Sunset Sessions is the work of Harlow-based environmental charity ECCO, and would normally take place at the bandstand in Harlow Town Park. Shortly after last year’s event (see article), the bandstand was torched to the ground. While the bandstand is being rebuilt with a bigger more modern facility due to open in August 2026, the event moved to a temporary home: The Gate in Sawbridgeworth. Proceeds were split between Keech Hospice Care, which supports children in Hertfordshire, and Raising For Ross, a Muscular Dystrophy UK campaign set up in memory of Ross Pike – brother of Lock-In keys player Cam – who lost his battle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in December, aged just 28.
The High Society got things moving in the afternoon sunshine with Beechwood keeping the momentum building as the light started to turn golden. But this was Lock-In’s night.
The six-piece – formed back in 2019 when most of them were still at Leventhorpe School, just up the road – have spent the past seven years graduating from local pub stages to sold-out shows at the Water Rats, Omeara, The Garage and Lafayette, with festival appearances at Truck and the Isle of Wight along the way. Their sound has drawn comparisons to Bombay Bicycle Club and Foals, all sun-soaked grooves and sparkling guitars topped with big anthemic hooks, and on a warm August evening with the sun going down behind the stage, it could hardly have found a better setting.
Frontman Benjy Leak brings superstar energy, prowling the stage from the first song and raising the energy of the crowd, backed by the twin guitars of Joe Leak and Angus Moore, Sam Collins on bass, Ollie Stacey on drums and Cam on keys. The band spent the winter locked away writing a mountain of new material, and mixed crowd favourites with new singles ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘C’est La Vie’. Lock-in are a brilliant live act. There are very few bands that can transform a crowd from “afternoon in the beer garden” vibes to barrier jumping and crowd surfing in the space of 45 minutes.
It would have been easy for the emotion of the occasion to overwhelm things, but instead it lifted them. Playing for Ross, for Keech, and for the town that made them, Lock-In turned a pub garden into a festival field for one night. ECCO put it best: seeing 300 people together enjoying live music, knowing two fantastic charities will benefit, is exactly what Sunset Sessions is about. On this evidence, the bandstand’s temporary loss was very much The Gate’s gain.
You can still donate to Raising For Ross via JustGiving.
Lock-In’s new singles ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘C’est La Vie’ are out now on all streaming platforms.
Words & Photos: Kenny McLeish
Lock-In: Instagram / The High Society: Instagram / Beechwood: Instagram
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