Live Review: Fletchr Fletchr at The Deaf Institute, Manchester — 18/11/2025

With support from The Kites

Story by Matthew Murray

19/11/2025

If you wanted proof that Fletchr Fletchr are levelling up, their sold-out Deaf Institute show delivered it in spades — a night of grit, heart, and the kind of electric promise you only catch at the tipping point.

There are few better ways to spend a cold Manchester evening than cramming into the Deaf Institute’s ground floor, shoulder-to-shoulder with about 70 eager punters and a pint that costs more than you’d like to admit (£7.90, which certainly felt like the most expensive beer in a while). But for Fletchr Fletchr’s headline set — with support from rising indie hopefuls The Kites — the crowd seemed more than willing to pay the tariff. They kicked things off with Find Happiness, the lead track from their new EP — a song carrying a distinct Sam Fenderish punch, all earnest indie grit and windswept emotional clarity. Their inclusion of an alto sax, which occasionally drifted into toy-instrument timbre, added a curious charm rather than a distraction. Frontman Rohan Fletcher leaned heavily into hand-gesticulation-as-emotional-amplifier, carving the air with open-palmed sincerity. Between songs, the band explained their “nightmare journey” — apparently stuck on a ferry for hours somewhere, leaving them tired but not short on humour. Any frustration was forgotten once Matter of Time kicked in, a track brimming with energy and already lodged in the heads of several attendees who sang along like devoted early adopters. The set’s most affecting moment arrived with an acapella rendition of All I Know, taken from the forthcoming EP. Stripped of everything but voices, it held the room in that rare, collective hush — the sort where everyone unconsciously takes a small step back to give the moment space. Impassioned barely covers it. They closed out with For the Record, described by the band as a “victory lap,” and honestly it lived up to the billing: bright, uplifting, and unmistakably the work of a group finding their stride. From Home, their first-ever release, followed — buoyed by a small cluster of happily drunk fans at the front who were clearly friends of the band, shouting every word with slightly chaotic devotion. Before the final song, Fletcher dedicated 'Life' to his dad — a quiet, sincere moment that was met with warm applause rather than theatrics. It grounded the set beautifully and revealed the emotional heart that drives their songwriting. By the time they wrapped, Fletchr Fletchr had not only warmed the room but wired it. If tonight is anything to go by, they’re on the cusp of something bigger — and very ready for lift-off.