5:25pm, Main Stage

With their irrepressibly catchy, wistful brand of indie pop rock, Wallows are in many ways the perfect band for a summer afternoon. Rock en Seine rounded off the band's tour for Model, their third album, and their newest EP More. Their final show didn't disappoint.

Frontman Dylan Minnette and fellow vocalist Braeden Lemasters seemed at home from the start, bounding around the stage with a contagious enthusiasm. The show duly kicked off with a couple of fast-paced picks from Model, 'Your Apartment' and 'Anytime, Always' – worthy openers to both the album and the set, even if they were inevitably less familiar to the audience.

Although initially lethargic in the Parisian heat, the crowd was quickly energised by fan favourites 'Scrawny' and 'Pictures of Girls'. The latter's addictive guitar riff marked the first of many earworms which would, for better or worse, pursue me for the rest of the evening. 'OK' followed suit, with one eager fan offered the microphone for an admirable attempt at singing the chorus.

Minnette now took on the obligatory task of speaking French, an effort which predictably devolved into reprises of 'merci', but was received appreciatively if uncharacteristically uncritically by locals in the crowd. Brandishing the tricolore on stage helped, of course.

Like many of the day's acts, Wallows had a personal relationship with the festival. Minnette explained that he had wanted to play Rock en Seine since seeing the Libertines in 2015.

Now for a quieter interlude with the lesser-known 'Quarterback', 'Coffin Change', and 'Hide It Away'. A diminished response from the crowd was perhaps unavoidable here, but the band quickly recovered, launching into more recognisable tracks for the remainder of the set. 

Credit has to be paid to touring bassist Blake Morell and longtime drummer Cole Preston for holding down the fort in the rhythm section, keeping fans' heads bobbing while Minnette and Lemasters worked the crowd. Not for the first time, I was left with a renewed admiration for the group's ability to blend memorable melodies on bass, guitar, and from the vocals too. Songs with that sheer number of competing hooks shouldn’t work, but they do.

There's no doubt that much of the audience are here for the later headliners; one festivalgoer, by his own admission, had "no idea" about the lyrics – but that didn't stop him singing along to the incredibly catchy melody of 'Remember When'. Judging by the ecstatic chaos that erupted in the crowd around him, he wasn't alone, either.

The opening notes of 'Are You Bored Yet?' predictably sent the crowd wild, ending the show on a high which was sustained throughout 'I'm Full' until Minnette’s final goodbye. I wouldn't be surprised if the set landed the band with countless new fans, alternately obsessed with and tormented by whichever songs were still stuck in their heads.

6:25pm, Bosquet Stage

Considering the political furore which has engulfed Kneecap over the past few months, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the trio was able to perform at all. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (stage name Mo Chara) is currently embroiled in a legal case facing terrorism charges, Sharon Osbourne has called for the group’s US visas to be revoked, and they’re banned from Hungary – and that’s only getting started.

All of this didn't stop the band from making their set uncompromisingly political, to the delight of the crowd, whose already considerable numbers continued to swell throughout the show as festivalgoers flocked to the far end of the festival site.

From the outset, the band decried efforts by politicians to shut down their show, with Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Móglaí Bap) telling outraged fans that "they tried to stop us". Indeed, other than the funding cut and the close oversight of France's interior minister, the beginning of the set was interrupted by pro-Israel protesters blowing whistles in a bid to halt the show.

Messages of support for Palestine flicked past on the screen, while shouts of 'free Mo Chara' broke out frequently. After the pounding bass of 'It's Been Ages' resided, the trio condemned France's complicity in genocide and urged the crowd not to stoop to the level of their detractors: "We're not like them. We're not like Israel. We're not here to cause fights. We're here to have a good time."

For Kneecap the stage is, at its core, a moment for political activism and mobilisation through music. You certainly felt as if you were part of something bigger, as fans powered through continuous chants of "free Palestine" with flags in hand. It's safe to say that the crowd was absolutely pumped before a single word left the rappers' lips, and the energy only grew throughout the set.

Nor should the music itself be overlooked; Kneecap's songs offer a bombastic glimpse into working class Irish life, with both its mundanities and politically charged culture. As a result, most songs feature Irish language verses. Despite this, I saw fans of all backgrounds chanting along to the English verses of tracks like ‘Thart agus Thart' – proof that the group’s messaging knows no borders, whether they're bemoaning lockdown monotony or condemning out of touch politicians.

'Thart agus Thart' rapidly segued into 'Better Way to Live', with its moreish bass line and compelling vocal contribution from Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C.. It's a shame that Chatten couldn't join the trio in person, given that he was only a few hundred metres away at the time preparing for his own set; he was instead given a cameo on screen behind the rappers.

Cue another impassioned monologue from Mo Chara, acknowledging taking up stage time but declaring that despite making this speech every evening, “nothing has changed”. Despite the trio’s emphasis on positivity, they didn't mince words when it came to various public figures. Chants of "fuck the royal family" quickly progressed to mocking French President Emmanuel Macron’s relationship with his schoolteacher. The crowd adored it, of course.

The set closed with the republican anthems of 'Get Your Brits Out' and 'H.O.O.D', rounded off with new single 'THE RECAP'.

Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch once more found herself the target of the group's ire, having illegally refused the group a £15k grant last year: "Gimme Kemi's money and give her my thanks / We'll call it reparations, Badenoch, ya wank / Tried to take my money but I came and collected it back."

It’s a show of bravado no doubt witnessed by the politicians who had tried to cancel the performance, which achieved widespread coverage in francophone media. It’s also, arguably, a lesson in the Streisand effect. In Kneecap's own words, it's "All your fault ‘cause you made us famous / Sticking our face in your papers".