Review and Photography by Robert Barrett

Years of buildup and hype have been leading to this point, Sam Fender’s first full arena tour. Over the past few years he’s become a British household name, and with two successful albums behind him it was time to him to take his rightful place as a fully-fledged arena artist.

With great power comes great responsibility, and for Sam his responsibility was bringing Goat Girl along with him on the tour. Playing a set almost completely comprised of tracks from 2021s “On All Fours”, it was a short but sweet set was slightly lost on the arena crowd due to the size of the venue.

The lights went low as Sam took to the stage to play “Will We Talk”. From the moment he started he seemed at ease and ready for the massive crowd. Three songs in came “Dead Boys”, which made the most of the giant screens behind Sam with artwork reflecting the song’s important themes.

Unlike the last time we caught him it was a full set on his own songs this time. CO2 cannon’s during “Spice” and “Howdon Aldi Death Queue” gave the set a theatrical edge expected at these venues. But it could have been Sam on his own and the crowd would have still loved the set as much, the songs all worked incredibly in the venue.

By the time “Hypersonic Missiles” blasted through the speakers with confetti raining down, Sam had truly cemented himself as an arena act, festival headlining next?