Live Review: Sub Focus – Circular Sound Australia in Perth 2026
Wellington Square, Perth | 22 February 2026
Perth has a way of holding drum and bass nights close. We don’t treat them like background noise or casual entertainment. We feel them. We stand inside them. We let the bass move through our chest and settle somewhere deeper before we go home.
On Saturday night, thousands gathered at Wellington Square for Sub Focus, drawn by the promise of high BPM energy and the thick rolling wubs that have become part of the genre’s identity.
Presented by Higher Grnd, the event was moved from its original venue due to overwhelming demand and sold out before the night began, with organisers celebrating what they described as the biggest headline drum and bass show in Australian history.
Big claim.
This crowd was beautifully diverse. There were long time drum and bass fans who carried the quiet confidence of nostalgia, moving comfortably to sounds they had loved for years. Nearby were younger festivalgoers learning the rhythm of Perth’s nightlife, watching how open-air dance shows breathe, how bass travels, and how people move when high energy music takes control of the field. There was no visible separation between generations.
1991 took the early slot and understood the assignment immediately. No slow warm-up. No easing in. Just sharp, high-BPM precision that locked the crowd into rhythm from the outset. His set felt calculated but never clinical, layering rolling basslines with tight builds that kept energy climbing without peaking too early. There’s a skill in warming up a field this size without burning it out, and 1991 handled it with confidence. The wubs were elastic and punchy, bouncing cleanly across the open-air space and setting the tone for what was to come. Groups that had been casually chatting were suddenly moving with intent. Shoulders loosened. Heads nodded harder. The pit thickened. By the time he wrapped, Wellington Square wasn’t waiting anymore.
It was ready.
NERO was up next, returning to Australia after nearly a decade away, carrying a slightly nostalgic energy from the opening moments of their performance. Their sound carved darker, cinematic lines through the night, heavier in texture and mood compared to the rolling high-BPM propulsion of 1991’s earlier set. When Innocence dropped early, recognition moved quietly but clearly through the crowd. Promises and Me and You followed, reinforcing the expansive UK bass identity that helped build NERO’s reputation, while their remix of UK rapper Plan B’s The Recluse sat naturally in the darker, more atmospheric middle section of the night.
The production style suited Wellington Square’s open-air scale. NERO leaned into presence rather than pace, holding the BPM steady while layering tension and emotion across the field. The performance felt slightly theatrical, built for depth rather than frenzy, and it worked beautifully in the open space. By the end of the set the crowd was no longer simply warming up. The park felt like it was holding its breath, primed and waiting for what would come next.
Standing on the grass as the summer sun faded behind the stage lights, you could feel Perth readying itself. The crowd was layered — longtime drum and bass loyalists, festival lovers chasing the drop, couples swaying, groups already bouncing before the music properly began. There’s a particular tension before a Sub Focus set. It’s not impatience. It’s electricity.
Sub Focus is who we were waiting for!
Online discussion leading into the weekend noted that Adelaide received a DJ format, making Perth’s experience feel particularly special. The production mattered. By the time Nick Douwma stepped forward, the energy had shifted from excitement to eruption. The first drop didn’t just land. It detonated! Wellington Square moved as one organism.
Arms in the air. Hair flying. Strangers locking eyes in that universal “this is it” moment. Sub Focus has this ability to layer melody over intensity without losing impact. His production is polished but never dull. It breathes. It builds. It rewards patience and then absolutely unleashes. What struck me most was the scale. The lighting. The visuals. The way each track rolled seamlessly into the next without losing momentum. Two decades in and he is not coasting on nostalgia. He is still pushing. Still refining. Still elevating.
With the show titled “Circular” I expected a circular stage. Instead, the Circular live production centred on a massive LED light ring that lowered, rose and travelled around Sub Focus and his decks throughout the performance. The ring became part of the music itself. At moments it framed him like a glowing orbit. At other times it descended closer to the stage, tightening the visual space just before drops landed.
Behind him, large screen visuals pulsed with shifting patterns while laser lines sliced through the open night sky, reflecting briefly across the crowd when intensity peaked. The combination of moving light ring, back screen production and laser work created the feeling that the music was being sculpted in real time.
Sub Focus had his builds stretched just a little longer than we expected. Drops landed harder because of it. Tracks moved in deliberate waves. Desire lifted arms almost immediately, carrying that atmospheric female vocal layering that has become part of Sub Focus’ signature sound. Illuminate delivered pure crowd release energy, the kind where people naturally look upward as if the night itself might respond.
Across the night, familiar favourites surfaced without breaking momentum. Illuminate blended into reinterpretations of classic dance melody. Earlier moments also touched On & On and other high-energy catalogue cuts that helped maintain the relentless forward drive of the set.
My moment came with the latest track Roll Too Deep featuring Subsonic. I have been listening to this track since it dropped, and there is something about the way it builds that makes you want to move with it. As the song progresses, the BPM feels like it tightens and drives faster, creating an urge to bounce or shift your weight as the energy rises.
The night stayed fast. High BPM propulsion carried across the field with very little interruption. The low-end sat underneath everything like a heartbeat, driving movement without feeling forced. Two decades into his career, Sub Focus continues to feel like an artist pushing forward rather than looking back. The transitions were seamless. Lighting was tightly synchronised. Adelaide may have received a DJ set, but Perth experienced the full Circular production, and the difference was obvious.
By the final stretch of the night, Wellington Square felt less like a venue and more like a living response to tempo. No hesitation. No half energy. Just high BPM momentum and thick rolling bass moving thousands of bodies in shared rhythm. If the promoter’s claim of the biggest headline drum and bass show in Australian history is confirmed, then it happened in a city that knows exactly how to carry it.
Perth does not half commit to drum and bass.
Perth didn’t watch.
Perth moved.
If you were there, you already know.
If you weren’t, well… you probably just felt it anyway.
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Blue Music Services and Higher Grnd for the accreditation
For more info on SUB FOCUS, visit:
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | X | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | SOUNDCLOUD
About the Writer: Krystal Galloway lives and breathes music, finding her happy place in the sea of fans who come together to experience the magic of live performances. After attending her first concert – Justin Timberlake -her enthusiasm turned into a lifelong hobby. She has since seen over 100 of her favorite acts, including global superstars like KISS, Eminem, Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Usher, Nelly, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown, along with Australian favorites like The Screaming Jets, The Angels, Birds of Tokyo, Cold Chisel, and Bliss & Eso- just to name a few – all in her home city of Western Australia. With this extensive concert experience, Krystal has developed a deep appreciation for the artistry behind live performances, gaining a unique perspective on the dedication and energy that goes into every show.
Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to more than 200 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), Backstreet Boys, KISS, Iron Maiden, RHCP, P!NK and Suzi Quatro with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Tina Arena, UB40, Delta Goodrem, Leo Sayer and Tina Arena on social media. He has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro, Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 70 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
