Musical heaven awaits Glasgow as Sam Fender comes to the OVO Hydro

Sam Fender showed why megastardom awaits him afte producing a breathtaking display at Manchester’s Co-Op Live on the third leg of the ‘People Watching’ tour.

Following the release of the universally-acclaimed ‘Seventeen Going Under’ in 2021, Fender was catapulted into superstar stardom. He went onto headline Reading & Leeds in 2023, performed two headline shows at St James’ Park, and even claimed Ivor Novello and Brit Award wins in 2022.

However, Fender’s rise looks set to continue in 2025. With his third album ‘People Watching’ set to be released in February, performances at Coachella and a series of stadium shows in the UK to come, and a Glastonbury headline spot looks destined to materialise in this humble writer’s opinion.

Before I dive into what you can expect from Fender, get to the arena early to catch Wunderhorse’s superb opening set. The four-piece is widely regarded as one of the UK’s fastest-rising rock bands, and they certainly deliver on stage too. Their set justifies the hype and showcases their near limitless potential. Wunderhorse’s sound is fuelled by catchy riffs, simplistic yet effective chord progressions and is complemented perfectly by Jacob Slater’s witty lyricism and impressive vocals that echoes the vocal range of Canadian rock legend Bryan Adams.

On stage, they provide boundless energy and provide a taste of their latest album ‘Midas’. The titular track is fuelled by sharp riffs, the brooding ‘July’, the emotional and Nirvana infused ‘Arizona’ and the pensive and lyrically-sound ‘Silver’ that is about the “ugly side of yourself”. If you haven’t listened to them, I genuinely recommend checking out their catalogue.

Rather than the barnstorming ‘The Kitchen’, Fender opened with a performance with the tour debut of ‘Dead Boys’, which deals with the topic of male suicide. Despite being an unexpected opener, the track is performed impeccably and sets the tone for what is a masterful display.

As a musician and as a performer Fender wears his influences on his sleeve, and the heartland rock influenced and Springsteen-esque track ‘Getting Started’ gets the audience singing and bouncing before a rendition of the profound and lyrically wonderful ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ track ‘The Borders’.

Whenever Fender tours it’s like he brings a piece of Newcastle with him, and that certainly rang true in Manchester as a large number of fans wore Newcastle United shirts in support of the singer. It’s safe to say seeing so many Newcastle jerseys in a city with two of the biggest football teams in the world is a testament to the following he has built.

For fans and critics alike, it’s easy to so why he is so revered. When he performs on stage it’s like he is just having fun “playing with his mates” as my good friend Ethan said in Manchester. His lyrics are emotive, profound and encapsulate real-life experiences that resonate with the average Joe. The aforementioned ‘Dead Boys’ and ‘Getting Started’ - the latter about needing escapism and expressing frustration with the government, ‘Seventeen Going Under’ that serves as a celebration of overcoming adversity and ‘The Spit of You’ all among prime examples of that.

With ‘People Watching’ set to be released in two months, Fender provided the audience with a taste of what to expect as he performed the acoustic-fuelled ‘Wild Long Lie’ that is complimented perfectly with a saxophone solo from Johnny ‘Blue Hat’. The comforting ‘Nostalgia’s Lie’ and the delicately-paced ‘Arm’s Length’ followed before the festival-ready ‘People Watching’ drew an electric response from the audience.

As the night unfolded, tracks such as the hell-raising and fiery ‘Spice’ and the rapid punk-infused ‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’ provided an injection of pace that sparks mosh pits galore before the indie rock & jazz fused ‘Get You Down’ allowed Fender’s high tenor voice to shine.

Then there was, the heartfelt ‘Spit of You’ that is about the singer’s relationship with his father before a riveting rendition of the piano-led Springsteen-esque ‘The Dying Light’. Euphoric performances of ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ closed out a thrilling night that further cemented Fender’s status as a generational talent.

Watching Fender live is a spectacle. If you are attending his shows in Glasgow, you’re set to witness a perfect tutorial on how to master live performances.