26 October 2026
As Storm Austen battered Brighton’s seaside this weekend, CHALK simmered with anticipation at the annual instalment of Mutations Festival: rain-soaked Carhartt jackets and sweat filled its intimate club space. Even by Saturday night standards, the room was absurdly busy, with people snaking up and down the stairs on either side of the main exit to catch the legendary Mike D in Brighton for the first time since the 80s.
For a while, it seemed as if anything Beastie Boys-related would remain in the past; another part of hip-hop history with a hard stop due to tragedy. “There was a point in making the record that I realised I was enough into it […] that I had to call Adam and tell him”, Mike D told Consequence earlier this year. “It’s almost like I was calling [and] telling him I was in a relationship or something. I guess I was — I was in a relationship with making a record.”
With the surprise release of the kinetic ‘Switch Up’ in May, Mike is back where he belongs – engaging in an intimate UK tour across June, before finally being announced as Saturday’s headliner for Mutations Festival.
A 20-minute delay is broken by a Spanish intro, comically over-the-top to introduce ‘Mike D.’ The raptures from the room are deafening as he bounds onto the stage. “I have one thing to say”, Mike teases, “Hello Brighton!” before launching into the brash ‘Hello Brooklyn.’ The question on everyone’s lips is answered: Beastie Boys tracks are on the table.
Mini mosh pits detonate at the front. After only one track, a soaked audience has forgotten about the pissing rain waiting outside. Blending decks with live instrumentation, ‘What We Got’ is scuzzy guitars and jungle boom, while ‘Crypto’ is a heavily modulated cacophony, backed with lyrics indicting greed as he flails around the stage.
“We thank you for coming”, Mike earnestly states, “you could’ve just stayed in”, during a small respite from the sonic battering. ‘Looking Down The Barrel Of a Gun’ had already proved that Beastie Boys cuts were not a one-off audience-appeasing detour: ‘3-Minute Rule’ gets similar reimagined treatment, falling somewhere between a crate-dug funk sample and KEXP-aired lo-fi. Perking the room back up, the breakneck breakbeats of ‘Switch Up’ provide the perfect bedrock for Mike’s bounding delivery.
Over an hour and 10 minutes, Mike proves he’s more than a legacy act coasting on his association with one of hip-hop’s biggest acts. Cuts from his solo record ‘Thank You’ boom out of the speakers, from the off-kilter electronica of ‘It’s Time’ to the abrasive bounce of the delayed synth-laden ‘Secrets Pt. 1’. It feels like both an extension of Beastie Boys’ sonic experimentation – an insight into what an alternate reality would look like – and something that could only come from a true desire to carry on.
Fatboy Slim-sampling ‘Body Movin’ sees Mike chasing the beat. “Gonna open a Brighton Q&A”, he jokes between tracks, before jumping down to personally hand out cups of water to the audience. The shredded bounce of ‘Remote Control’ keeps energy high before the woozy sentimentality of ‘Thank You’ pays tribute to the dearly-missed MCA. ‘We were like family / thank you for having me’ becomes quietly devastating, a rare moment of true sincerity.
Beyond the usual cheers and whistles, the demand for the encore rattles the ceilings of this place. Mercifully – or perhaps to prevent a riot – Mike obliges. A cover of Delta 5’s artsily angular ‘Mind Your Own Business’ is turned into a frantic indie-sleaze via Jamie xx bounce, while a final Beastie Boys cut in ‘So What’Cha Want’ is the expected booming distortion.
After a call-and-response reception for his final track, Mike closes by stating “Peace and love from Mike D 5D.” It’s incredibly easy to view solo shows from icons as coasting on an old name, or monetising nostalgia, yet Mike does the impossible – not just in getting Hove mums and Radio 6 dads out in the storm, but in striking the balance between crowd-pleasing and his latest project. It is neither a Beastie Boys tribute act nor stubbornly future-facing; it’s an honouring of departed friends, foundational hip-hop and the power of carrying on. For that, Thank You, Mike D.
Words by Keir Shields.