All around the world, fans are still buzzing from last summer’s Oasis reunion tour, though perhaps none more than the gentlemen of SuperSonic, Toronto’s longtime North American tribute to the Britpop titans. They got the brilliant idea to follow the Gallagher brothers across the continent, performing in the same cities the day prior as an unheralded warm-up for those heading to the Live ’25 dates, or a consolation for the ones who couldn’t get tickets to the stadium gigs.
“Last year felt like this massive wave of excitement building again around the music, the spirit, and the live experience that made those songs so important in the first place,” Dylan Shepherd, SuperSonic’s Liam Gallagher, tells Vanyaland. “Everywhere we’ve played, you can feel people wanting that connection again – that sing-your-heart-out, arms-around-your-mates kind of night – and it’s pushed us to make every show bigger and more emotional than the last.”
At The Sinclair in Cambridge tonight (May 29), SuperSonic set out to recreate one of the most epic weekends in the history of Oasis, when they performed at Knebworth in August 1996 to a quarter of a million fans over two nights. It was a showcase for a band that was at its zenith, both in popularity and musically. SuperSonic will be doing the same setlist Oasis drew up for those shows, front to back, something Shepherd was inspired to do by the Live ’25 dates he saw.
“We managed to catch shows in Manchester, Toronto, and Los Angeles, and each one had its own atmosphere and energy,” he says. “Manchester was obviously something special – you could feel the history in the air – but seeing how massive the reaction was in places like Toronto and LA just proved how universal these songs still are. Every show reminded us how powerful that connection is, and it fired us up even more to bring that same feeling with Knebworth ’96 – Live ’26.”
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Taking their name from the band’s debut single and second-best Oasis song (the moniker “Acquiesce” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it), SuperSonic formed in 2009 and has steadily toured North America since. They’re no strangers to the region, having played legendary indie dance party the pill a decade ago and Sonia one day removed from a year. Perhaps there’s a sort of kinship with the city egregiously left off the docket of locales Oasis visited last summer, in the United States
“Boston has always had one of the most passionate crowds anywhere, so we know a lot of fans felt gutted to miss out on that experience,” Shepherd says. “In a way, that’s made our Knebworth ’96 – Live ’26 tribute tour feel even more important to us – like we owe cities like Boston a proper celebration within a celebration.”
Rumor has it that Oasis is heading back out on tour next summer, ostensibly with missed cities like Boston getting on the list. If they do, expect SuperSonic to repeat the winning formula of tagging along. But if and until then, they’ve got a pretty special night lined up.
“Boston is very much circled on the map for us right now – this one already feels personal,” Shepherd says. “We want this night to feel massive, emotional, loud, nostalgic, and worthy of the fans who were left waiting. If people walk away feeling like they finally got their moment, then we’ve done our job.”
SUPERSONIC + SCOTIA ROSE :: Friday, May 29 at The Sinclair, 52 Church St. in Cambridge, MA :: 8:30 p.m., all ages, $35.55 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
