The Camden Assembly, overflowing with cowboy hats, checkered shirts, Metal band T-shirts and beer, could mean only one thing: Lakeview are in London, and the Brits are ready to prove they belong in the Home Team. It was a night of drinking with friends, country bangers infused with Metal brilliance, and barn-dancing mosh pits.
Lakeview – Pip Marsh
The Camden Assembly – 1 December 2024
Words: Lucy Dunnet
Photography: Antonio Giannattasio
Is there a better way to hype up a crowd for your stage entrance than getting them all to sing Wheeler Walker Jr.’s “Drop ‘em out, let me see them titties”? Lakeview do not think so, and neither do we. With the outrageous country mood set, Lakeview were met with cheers, cowboy hat tilts and hands all over the place.
Hits Different and LOSER took first and second place in the set, and it was evident within moments of them being on stage that Luke Healy and Jesse Denaro really were living the dream. The fans gave them a run for their money, though, as to who was having a better time, with a mosh pit breaking out almost instantly and honouring the Metal elements of their country music. 
The power of Jesse and Luke’s vocals, accompanied by their effortless stage navigation and command of The Camden Assembly, was utterly mesmerising. Whether moshing, swaying, or some hands-on-hips and line dancing action, the crowd didn’t stop moving for a moment.
Wrong Side Of The Track had everyone singing along, and Lakeview’s absurdly catchy single, Money Where Your Mouth Is, was full of ‘country rage’ and caused particular carnage – especially when Luke reached into the crowd and heaved a Gideon T-shirt-wearing screamer to join them for the bridge. 
While Jesse Denaro and Luke Healy are the Lakeview power duo, they couldn’t be putting on the epic shows that they are without their band, made up of Jordan Tomb, Cory Muro and Alex Drizos, and they ensured we knew this. Clad in matching blue worker outfits, with their names stitched into the breast pockets, this was a band that knew the meaning of hard work and never forgetting your roots no matter how far you may have come.
“This country music thing we do over in the States, it belongs to the world.” Lakeview infused every song with unbridled intensity and authentic love for their music and fans. A love which The Camden Assembly threw right back at them. The power of this blue-collar Metalcore country duo is that they have created music for the working class, with an appeal to the class of the world. 
Luke gave a passionate introduction to the stadium hit Home Team, but when his question, “Who out there works hard to support your family?” was responded to with very few hands raised, laughter erupted, and he followed up with, “Do you guys not have jobs?” Hopefully, he realised that we probably do have jobs and try to support our families; we were just momentarily distracted by Lakeview’s magnificence. 
London tried hard to scream our lungs to the tissue and earn our place on the Home Team. The mosh pit was accompanied by strobe lights, which made it a place of confusion, excitement, and odd encounters with strangers—much like a lot of life. It was a performance worthy of every fan’s fantasies, in an intimate setting that we will have to cherish as Lakeview’s future is set for great big things and places. 
Jesse warned us: “We have one song left, and there won’t be an encore because those are cheesy.” So, when the guitar intro to Son of A broke through the silence, the energy soared, and London had one last jam to their favourite Metal country music.
However, Lakeview had one final trick up their sleeve and invited everyone to get up on the stage with them. Fans stormed to the front and, with his expert human lifting skills, Luke helped them up; Jesse seemed to use this moment to sneak off. 
Whether you are a fan of country music or not, a Metalhead or just a head, Lakeview are a band you need to get blasting from your speakers immediately.
Pip Marsh
With two singles currently to his name, Pip Marsh is a rising alt-country artist setting out to prove that the UK has a place on the country music stage. Despite being a two-person outfit, with just drummer Rory Levell on stage with him, Pip Marsh filled the space with his outlandish personality and evident passion for the alternative country music scene. 
Sporting a Lakeview ‘support blue collar’ band T-shirt, Marsh stormed onto the stage and immediately commanded: “London, let’s fucking scream!” The diehard Lakeview fans filling the crowd responded, and Pip Marsh was given a respectable reception. The short set offered some catchy tunes – top ten country chart debut Happy? has since been added to our cowboy playlist – a sprinkling of emotion and a whole lot of laughter. 
“Raise your hands if you’re thinking ‘who is this skinny, emo, redneck, heroin chic-looking motherfucker,’” and the immediate raising of all hands in the room was an entertaining ice breaker; what Pip Marsh lacked in experience or fame he made up for in self-deprecating comedic value and persistent crowd interaction. 
Following Pip Marsh’s emotive performance of Married To Gasoline, which was dedicated to his father, whom he lost last year, he lightened the mood back up with the ridiculous tale of how he introduced Lakeview to their first-ever crumpets in Manchester. However, they quickly discovered the toaster was broken, so Luke Healy of Lakeview, a very manly man “like myself [Marsh]”, suggested they cook them on an iron.
We look forward to hearing what this emo redneck comes up with next.
