Return of indie: Soaring album sales and packed festivals mark guitar music's comeback

"We want to thank you for putting The Maccabees back together”, he told the thousands of revellers who had attended the bands reunion show after eight years apart.

It was comfortably the biggest crowd the indie rockers had ever played to and capped off a glorious day for the genre, with bands such as The Cribs, The Futureheads and Bombay Bicycle Club all performing throwback sets to packed out stages.

But the day festival’s success was not just a one-off phenomenon, with several British artists from the “indie sleaze’ era seeing a noticeable rise in their popularity over the last two years.

Whilst the Gallagher brothers have been dominating headlines through their successful Oasis re-union tour, British music fans have also been showing their love for guitar music across various festivals this summer.

Glastonbury’s Other Stage field was close to full when Franz Ferdinand played on Friday afternoon, as was the Pyramid Stage for sets by Kaiser Chiefs and The Libertines.

Elsewhere, indie stalwarts Bloc Party blew audiences away in Reading Festival’s first-ever ‘icons’ slot, before The Kooks played to an audience that stretched back as far as the eye could see.

All of these British bands first rose to prominence at the height of the sleaze era between 2005 and 2012, when ripped tights and skinny jeans were in fashion and social media sites such as Myspace dominated the internet.

Whilst some, such as the Arctic Monkeys and the Libertines, continued to sell out arenas long after this trend had peaked, many faded into the background and saw album and ticket sales settle at a lower but still respectable level.

But in the last three years, these indie darlings have seen their stock rise again thanks to a yearning from music-lovers for songs with jangly riffs and catchy choruses.

"Although rock hasn’t been as front-and-centre in mainstream culture in recent years as it was in the days of Britpop and the affectionately-named ‘indie sleaze’ era of the noughties, it hasn’t gone anywhere,” Jake Hills, Head of Corporate Communications at the BPI, which represents recorded music in the UK, told LBC.

"The rise of streaming is opening up new fans to earlier British scenes, with many bands from the nineties and noughties still seeing great success through streaming and on the live circuit."

According to BPI analysis, rock has been the biggest genre for artist albums over the last three years, with British listeners flocking to indie legends and new acts alike.

This year alone, young bands such as The Reytons, the Ks, Wolf Alice and Wet Leg have all landed number one albums, while Irish post-punk outfit Fontaines D.C played to more than 40,000 people at Finsbury Park.

Rock also continues to dominate the vinyl albums market, representing well over half of the 100 biggest vinyl albums in 2024 according to the BPI.

"It does feel like there's a nostalgic era here but also blended with an exciting new era for new artists, new bands in particular. I think they come hand in hand at the moment, which is exciting." said Mark Lippmann, CEO and founder of Scruff of the Neck, an established Manchester-based record label, music publisher, concert & festival promoter.

"I think the more activity and height is around bands, whether it the heritage artists or Indie artists or brand new artists, I think it's all just good for the world of the band.”

This indie rebirth seemed a far cry from the late 2010s, when much of the music press dismissed the era’s influence and excitement, scoffing at the subculture with labels such as “indie landfill”.

But the aesthetic and the music has found its way back into modern social media zeitgeist, with reams of TikToks showing young people dressing in the "Hedi boys" and "indie sleaze" style whilst soundtracked by songs of the era.

This explosion has mainly benefitted the bands, who are now enjoying success on streaming platforms and the live circuit, prompting promoters to once again hunt for guitar-based artists from all eras.

"There are lots of promoters who have got big ambitions for growing their live business through the bands they have signed to them,” Mr Lippmann said.

The label manager says he signed 90s Scouse rockers Cast based on the strength of their live shows supporting Oasis across the UK this summer.

"They are what you might call a heritage band, and we are a label traditionally known for brand new artists, but I signed them because I fell in love with the music, the band and the scene around them.”

Asked why he thought guitar music was doing so well in 2025, Mr Lippmann believed young people were starting to realise the “beauty and simplicity” of the band.

"I think that's the beautiful thing about bands is you can learn an instrument, which is a beautiful thing to do anyway, and then you can get a few of your mates together and knock around in a room and start writing songs just with bass, guitar, drums, vocals," he said.

"Maybe there was a snobbery to it, but now people are starting to realise it's beautiful and simple.”

The music industry insider also believed the "spirit of the gig" had attracted the mass crowds to indie music shows.

While bands are still a long way away from dominating the charts in the same way they did in the mid 90s and noughties - with only four such acts currently listed as having singles on Radio 1's 40-song playlist - Mr Lippmann said he wouldn’t be surprised if some were headlining festivals and playing stadiums in the next few years.

"I think the spirit of a gig is huge, you've got the mosh pics and everyone's sort of lets themselves go and just like immerses themselves in it,” he said.

“People are a little bit more apprehensive about letting loose and letting go nowadays, so being able to do that at a show is a big part of what's making this resurgence come to light.

"It’s why I'm so confident persevering in this genre is because I feel like when I was younger, I was getting educated in music, but not just from what was current.

"And I think kids are doing that now. They don't really mind, when the music came out. If it’s good, it's good. Go and watch it. ”