The Pretty Reckless @ The Underworld, London - 01/06/2026

Going to Hell via Camden: The Pretty Reckless bring death by rock n roll to The Underworld

Ok, guys, we need to pause for a minute. Hear me out - how about we make underground club nights with massive bands a thing? Why is this a one-off 'special' occasion and not a recurring theme around festival season to have a stadium-scale band perform in London's underground venues and make the walls sweat (and slick)? I say we start a petition on this!

Now that I got this off my chest, it is time to describe the night that was meant to be another casual Monday. With a queue going all around the block behind The Underworld in Camden, the historic venue opened its doors at 7pm to 500 lucky people (with arguably very fast internet) who managed to secure tickets for what was to be one of the most iconic gigs of 2026. Some gigs just feel historic before they even begin; and it is not because of the venue, or production or band. But because everyone in the room understands that they are about to witness something that no longer happens very often: a genuinely major rock band in a venue small enough to see the sweat beads on their foreheads. So when The Pretty Reckless announced their Underworld takeover, the atmosphere wasn't merely excited; it was explosive.

It is far too easy to reduce The Pretty Reckless to the story people think they know. Yes, frontwoman Taylor Momsen arrived with an unusual level of public attention thanks to her acting career, but that narrative became irrelevant years ago. Since forming in 2009 (the year I also discovered them), The Pretty Reckless have quietly built one of the most successful rock catalogues of the last fifteen years. With albums like Light Me Up, Going to Hell and Death by Rock and Roll, they became established as one of the few modern rock bands capable of bridging classic hard rock swagger with contemporary songwriting and arguably visuals that make you question your sexuality. So to me, this is not just the natural evolution of Momsen's acting career. It is the tearing down and rebuilding of an entire brand, surviving industry trends and remaining relevant and respected. And if you don't want to take my word for it, well, they've been touring with AC/DC for a couple of years so I think that by itself says it all.

The Underworld in turn has hosted countless future stars over the years. What makes nights like this fascinating is seeing the process reversed. Instead of watching a band on the way up, you're watching one that already arrived years ago willingly compress itself back into a club environment. There is a certain magic in seeing a band like The Pretty Reckless perform a venue 17 (!) years after their first stint in London, and the absence of distance between performer and audience made it all the more memorable and special. From the opening moments, the setlist felt carefully engineered to maximise impact. Opening with "Death by Rock and Roll", the band immediately established the night's mission statement: loud, unapologetic, sexy and confident. Following on with "Miss Nothing", "Just Tonight" (absolute banger) and "For I Am Death", we had Momsen perform with swagger that reminded everyone why these songs became fan favourites in the first place.

The most impressive however was the balance. The band resisted the temptation to simply stack hits together, offsetting heavier moments with more reflective material, allowing songs such as "Love Me", "When I Wake Up" and "Take Me Down" to breathe. And then, there was the 'sing-along' part of the set, with "Make Me Wanna Die", "Going to Hell" and "Heaven Knows" making the walls drip in sweat. Predictably, the song sequence triggered the loudest reactions of the night, with Momsen commanding the crowd left, right and centre. What is striking live is how little she relies on theatrics, because she understands the songs are the main event. Between crowd participation, banter and nostalgic stories, her vocals carry a remarkable weight with grit and vulnerability. There is a very rare characteristic about The Pretty Reckless: authenticity. Something that is overused, yet almost nowhere to be found. The fact that the distance between audience and band was minimal made the set even more impactful and committed, with enormous singalongs from start all the way to the encore. And of course, everyone understood they were witnessing something so unusual that they will remember forever.

The Pretty Reckless at The Underworld is not the biggest show they'll play this year. Between Download Festival's main stage and touring with titans of hard rock, their show in Camden was probably the most memorable to date. Stripped of arena-sized production and reduced to the fundamentals, the band's greatest strength became obvious: their songs simply work. And the band does not need a stadium to feel enormous; they bring the stadium with them.