Tuesday night saw Sam Fender put on an epic hometown show at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.
Surrounded by 11,000 screaming fans bellowing out the “Toon Army” chant and waving NUFC Flags, Fender took to the stage firing straight into Will We Talk? and Getting Started. Fender was clearly ecstatic to be back on home turf.
Launching into the Dead Boys Fender dedicated the track to “all the ones that couldn’t make it tonight” while thousands of phones lit up the arena.
Fender allowed the audience to catch their breath with Mantra followed by Better of Me and The Boarders. Getting back into it and picking up the pace it was time to get rowdy with Spice & Howden Aldi Death Queue which saw the crowd go crazy.
It must be noted that throughout the night Fender was closely watching the crowd and paused the show several times to assist security. At one point he asked for everyone to “take a step back” to make sure those at the front had enough room.
The biggest moment of the night was easily during the encore. First up was fan favourite Saturday with the crowd belting out “if Saturday don’t come soon, I’m gonna lose my mind.” Up next was Seventeen Going Under which became a viral sensation on TikTok. This had the crowd bellowing the lyrics “I was far too scared to hit him, but I would hit him in a heartbeat now.” Closing the night with his biggest song, Hypersonic Missiles had the crowd going completely mad.
As the show ended Fender showed solidarity with the people of Ukraine with the on stage screens displaying the Ukrainian flag with text saying “United for Ukraine.”
As always Sam Fender knows how to put on an incredible show and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Geordie star.
Words & Pictures: Will Gorman @willgormanphoto