Amsterdam indie-pop duo Ciao Lucifer release ‘Kissing in the Rain’ ahead of UK festival dates at Focus Wales and The Great Escape in May 2026
Amsterdam duo Ciao Lucifer released “Kissing in the Rain“ on April 9, and they are bringing it to UK stages this May. Marnix Dorrestein and Willem Wits, friends since high school and the two people behind one of the Netherlands’ most reliably joyful live acts, have confirmed a string of UK festival appearances to go with it. Focus Wales and The Great Escape are both on the list. For a band that built its reputation entirely through performance, the timing feels right.
The single fits the moment. Produced by Ciao Lucifer and Simon Akkermans and mastered by Frederik Dejongh, “Kissing in the Rain” is the kind of track the duo has always made best: bright, instinctive, and constructed around a melody that lands immediately. The duo describes their music as existing for one purpose only, to escape bleak reality and dance away your demons. There is nothing heavy-handed about the way they do it. The lightness is the point, and it is earned.
A Live Show That Thinks Like a DJ Set
Ciao Lucifer does not play shows the way most bands do. Their sets move without pause, one track into the next, closer to the flow of a DJ set than a conventional band performance. It is a deliberate choice, and it has worked. European festival slots, late-night club runs, and a sold-out show at Amsterdam’s Paradiso have all confirmed what the duo already knew: the continuous format keeps crowds in the room and in the moment. UK audiences are about to find out for themselves.
The May run begins on May 8 at St. Laurence Church in Reading for the Are You Listening Festival, followed by Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham for Focus Wales on May 9. A London date at Strongroom follows on May 11, before the duo plays two separate slots at The Great Escape in Brighton, at Charles Street Tap on May 15 and Fabrica on May 16.
UK Dates: Where to Catch Them
For a band that has played everywhere from sold-out Amsterdam venues to club nights across Europe, these UK appearances mark a focused push into a new market. The Great Escape, in particular, is one of the most important platforms for emerging international artists breaking into the UK, and Ciao Lucifer’s double slot there signals genuine intent. “Kissing in the Rain” is the introduction. The live show is the argument.
The single is out now on all platforms.
