Sam Fender @ The Chapel (Leeds, UK) on November 02, 2018 [Show Review]

Sam Fender might not be a household name but, given that his current headline tour had added a third London date by the time we were queuing up to get into the Leeds date, this is a man whose popularity is very much on the rise.

Sure they might only be 200-300 capacity venues but almost all of them are sold-out and The Chapel in Leeds is no exception to the rule. Situated at the back of the Church, another of Leeds impressive venues, the Chapel is packed to the rafters as the singer-songwriter takes to the stage at 8.45 on this Friday evening and into opener “Millenium”. One of the rising stars of the UK music scene, the indie rocker has this predominantly female crowd hooked from the minute he strides out with his band and, watching him perform, it’s very easy to see why he’s one of the ones to watch for 2019.

Check out Sam Fender performing “Dead Boys” on Later With Jools Holland:

A short set is in danger of being derailed before it even gets started as sound gremlins rear their ugly head knocking all power from Sam’s guitar. It takes one of the team a good few minutes to get things back on track by which time we’ve had a bit of good-hearted banter between Sam and the crowd and an accapella rendition of some Bruce Springsteen. Sound issues aside, while this visit to Yorkshire might not be up there with his most memorable gigs of the year, the few hundred fans singing along with tracks like “Dead Boys” and “That Sound” certainly had a great night.

Set List:

01. Millenial
02. Will We Talk In The Morning
03. Start Again
04. All Is On My Side
05. Dead Boys
06. The Change
07. Friday
08. That Sound
09. Greasy Spoon
10. Play God
11. Leave Fast
12. Use