With the release of his 2018 album ‘Runaway’, British folk singer-songwriter Passenger (aka Mike Rosenberg) performed to a sold-out crowd at The Gov in Adelaide on Tuesday (20 November).
Special guest support act, folk-pop duo Winterbourne fit the theme of the night perfectly giving their own sample of semi-acoustic guitar ballads, witty humour and charm.
Winterbourne were well received by the crowd, with what seemed like the whole sold-out audience getting in early to hear their silky smooth melodies.
Mike then took to the stage, on his own with only an acoustic guitar in hand. Mike makes each gig feel like a one-on-one serenade, greeting the crowd like an old friend he hasn’t seen in a long time. He explains the story behind each song before performing, making the lyrics and meanings truly connect with the audience.
Some older songs gave the audience time to reminisce on familiar stories, while Mike’s recent travels across America and new tales from ‘Runaway’ gave everyone new opportunities to laugh and lyrics to sing.
Click here to read our August 2018 interview with Passenger.
Mixed with an odd combination of bashful charisma and witty humbleness, Mike has a unique stage presence and humour that makes the show half comedy, half concert.
The set list only consisted of 12 songs in an hour and a half because it was filled with stories, self-deprecating jokes and general back and forth banter with the crowd. If anything, the only complaint would be that there wasn’t enough time to tell more stories.
Although Mike jokes and describes his career as having that “one and only hit single”, the sold-out crowd remained perfectly silent, ears perked for each song, when not singing along. Only the sound of the air conditioner fan humming in the background broke the silence.
Of course, every single person in the room sang along matching every word when he performed his hit single, viewed by over 2 billion people on YouTube, ‘Let Her Go’.
A Passenger show is a hybrid of comedy, storytelling and music; where one man and an acoustic guitar can put on one of the best shows of the year.
