I was in the front row at Radiohead’s show in Rio in 2018. It was breathtaking. Some fans say the performance at the Apoteose, a few days later, was even “better,” but the truth is that seeing Radiohead live is to experience something the studio cannot contain: a visceral, almost spiritual energy. Few bands manage to fuse technique, emotion, and intensity the way they do.

Seven years have passed since that night. The band wrapped up the A Moon Shaped Pool tour, and each member went their own way. Thom Yorke immersed himself in solo albums, film scores, and even art exhibitions; Jonny Greenwood became one of the most celebrated film composers of his generation, with scores for Spencer, The Power of the Dog, and Licorice Pizza; Yorke and Greenwood also joined forces in The Smile, which already has three albums; Ed O’Brien released his solo record Earth; Philip Selway presented Strange Dance; and Colin Greenwood toured with Nick Cave’s band while also exploring photography and literary projects. It wasn’t silence, but rather a creative hiatus in which each member expanded their own universe.

Now, in 2025, the band has announced a series of twenty shows across Europe, rekindling memories and expectations. The impact was immediate: excitement among fans, highly sought-after tickets, mandatory pre-registration, and even charitable initiatives — each ticket includes donations to institutions in the UK and across the continent. It’s a comeback surrounded by care, but with the implicit promise that their chemistry never really went away.

Amid the revival wave sweeping British music — Oasis reuniting, Blur back on stage, Gorillaz celebrating 25 years, Richard Ashcroft keeping The Verve alive (though without the band) — Radiohead’s return feels like something apart. Although they emerged in the 1990s, they were never exactly “Britpop.” Unlike Blur or Oasis, they avoided hedonism in favor of experimentation, unease, and density. Even so, they remain part of that British cultural memory that now returns in full force: not just nostalgia, but a reaffirmation that these bands shaped an entire generation.

Radiohead live is more than music. It’s experience, surrender, and catharsis. Anyone who witnessed them in 2018 knows that seven years of waiting haven’t dulled the anticipation. If anything, it has only grown stronger.