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Tearing through the heaven-sent guitar solo of ‘The Borders’, Sam Fender has little idea that his beloved Newcastle United FC have just scored a last-minute equaliser against Liverpool. “Three-all? Fucking come on!” is his reaction when the crowd – comprising hundreds of black-and-white NUFC shirts that now characterise his concerts – vivaciously wave him down to break the news, which only adds to his buoyant mood.
We’re inside Leeds’ First Direct Arena for the first UK date of Fender’s ‘People Watching’ tour, warming up for his third album – and stadium shows – next year. Since last performing here in 2021, the success of his second album ‘Seventeen Going Under’ has propelled him to megastar status – now arguably the greatest guitar act of his generation – via an NME Album of the Year and headlining performances at Reading & Leeds.
Another thing that’s changed since 2021 is the ticket price: £39 to £79 (including fees) to stand at this arena, with just a handful of songs released in that time period. Despite the tour’s instant sell-out, Fender’s new material comes with significant expectations to justify this price hike – although it does include a welcome £1 donation to Music Venue Trust.
The delicate ‘Wild Long Lie’, which was released on Monday, gradually ascends into a theatrical masterpiece as Fender whips out a Gibson Les Paul for its unmistakable War On Drugs-esque solo (frontman Adam Granduciel co-produced the track). The euphoric reaction to ‘People Watching’, meanwhile, confirms his golden touch with title tracks.
The upbeat ‘Nostalgia’s Lie’ is warm and cosy, almost like an older sibling to ‘Get You Down’, as Fender appears to contest with his stardom (“What is this place? / Can you take me back to somewhere, darling? / Where I feel safe”). The mellow ‘Arm’s Length’, however, never quite reaches the full form it teases, despite some glorious HAIM-style gang vocals at points. As Fender himself admits, perhaps too literally and self-consciously: “It’s got a shit little riff.”
Though warnings of mosh pit etiquette and a reminder that “You might have heard this song [‘Seventeen Going Under’] on TikTok” display Fender’s awareness of the mainstream audience he now commands, his rawer early material cuts through with unbelievable precision. ‘All Is On My Side’ is a delicate highlight, while the hell-raising one-two of ‘Spice’ (which briefly nods to Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘Song For The Dead’) and ‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’ still refuse to budge from the setlist. ‘The Dying Light’ feels equally immovable, perhaps a lesson learnt from its omission at Monday’s show in Dublin.
The climax of ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ reminds fans, in turn, of the two timeless albums that “got us into this mess in the first place” to coin an old phrase of Fender’s. There’s no radical shake-up of the setlist, but rather a sense of self-confidence to double down on a reliable approach that’s served him well. While tonight affirms that ‘People Watching’ material will have to fight for its place, a successful balance of old and new could hoist Sam Fender’s career to unprecedented heights. Glastonbury, anyone?
‘The Kitchen’
‘Getting Started’
‘The Borders’
‘Wild Long Lie’
‘All Is On My Side’
‘Nostalgia’s Lie’
‘Arm’s Length’
‘Will We Talk?’
‘People Watching’
‘Spice’
‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’
‘Get You Down’
‘Spit Of You’
‘The Dying Light’
‘Seventeen Going Under’
‘Hypersonic Missiles’
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“I received plenty of comments saying it was far too soon to ‘go solo’,” Geese frontman Cameron Winter told NME last year while reflecting on how people initially reacted to his decision to branch out on his own. “Most likely because a lot of folks assume that ‘solo albums’ only happen once a band has passed its peak and that they usually feel like uninspired cash grabs.”
Honestly, everyone is trying to earn a living however they can these days, yet no one expected a Geese side project to generate any real financial payoff in 2024. “Just so you know,” he went on, “my solo album is different: because barely anyone knows my band, I am young and comfortable living with my parents and I have the freedom to follow any ideas that interest me.”
Brooklyn indie followers and former NME cover stars Geese were gaining real momentum when their second album ‘3D Country’ mixed cowboy psychedelia with a jazzy, art-punk energy that had already captured the attention of many UK 6 Music dads back in 2023, but who could have predicted what came next? Geese have become one of the most talked-about bands of 2025 and are expected to dominate multiple end-of-year lists with the ambitious and full-range rock of ‘Getting Killed’. Yet the moment that set the stage for this rise was Winter’s Lou Reed-inspired debut solo record ‘Heavy Metal’.
A handful of late-night US television appearances and a spot on Jools Holland acted as a welcoming doorway for the world to see what this 23-year-old can do far beyond what many twice or three times his age are capable of. Now the sold-out Roundhouse audience made up of indie teens, art school regulars, fans who traveled across Europe and seasoned listeners reacts with a collective breath as a slight opening in the stage curtain reveals the silhouette of Winter seated at a piano. First comes a spark of excitement, then a sudden hush.
There is no flashy social media moment, no chatter overriding the music and almost no sea of raised phones. There is a sincerity to how the night unfolds. The Geese singer barely turns toward the audience. “Turn around!” someone calls out from the balcony at one stage. “Is this not enough for you all?” Winter teases back. For some, maybe it was more than enough. At least four people appear to faint around the warm and crowded Roundhouse while the room stands in absolute focus as Winter moves through the dreamlike storytelling of ‘Try As I May’, the emotional swirl of ‘The Rolling Stones’, the bright lift of ‘Love Takes Miles’ and the sermon-like stomp of ‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’. When he reaches the intense and spiritually charged ‘$0’, even the most skeptical hipster might be convinced that “I’m not kidding, God is actually real”. In that moment, it feels as though we all understand.
The entire performance can be summed up in how ‘Drinking Age’ unfolds. It starts softly with a gentle touch on the keys before erupting into a thunderous attack on the Steinway that could echo into next year, followed by a long, open cry aimed toward the sky. Winter somehow manages to blend something minimal with something enormous, something grounded with something cosmic, a delicate approach that hits with staggering force as he reaches toward ideas of existence, heaven, hell and everything surrounding them.
Winter could recite the phone book and still leave a crowd stunned. He carries the spirit of a post-punk Rufus Wainwright you can play alongside The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, a Gen Z Tom Waits for listeners exhausted by TikTok overload, a new Nick Cave who arrives at exactly the moment he is needed. His voice feels older than his years yet perfectly suited to express the concerns and emotions of his own generation.
We will continue praising Geese endlessly because they deserve it. They are an extraordinary burst of musical creativity that goes far beyond what their lineup would ever imply, and along with Fontaines D.C., they are poised to become one of the decade’s essential bands. Still, tonight offers something quieter and more intimate. Cameron Winter stands completely on his own power, talent and magnetism, proving himself a rising force who can hold an entire room with only his voice, a piano and an entire future waiting for him.
‘Try as I May’
‘Emperor XIII in Shades’
‘The Rolling Stones’
‘Love Takes Miles’
‘Drinking Age’
‘Serious World’
‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’
‘If You Turn Back Now’
‘Vines’
‘Nina + Field of Cops’
‘$0’
‘Take It With You’
‘Cancer of the Skull’
