The Kings of America!

And their send-off at Henry’s in Sheffield showed all the materials their growing reputation on both sides of the pond is based on — high-quality playing, finely-blended vocals and a blistering stage show.

Henry’s beer garden is a tight and atmospheric location, with punters funnelled down a narrow corridor before spilling out into the open.

It has the benefit of a covered stage but two-thirds is open to the elements, which means the bands can keep their gear dry but there’s none of the musty, sweaty atmosphere you sometimes get with a dingy club night.

Thankfully, the day of the all-day festival organised and headlined by the band themselves dawned and stayed dry, leaving a packed crowd of somewhere around 150 unflustered by the weather as they enjoyed a brief summer treat.

The Kings’ 45-minute set was a mix of old and new, bookended by the songs that they want to mark them out from the 100-strong pack on the 40-date Vans Warped Tour, the ultimate bus ride across the continent which has a reputation for making stars.

Leading them out is Cold Conscience, a pulsating rock single which showcases singer Simon Thompson’s powerful but soulful voice and features the band’s lyrical complexity.

There can’t be many aspiring songwriters with a mastery of the form to rival phrases like “Clever little acronyms cut tight against your throat”.

The Other Side of Sadness, a moving salute to a lost friend, remains a firm favourite, but haunting new ballad No Resolve, with Thompson’s voice at its best even in the live arena, is fast coming up on the rails and its chorus stayed with me long afterwards.

The presence of a healthy number of the converted — fans, friends and family — ensured a comfortable ride and a party atmosphere, with even the oldest of songs given the singalong treatment.

Among these was the abiding dance-along that is You, Me, Them, Us, driven by Paul Thompson’s bass and culminating in a chorus — both off and on-stage — of its refrain of “You’re stuck in a rough situation.”

Rounding off the performance is their latest work, Postcards from Berlin, which reflects on the time the foursome — also including guitarist Sean Parkin and drummer Rich Walker — spent touring central Europe last year.

Its chorus — “Soon enough, we will reach our destination, what a rush...never wanna let go” — could have been written with the current tour in mind.

Venues on the 40-date Vans Warped Tour will be bigger and certainly more unfamiliar than Henry’s.

But with hooks to write home about and choruses to savour, this was as polished and powerful a display as they come, and there’s no reason to doubt that “rush” will continue for some time to come.