“Said it’s good to be back, good to be back,” sang vocalist Liam Gallagher, improvising a bit as Oasis took to the stage Friday night in Cardiff, Wales with “Hello,” the opening track from the band’s 1995 sophomore studio effort (What’s the Story)Morning Glory.

It was the first Oasis performance in 16 years and the band - brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, who took to the stage hand in hand, guitarists Gem Archer and Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Joey Waronker - performed for about two hours in front of 62,000 as the “Oasis Live ‘25” reunion tour kicked off at a sold out Principality Stadium.

“It was momentous for me and I think for a lot of people,” said Daniel Boczarski, a fan who travelled from Chicago, Illinois to Wales for the event. “Especially culturally for the U.K. fans: to be there and see that they actually did pull this off after so many years was special,” he said. “I saw grown men crying tears of joy and teenagers taking selfies,” said Boczarski, illustrating the group’s cross-generational appeal. “It was just a good, fun time. And that’s what rock and roll should be about.”

Fans bounced along as Oasis dusted off “Acquiesce” second in the set, the B-side to the group’s first U.K. #1 “Some Might Say,” which the band offered up two songs later.

“Acquiesce” also appeared on the 1998 Oasis compilation The Masterplan and was recently released as an acoustic remix, the first single from the group’s forthcoming 30th anniversary reissue of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, due October 3, 2025 on CD or vinyl and for online streaming via Big Brother Recordings.

Christian Madden handled keyboards with Alastair White (trombone), Joe Auckland (trumpet) and Steve Hamilton (saxophone) chipping in on “Half the World Away.”

Fans from around the world made the voyage to Cardiff to capture a moment in music history many thought would never happen, a reunion which moves to America with a sold out appearance August 28 at Chicago’s Soldier Field before continuing abroad into late November.

“For my friends and I, it’s the trip of a lifetime. My friend Matt loves Oasis, so he couldn’t miss it,” said Michael Hurcomb a photographer by trade who will be attending the upcoming Oasis performance as a fan in London on July 25, the first of a five night run at Wembley Stadium, making the trip from Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. “My wife and I have never been to England and we were planning a group trip. So, when Oasis announced the tour we knew we had to go,” he said. “We had to be up at 3AM to try to get tickets for Ireland. I had four tickets in my cart but, at the last minute, Ticketmaster didn’t like that I had multiple tabs open and booted me out,” said Hurcomb, echoing the frustrations of fans globally with the ticketing giant during the initial on sale last October. “At 4AM, the England shows went on sale and I got a really low queue number for Wembley. So, I waited it out and got outstanding seats.”

Opening the encore with “The Masterplan,” Oasis called it a night on stage in Cardiff in epic fashion.

“Right you beautiful people,” said Liam, introducing Oasis’ closing rendition of “Champagne Supernova” following “Wonderwall.” “This is it!”