Oasis Reunion: It's Good To Be Back!

So it's been a while, and in between the time of absence, something major happened within the world of music and rock & roll history. Oasis officially got back together and played for the very first time since 2009 on this day, July the 4th of this strange year, 2025, at the Millennium Stadium, also known as the Principality Stadium since 2016, in Cardiff, the wonderful capital of Wales.

I will put all my effort into making it more than obvious that Oasis is my absolute favorite band in all the history of music. But, if it isn't yet obvious enough, I very recently wrote an article dedicated to the band and how it changed my life for the absolute better: Oasis: Best Band In The World

Now, as much as I would like to repeat myself and keep on talking about that, the purpose of this article isn't quite that, but instead to celebrate an absolute legendary historical occurrence.

It was an ordinary Tuesday, the 27th of August of last year, 2024. I was getting everything arranged for my college graduation, which was the next month of September, as well as preparing myself for a planned trip out of the country for October. Monotony reigned that day, like the rest before, until I opened up Instagram out of boredom. Boom, straight smacked in the face, I simply was unable to process what was in front of my very eyes. Oasis had officially announced a reunion. I jumped out of my chair and quickly messaged a very close friend of mine that had recently gotten into Oasis due to yours truly, *chuckle*. We both couldn't believe it, but of course, me being a massive fan for quite some time, it was truly a much more significant occurrence for me.

Part of me was in denial. This was due to the nature of the post. The brevity and the lack of a buildup made it feel, you guessed it, anticlimactic. It absolutely didn't feel real. There were hints thrown out by Noel via interviews, though. I recall watching one made by Marco Collins in 2023 at the White River Amphitheater before Noel's band opened for Garbage, where he stated that he was open to receiving a call from Liam, but certainly not the other way around. I also recall an interview published on May of 2023 by talkSPORT where Noel as well kind of hinted at his open-mindedness to the possibility of a reunion. Now, what really got me riled up was when Noel guest starred in The Pedal Show and started playing Cigarettes & Alcohol on his first classic Epiphone Les Paul. If I can recall correctly, he had never played that song in any way, shape, or form since the breakup. I was feeling something, intuition perhaps, but it still wasn't enough. I wanted to believe it, but it was hard for me to do so. 

On Liam's side of things, hints were being thrown out to us before Noel's interviews mentioned previously. Hints were given to us by Liam on songs like One Of Us, released on his second album, Why Me? Why Not?, way back in 2019. This wasn't the only time he had made at least some indication of having intentions or desires to bring the band back together, though; Liam always seemed like he was open to a reunion almost every time he was asked about it in interviews.

But still, once again, not yet. The stars were aligning; maybe it's a bit more obvious now in hindsight, but not all had aligned just yet, until, of course, that very Tuesday. My suspicions, every fan's suspicions, desires, and dreams seemed to be the very force that manifested it into existence. I mean, it sounds cool, right? 

Now of course we really don't know what caused this apparent sudden change of sentiment between the two brothers. Some could argue that it was financial necessity. Others may say it was the perfect "cash grab," and some say it was pure brotherly love that brought them to where we are now. *Insert Columbia reference here.*

I personally don't care, and I'll explain why. You see, Noel and Liam have always been rock stars, as well as very smart businessmen. We've seen what the brothers have done with their wealth over the past years. Both have invested their well-earned British pounds in clothing lines and collaborations. Liam has Pretty Green, and has collaborated with other clothing lines including ADIDAS. Noel on the other hand, doesn't own a clothing line, but has done collaborations with Dr. Martens footwear, eyewear magnate Oliver Peoples, as well as, you also guessed it, ADIDAS.

What I look forward to explaining, by mentioning all this, is to shine a light on the idea of the possibility that this reunion could've very well been a business move. And if that is the case, then Jesus Christ, it worked. But once again, we've reached a point in time where it doesn't matter. And here's why:

When Oasis was founded in 1991, music was still pure in the sense that it was still somewhat free from the grasps of the music industry. Music, even on a mainstream level, meant something. That had been the case for the entire decade of the 90s. Alongside other artists, Oasis became the symbol of freedom and authenticity, and the lads from Manchester became the carriers of the last burning torch that kept rock & roll alive.

The 2000s came along, though, and things started to change. And with that, the first 9 years of the new millennium became the last 9 years for Oasis. The music industry changed focus; pop had become the new staple genre of the generation, along with bands becoming more and more of an obsolete concept in the eyes of mainstream media. There were exceptions, of course, but this wasn't the rule anymore, and to top it all, the internal structure of Oasis as a band was starting to crumble as well.

Besides this, the world as a whole had started to change; a new generation was born, the one before it was starting to age, technology started to advance at an accelerated rate, the internet made its doors completely accessible to the vast majority of people (at least in the West), and, to put it simply, the world changed forever. And from the looks of it, there was no going back. These are just some of the happenings that took place during the years leading up:

2001 — 9/11 Attacks: Terrorist attacks on the U.S., reshaping global security and geopolitics.

2003 — Iraq War: U.S.-led invasion of Iraq under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction.

2004 — Facebook Launch: Beginning of the social media era, fundamentally altering communication.

