Irish indie rock band Inhaler took the stage at the Columbiahalle in Berlin, Germany, as part of their Open Wide Europe Tour on May 3rd 2025. The four-piece band from Dublin has recently released their third album titled ‘Open Wide’ in February this year. The album was recorded with producer Kid Harpoon, who has worked with Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, and Florence & the Machine. The band stepped out of their comfort zone with this album, exploring a new sound and musical direction. The band consists of Elijah Hewson (vocals/guitar), son of U2’s lead singer Bono, Josh Jenkinson (guitar), Robert Keating (bass), and Ryan McMahon (drums). They are accompanied by Louis Lambert (keys) on stage while on tour. McMahon told NME that they finally ‘‘sound like the Band that we want to sound like’’ and how ‘‘there‘s a strong sense of arrival’’ for the band with their latest release. 

Watching their live show, it is clear that they have evolved musically and in their stage presence from their last tour in 2023 for their second album ‘Cuts & Bruises’. The setlist was a good mix of old songs, fan favorites, as well as songs from their new album, such as ‘Eddie In The Darkness’, ‘X-Ray’, ‘Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)’, or ‘The Charms’. The four-piece band also surprised the audience by playing a highly requested song by their fans called ‘In My Sleep’ from their first album ‘It Wont Always Be Like This’ released in 2021, which hadn‘t been played in Europe in a long time before that night. The front row was filled with young girls, singing along, jumping, and dancing throughout the whole gig, giving the band the energy to feed off from. Fans had been queuing all day, allegedly since around midnight, to secure a good spot and get as close as possible to the boys on stage. At the back of the venue, as well as on the balcony, the crowd was more diverse, seemingly getting older towards the back, as many U2 fans usually gather to Inhaler’s gigs to watch Bono’s sons‘ band live. 

Inhaler were supported by British indie pop band Blossoms from Stockport, Manchester. The band consists of Tom Ogden (vocals), Charlie Salt (bass), Myles Kellock (keys), Joe Donovan (drums), and Josh Dewhurts (guitar). The two bands have known each other for years now and have become close friends. Odgen told Extra.ie “Inhaler used to support us, we’ve got the same management. They’re a great bunch of lads. They told us they used to listen to us in school. We‘re really good pals… They played for us in Olympia in 2018. If you look back now, they looked like kids and now they‘re fully formed rockstars”. Blossoms have released their latest and fifth studio album titled ‘Gary’ in September 2024. The song ‘Gary’ was written about an 8ft fibreglass Gorilla named Gary, which was reported missing. Tom Odgen had heard about this on the radio and was inspired to write a song about the incident. Blossoms are an amazing live band, very heavy on performance with a captivating stage presence. The performance almost theatrical at times, but it works amazingly for the band, and Odgen’s stage presence is fascinating to watch.