Arkayla at Green Door Store, Brighton: Live Review

Date of gig: 9th October 2026
Venue: Green Door Store, Brighton

Green Door Store is dingy, dirty and sticky underfoot. It’s also one of my favourite places to see live music. It’s small, it’s cool, and the sound is always great. Add Arkayla to that, and I was always going to have a good evening.

Raynor got things going with songs full of immediate hooks and choruses that stick after one listen. Some great guitar work too, including a solo played with the guitar balanced on the guitarist’s head. I’m always going to enjoy that.

Arkayla sounded fantastic. Fin’s guitar was a highlight throughout, and Joe’s bass playing was flawless, as I’ve come to expect. I already rate this band so highly, and being able to hear everyone so clearly made watching them all the more enjoyable. Then there’s Cal’s voice. He sounded amazing as usual, which is impressive enough before you find out how ill he was feeling.

I kept finding myself watching Dylan, too. There were some brilliant moments of drumming flair during "Vivian" that pulled my focus towards the back of the stage.Plenty going on up front, but I didn’t want to miss what he was doing behind them. At one point, Cal gave his grandad a shout-out and pointed him out in the crowd. Turns out he was standing next to me. We got chatting, and I told him his grandson was a superstar. He said this was the first Arkayla gig he’d seen, but he’d be coming to more after this one. A very wholesome moment in a very sticky room.

New, unreleased song "The Middle" was a highlight. Cal moved to the piano for something that sounded different from their usual material, and I loved it. These guys are incapable of writing anything other than a great song. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves playing it, with Dylan going crazy behind the kit. I’d happily have heard that one again there and then.

We were told during the set that Cal was ill, but he said he couldn’t let Brighton down, good man. Speaking to him afterwards, I can confirm he looked rough, and he told us he was feeling very unwell. How he’d managed to sing like that was beyond me. You’d have had very little idea from the performance he’d given. They ended up having to cancel the gig in Cardiff the next day, so I feel very lucky to have caught the last performance of the tour!

Arkayla are becoming one of those bands I’ll make a point of seeing whenever I can, and their newly announced tour means plenty more people will get to find out why. Bigger rooms already, and thoroughly deserved. If they’re playing near you, go.

Alex Battman
Contributor, BritRock Heaven