2007 — iPhone Released: Revolutionizes mobile technology and consumer habits.

2008 — Global Financial Crisis: Triggered by the U.S. housing bubble and banking failures; resulted in worldwide recession.

2010 — Rise of Big Tech: Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook consolidate as economic powerhouses.

2016 — Brexit Referendum: U.K. votes to leave the European Union, beginning years of negotiations.

And, as you may have guessed, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Begins. Global health emergency declared.

Oasis performing at Cardiff for the very first time since 2009

Without a doubt, the world changed for the worse, and things haven't gotten better since. Nor will it. The zeitgeist is there and hasn't gone away, and by the looks of it, it plans on staying, at least for a very long time. Without getting too deep into it, let's just say the pandemic exposed society for what it really is. It exposed The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. The facade of postmodernism had been exposed; the smoke and mirrors had been broken and dissipated. The curtain had fallen, and all that remained were the unhealed scars that reside in all of us and society as a whole. We were faced with the reality of our lives. What are we really working for? What are we really working towards? We were faced with these questions we never seemed to care about asking ourselves because we were so damn focused on what filter the Kardashians used for that one photo on Instagram.

You see, whether it is because of capitalism, the biased news networks, social media, or Starbucks. We have forgotten to live life. Life as it should be lived. We have forgotten to look at the sky above us because we have been constantly glued to the screens. We have forgotten to live in the present. As a byproduct of all of this, we have strayed away from life itself. We have forgotten joy; we have certainly forgotten happiness, not as an emotional state dependent on having something but as an emotional state dependent on being something. Whoa there, Nelly! You may exclaim. Aren't we talking about Oasis? And I'll answer by saying, Yes. And we still are.

As stated before, it certainly does not matter if this reunion was business-intended, and if it isn't obvious already as to why, well, it's because (regardless) we damn well needed it.

You see, Oasis is a product of its time, but as with art, it is timeless. And this was proven to us fans and non-fans through pure action. Today, 74,500 people attended the concert at Cardiff. People of all ages took time off their lives and money out of their pockets to see Oasis play for the very first time in over 16 years. Why? Well, obviously because Oasis is the best band in the world. But on a more serious note, it is because the band left the world when the world needed them the most, but the world had not been made aware of this just yet.

We didn't know what we had lost until it was too late. As stated previously in my last post on Oasis as well as in this same article, Oasis offered authenticity in a world that had forgotten it. Oasis represented the beauty in struggling for the sake of striving. It represented the underdogs, the low and middle classes. It offered reality over some manufactured delusion. Oasis symbolized the power of self-belief, not through any delusional self-help cheap manifestation mumbo jumbo, but through the power of being oneself. Now read that in present tense. 

We need that now more than ever. The people know this whether consciously or unconsciously. And we damn well got it, and I'm all here for it. Now, I am not saying that Oasis is the only way. Not at all. Art is never a one-way street. But if there is something that is certain, though, it is that Oasis is one of the remaining pillars of the real world.

Now, for the sake of entertaining the idea of them reuniting through the power of love (not now Huey Lewis). I can say that, if that were to be the case, which I certainly hope it was, then it very well proves my point either way.

"Don't look back in anger, I heard you say". This is what Oasis is all about. Let's not dwell on the past; let's look only forward. Granted, it took the brothers 16 years to demonstrate this, but in they're defense, they did it, sooner or later, but they did it, and that's what counts at the end. We should do the same as individuals, as a collective, as a society. We spent too much time on the screen, we ignored what was right in front of us, we forgot what really mattered, and lost ourselves in the process, we certainly made some grave mistakes, but here we are. Still standing, and most importantly, still open to redemption.

Brothers Liam (Right) & Noel (Left) hug it down and hold hands as they recieve the crowd at Cardiff

The long-awaited reunion is of great historical value for the simple fact that it somewhat represents the idea of hope. If you don't already know, I am a Jungian at heart and I firmly believe coincidences are much more than that. Everything certainly happens for a reason, and I believe that the reunification of this band during these tough times in humanity's current state is simply put, of divine timing. This really demonstrates us that not all is lost and that in fact, we still have much to lose. We have family, we have music, we have community, we have ourselves, we have existence itself. We have things still worth fighting for.

As to the concert itself? Well, it was absolutely astonishing. Liam's voice made an unimaginable comeback. It's as if he was waiting for this all his life. Noel looked like he wasn't believing he was there, but man, did it sink in, as it showed in his performance. Although we didn't have Whitey nor Guigs on board, we know they're enjoying it as much as we are from their living rooms. The new addition to the lineup, Joey Waronker, played as if he had always been part of the band. And finally the boys, Andy, Gem, and Bonehead as if they never had left.

I thank our Heavenly Father for granting me the absolute blessing of existing at this current moment in time, allowing me to witness and experience the reunion of my favorite band of all time even if it is only for one last time.

If you feel the same way towards Oasis, or any other artist, then you know how important this is to oneself. After all, Friedrich Nietzsche famously stated in his book Twilight of the Idols:

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

F*cking Mad Fer It. Thanks for reading. 

By the way, here are a set of additional photos from the gig. A set of my favorites from the bunch: