XL Poncho – Lions Den Manchester – 11 Feb 26

Manchester Indie Sparks

Story by Ben Avery

12/02/2026

Lions Den on Manchesters Deansgate on a wet Wednesday night was surprisingly packed. Cheap entry helps. Drink deals too. Three bands on the bill, courtesy of MMU Indie Society. Innafield, XL Poncho, and Et Al.

XL Poncho have been making serious noise on TikTok lately. Indie covers, done well. Underworld’s Born Slippy. Blossoms’ Your Girlfriend. The Kooks’ She Moves in Her Own Way. Smart choices. Big crowd-pleasers.

They looked the part too. A tight setup. Almost like a band photo brought to life.

But tonight was about their own material. And it was a confident step forward. The guitar work stood out immediately. Crisp harmonics. Slick fretboard tapping. Real texture in the sound.

The bass player added subtle backing vocals, plus a few spoken moments that gave a hint of early Pulp. A nice touch.

The band clearly have chemistry. They look like they love playing together. There’s a natural energy between them. The songs are still finding their full shape, but the potential is obvious.

The singer has a distinctive voice and strong presence. She owned the stage. The melodies will only grow with time, but the performance already had personality. One track featuring the other guitarist on vocals brought a great contrast and showed their range.

They’re still early in their journey. You can tell. But that’s part of the excitement. There’s something building here. And the frontwoman’s movement and confidence make them instantly watchable.

Innafield opened the night impressively. Tight, polished, and clearly more seasoned. A surprise tenor sax outro on their newest song was a real highlight. They’ve got more gigs lined up, and it makes sense.

A strong night for upcoming local bands.