis’ return is a uncommon spectacle to look ahead to as nicely.
Liam Gallagher, left, and Noel Gallagher, proper, from the band Oasis carry out throughout their reunion live performance on Friday, July 4, 2025, in Cardiff.
(Scott A Garfitt / Invision / AP)
“In England, the gigs have been a time of renewal, if that’s not too corny,” Cummins stated. “This yr has been fairly depressing yr politically, so this tour has come alongside and been nice distraction. Oasis has at all times been a band individuals have been fiercely pleased with, and that is like going to soccer recreation the place 80,000 individuals are rooting for identical group.”
All week, L.A. bars and nightclubs have packed their calendars with Oasis-themed events. Regulars at Membership Underground, a decades-long British indie night time now at Grand Star Jazz Membership in Chinatown, would naturally get in on the event.
“Each week, ‘Don’t Look Again in Anger’ is our closing tune,” stated Lawrence Gjurgevich, who throws Membership Underground as DJ Larry G (naturally, they’re throwing a pre-party Friday night time). Affection for Britpop in L.A. “Goes again to the unique KROQ, which performed bands like New Order, the Smiths, the Treatment,” he stated. “There’s at all times been a lineage right here that continues with bands like Arctic Monkeys and Fontaines D.C.”
Gjurgevich misplaced his residence within the Eaton hearth, and whereas he’s buried within the rebuilding course of, these Oasis exhibits are each a respite and a reminder of why he made a life in L.A.’s music scene. “The exhibits are in our yard, which is wonderful,” he stated. “We’re rebuilding and it’s heavy, however this has been one thing to look ahead to, a spot to make new associates.”
Even younger newcomers, who missed Oasis in its boozy ‘90s heyday and 2000s collapse, are compelled by this tour, stated Vacation Kirk, an L.A. promoter, author and memelord (who’s partially accountable for the nu-metal revival amongst Gen Z).
“In case you’re below 25, you don’t bear in mind how omnipresent Oasis was. You couldn’t get away from them, they might park singles at primary by sheer will,” Kirk, who in his early thirties, stated.
Kirk is pivoting to Britpop for an Oasis-heavy pre-party at Gold Diggers on Friday. There’s definitely a nostalgia issue for older followers, but additionally a curiosity from youthful ones a couple of band that slung insults, fists and cocaine in equal measure whereas writing a few of its period’s most affecting songs.
A fan, Rose, appears to be like at British rock band Oasis’ photos shot by photographer Kevin Cummins displayed for an exhibition.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Occasions)
Gen Z followers are “fascinated by the thought of being an uncompromising rock band and conquering the world. That’s thus far out of anybody’s conception of what’s doable as we speak,” Kirk stated. “Are you able to think about Sabrina Carpenter, in an interview, saying she hated Taylor Swift? It’s so enjoyable to assume that you are able to do that and it wouldn’t damage your profession. I’ve seen so many Liam Gallagher fancams on TikTok the place the feedback are like ‘OMG, so babygirl’” — a Gen Z time period of endearment for older males — “as a result of no different frontman has had that swagger since.”
Even for followers disregarded of the Rose Bowl exhibits, the Alamo Drafthouse cinema in downtown L.A. screened the 2016 Oasis documentary “Oasis: Supersonic” this week to supply a style of the band at its incendiary peak.
“There’s such an enchantment for younger audiences to see these cultural paperwork of a world earlier than the movie star grew to become so image-conscious and thoughtful of stakeholders,” stated Jake Isgar, the pinnacle of specialty programming for Alamo Drafthouse. “The Gallagher brothers can’t assist however be themselves, and that’s why individuals are so drawn to them.”
A element of a contact sheet of British rock band Oasis by photographer Kevin Cummins.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Occasions)
Whereas Pasadena would be the heart of the rock and roll universe this weekend, Oasis posted a reside map of pre-parties and band-historic websites in Los Angeles the place the devoted can take a pilgrimage. (Yep, the Whisky is on there.) It’s been a brutal yr for therefore many in L.A., and the prospect to lastly throw again as a lot beer because the Rose Bowl will serve you and scream alongside to “Acquiesce” and “Morning Glory” is proof anybody — even the Gallagher brothers — can discover a option to reconcile and recuperate.
“I’ve seen individuals bringing their kids to those exhibits, a number of generations having communal experiences. I can’t consider one other band that might have this affect,” Ghavami stated. “After ICE raids, fires and political pressure, issues are terrible. We have to convey pleasure again to individuals. One thing easy like one of many biggest rock and roll bands of all time. I’m excited to be alive for it.”
