I went to see Sam Fender in Manchester and was blown away by his incredible performance

After braving Storm Darragh and getting the train from Liverpool, I arrived in Manchester for Sam Fender’s second night at Coop Live on Saturday (December 7). My seats weren’t the best - I was that level of high up where you feel like one misstep will have you toppling down onto the rows in front - but the concert was,

Every time I listen to a Sam Fender record I am blown away by just how incredible his vocals are so I was expecting him to sound a little more rusty live. Still amazing, but you know when you can tell it’s a live performance? Well, that absolutely was not the case.

Fender’s vocals are not only just as good live, but they’re even better. Crisper, cleaner, stronger and you can feel the emotion in every single line. I’d argue that he’s the best artist of our generation.

Opening with Dead Boys was something I thought might not work, with the powerful track tackling the difficult topic male suicide. But, it was actually the perfect start to one of the best performances I have ever seen.

Next was Getting Started - a real crowd pleaser - which prepared the audience for the fantastic performance of Borders, with Fender fan, Charlie, invited on stage to play guitar.

The night continued with a total of seventeen tracks - fitting for the Seventeen Going Under star - including three brilliant songs from the new People Watching album. The title track really got the crowd going with lyrics popping up on stage and Sam encouraging us to sing along, while the yet-to-be-released Arm’s Length had me realising just how special this new record is going to be.

After witnessing 23,000 people shout “I was far too scared to hit him but I would hit him in a heartbeat now”, Fender treated us to a tour debut of Wild Grey Ocean, requested by a fan, before ending the insane gig with Hypersonic Missiles.

What’s truly lovely to see is that despite selling out arena tours, Fender remains the humble North Shields lad we all fell in love with in the first place, bantering the crowd, checking that everyone is okay before and after heavier songs and praising his incredible band.

He somehow manages to make a night of meaningful songs about the difficulties many of us face fun and light-hearted - who else could turn a lockdown queue at Aldi into a punk anthem?

Sam Fender’s People Watching Tour continues this December with dates in London, Birmingham and Glasgow. The stadium tour will begin in June 2025.