Under a warm November sky at a sold out Entertainment Quarter, the Sydney crowd trickled in throughout the afternoon to see North Shields icon, Sam Fender, command the evening stage.
Sydney's sole stop for his People Watching tour, this performance brought community, celebration and connection to a crowd hanging off his every word. The evening (21 November) was eased in by local openers Day We Ran and Beddy Rays, before Holly Humberstone took the stage for an ethereal set that paired beautifully with the sunset.
She performed with a calm and magnetic intensity, drawing us in through her raw vocals and intimate storytelling.
As anticipation grew for the main event, you could watch iconic, cartoon-drawn Aussie animals animated on the big screens, a reminder that Australia is its own iconic spot on this world tour.
The lights dimmed, the crowd shuffles forward, straining for a sight of Fender as the first song ignites the night. Eased in with guitar-driven 'Angel In Lothian' and 'Will We Talk?', there's a tidal wave of sing-alongs and cheers.
Onstage, Sam looked relaxed and charmed by the sight of his crowd as his voice cut through the open air with ease. Giving us a brief moment to applause, the singer states: "This is really surreal," with a big, satisfied grin.
One of the most iconic parts of Fender's shows are the Newcastle jerseys worn by punters to represent his home football team. They follow him as a loving reminder wherever he visits in the world and tonight was the same. Football chants were heard during brief intermissions and black and white striped scarves displayed in the air as you could feel the camaraderie throughout.
By the third song, bodies were already sitting on shoulders, phones waving high to capture the upbeat sounds of 'Getting Started', featuring a bandmate with an iconic blue Adidas bucket hat playing saxophone and harmonica, and stealing little pieces of the show.
However, Fender really knew what the people wanted as he began 'Arm's Length', not as a standard, but with a sing-along of its bridge that the crowd happily reciprocated before it trickled into the opening guitar rift.
You could see the experience and connection between bandmates when there was a small technical error between songs – "a bit spicy," as Fender put it, and they lulled the eager crowd before jumping into an obvious favourite, 'The Borders'. Arms were thrown around each other, the ground pulsated as this tumbling narrative of a song shot off.
When you looked around so many beautiful micro moments were happening throughout the audience within every song, displaying the magic and connection that Fender's music creates. You could witness families and friends video calling each other, sharing that moment in time with their loved one across the globe to the likes of 'Crumbling Empire'.
The title track of the tour brought the show into a vulnerable territory, as Fender's voice softened around the edges, tracing feelings of loneliness and fame, all in a way without being too obvious. His skilful lyricism, mixed with his soulful guitar, disguise these deeper meanings into something his fans can enjoy through any life stage, but find their roots when resonance is sought.
It is a skill not many artists master until later in their career, but Fender has had this since his first release. This balance is beautifully exposed in 'Howdown Aldi Death Queue', displaying his cheeky humour in what he himself states before its opening as "just a dumb song". It ignites instant gleeful chaos with heavy guitar rifts and explosive percussion, mixed with bright, disorientating visuals to drive the message home.
From this chaos, we are lulled into the quiet heartbreak of 'Spit Of you'. Sang with a softness warranted for its emotional weight, behind Sam polaroids piled on the screen of Fender and his father, a beautiful memoriam to their bond. Fender's greatest strength has always been his ability to make the personal feel universal, and Sydney leaned into that with full hearts.
Then came the inevitable eruption. The moment the opening notes rang out, the entire venue lit up. This was the loudest the crowd got all night, a full volume scream-along that didn't dip once for 'Seventeen Going Under'. Fender let the crowd sing entire lines, smiling as thousands of voices carried the chorus in a moment that felt communal and cathartic.
The encore began in near silence as Fender returned alone under a single spotlight. 'The Dying Light' grew slowly and hauntingly, with the band joining later to swell into something massive. Fender's voice soared on the final chorus, drenched in emotion.
Then, the grand finale; an explosion of sound, light, and adrenaline. 'Hypersonic Missiles' turned the entire venue into a jumping sea of bodies. It was euphoric and wildly joyful, the perfect closer to the show and like Fender bellowed, "what a way to end the year!".
By structuring the night with such delicate care of emotion, peaks and release, Sam Fender crafted a set that felt like a story being told to the entire city. Every song served its purpose and every person felt it.
This is an artist who is becoming a generational voice, made to be heard by the masses to express passion and humanity, and allow ourselves to be vulnerable, even within a large crowd. This is a transformative artist who is just going to continue blooming.
- written by Karene Downes
