Jungle

West London beginnings, built for the stage

Jungle began in west London in 2013, the work of childhood neighbours Josh Lloyd‑Watson and Tom McFarland who initially hid behind the initials “J” and “T”. Early press emphasised the mystery while focusing on the music’s groove and the striking, dancer‑led videos: The Heat co‑starred skaters High Rollaz; Platoon featured then six‑year‑old B‑Girl Terra. By November 2013, before most people knew who was in the band, their first London show sold out on the pull of two singles and those videos. What audiences met onstage was not a laptop act but a full live outfit—typically seven players—designed to translate meticulously built studio tracks into something communal. (Guardian, 21 November 2013.)

The self‑titled debut album arrived on 14 July 2014 via XL Recordings and put Jungle squarely into that year’s conversation, shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in September 2014. Busy Earnin’ crossed into the mainstream through TV and advertising, but the calling card was the overall sound—sleek, mid‑tempo funk and falsetto harmonies framed by a visual identity already baked into the project. (XL Recordings; Guardian/Mercury coverage, September–October 2014.)

Records that mattered: from breakup soul to a visual universe

Second album For Ever (released 14 September 2018 on XL) was written around a period the pair have described as emotionally turbulent, with songs like House in LA and Heavy, California drawing directly from time spent in the US and its aftermath. Jungle parted ways with XL after that record and set up their own imprint, Caiola Records, distributed by AWAL. (XL Recordings; Apple Music; NME/MusicTech interviews from 2021.)

On 13 August 2021 they returned with Loving in Stereo—the first Caiola release—bringing a looser, more open feel and collaborators including Bas and Priya Ragu. Then came Volcano on 11 August 2023, conceived with a full film—Volcano: The Motion Picture—of single‑take dance pieces directed by J Lloyd and Charlie Di Placido. The clip for Back on 74, choreographed by Shay Latukolan, spread on TikTok in late 2023, and its on‑screen dancers (including Will West) became shorthand for Jungle’s heightened visual ambition. Mainstream titles tracked the video’s reach and Latukolan’s role; specialist outlets documented how those one‑shot pieces bolted into a 50‑minute visual album. (Evening Standard and Independent reviews, August 2023; Promonews, 17 August 2023; Forbes, 11 October 2023; Dance Magazine profile of Will West, 2024; KALW, September 2023.)

Recognition and an arena step‑up

The Volcano cycle culminated in two moments that reset Jungle’s live scale. First, their 2023 festival runs showed how the music’s fixed‑point grooves could animate the biggest fields. Second, at the BRIT Awards on 2 March 2024, Jungle won Group of the Year. The band also performed on the broadcast. The win—formalised by the BRITs’ own record and confirmed by national outlets—legitimised a move into arenas that followed that autumn. (BRITs/Official pages and winners lists; Guardian winners list, 2 March 2024.)

At London’s O2 Arena on 12 September 2024, Rolling Stone UK reported a group evolving in real time. Lydia Kitto, who had become a key studio and touring presence across Loving in Stereo and Volcano, was pushed to the front for newer material while Lloyd‑Watson and McFarland took signature leads elsewhere. The piece also underlined how the stagecraft—understated set dressing, warm colour palettes, a band arranged in silhouettes—helped the music fill the room without resorting to bombast. (Rolling Stone UK live review; O2 event listing.)

Elsewhere on that UK arena run, the Guardian’s review from Cardiff on 14 September 2024 praised the light show’s 1970s oranges and halogen whites and the breadth of the set—from early single Busy Earnin’ through Keep Moving to Volcano’s disco‑flecked songs—while also querying what it called a “puzzle with a piece missing”, a shorthand for the debate about how much is played live versus triggered. (Guardian, 14 September 2024.)

Becoming a trio, and Sunshine (2026)

Jungle’s fifth album Sunshine arrived on 14 August 2026 via Caiola/AWAL. Crucially, the campaign formalised what fans of the live show had already sensed: Jungle is now a trio, with Lydia Kitto an official member alongside Lloyd‑Watson and McFarland. Apple Music’s release notes and interviews around release week set that out plainly, while press in multiple territories (from Music Week in the UK to Vogue México and Rolling Stone Philippines) explored how Kitto’s writing, production and lead vocals reoriented the project. (Apple Music; Music Week, 18 August 2026; Vogue México, 14 August 2026; Rolling Stone Philippines, 14 August 2026.)

Musically, Sunshine is shorter and more concentrated than its predecessors—eleven tracks in just over half an hour—and early comment pieces stressed warmth over maximalism. Public radio in Germany profiled the record on 17 August 2026; Qobuz spoke to McFarland about the nostalgia thread; and early‑week UK chart flashes had the album tracking inside the Top 5 on the midweeks. An independent chart aggregator recorded a No. 4 UK Albums Chart peak in late August 2026. (NDR Kultur audio, 17 August 2026; Qobuz interview, 18 August 2026; Music Week midweeks, 18 August 2026; aCharts, week of 23 August 2026.)

Touring now: arenas, amphitheatres and a ticketing stance

With Sunshine out, Jungle announced and put on sale a 2026–27 world tour that returns them to the rooms they learned to command across 2023–24. By early September 2026, North American dates were imminent—Chicago’s United Center on 10 September 2026; Red Rocks Amphitheatre on 27 and 28 September; Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on 10 October—before the UK and Europe in November, including Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on 22 November 2026. An Australia run follows in March 2027, confirmed by national broadcaster triple j and venue operators. (Ticketmaster/AXS listings; Utilita Arena Cardiff; triple j; arena press materials.)

One notable stance: many of the 2026 shows use Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange, limiting above‑face resale, a policy flagged on the tour’s ticketing pages and in arena announcements. (Ticketmaster Help; individual Ticketmaster event pages; Climate Pledge Arena announcement.)

What the show feels like in 2026

The 2026 production builds on the Volcano tour language. Reviews of the last arena run—Cardiff on 14 September 2024 and London on 12 September—describe a band often arranged as silhouettes against amber, yolk‑yellow and white washes, with Kitto stepping forward for material she led on record. Guest features (for instance, Erick the Architect on Candle Flame) are typically handled via tightly edited screen cameos; a theatre‑maker’s eye for pacing means transitions are often interlocked, with minimal gaps between songs. (Guardian, 14 September 2024; Rolling Stone UK; UCLA Radio, 11 April 2024.)

Set length depends on slot. At Coachella (20 April 2024) Jungle’s Festival Weekend Two set ran about 74 minutes; headlining and arena shows stretch longer, folding in early singles (The Heat, Busy Earnin’, Time) and high‑rotation 2021–23 tracks (Keep Moving, Casio, Back on 74) alongside newer Sunshine material. Reviews and fan write‑ups consistently mention the live band’s engine—drums and auxiliary percussion, bass, guitar, keys—and the lighting as key to the show’s impact. (setlist.fm; Guardian; Rolling Stone UK.)

Support varies by territory: at London’s O2 in September 2024, support came from London producer Mood Talk; in Tokyo (27 May 2024) the opener was DONGURIZU. Fans’ notes from 2024–25 shows emphasised how the show feels as much curated party as gig, even as some expressed frustration at festival‑length sets or the degree of playback. That split—rapturous atmosphere versus questions about “how live” the setup is—was reflected in mainstream reviews too. (Time Out London; Creativeman Productions; Guardian review; contemporaneous fan threads.)