Lewis Capaldi wears his heart on his sleeve in packed-out Sheffield tour opener
What makes Lewis Capaldi stand out from modern chart musicians is his authenticity.
In a world of continually elevated productions, Spotify algorithms feeding new songs into our ears at all times, and increased concert ticket prices, it can feel like music’s further away from us than ever.
The industry and spectacle has overridden the simple joy of listening to the music someone has so passionately crafted.
And so in that current landscape, someone like Lewis Capaldi feels like a breath of fresh air.
The Scottish star opened his latest tour with a packed-out show at the Utilita Arena on Saturday, September 6.
It comes after a showstopping Glastonbury set and a multi-year break where he focused on his mental health.
But he didn’t return with some heavily choreographed dance numbers or dazzling pyrotechnics, instead standing in front of thousands of people with his guitar, backing band, and music that comes straight from the heart.
Anyone who’s seen the chart-topping singer-songwriter’s Netflix documentary, or kept up with his social media posts, will know that despite his more sombre lyrics he’s a funny guy, similar to the kind of bloke you’d meet at the pub.
Despite his growing fame, it doesn’t appear that he’s got lost in his own star power, and in front of countless adoring fans remained as authentic as ever.
While his singing was undoubtedly superb, there were two moments from the show that particularly caught my attention.
At one point, he stopped singing and focused his attention on someone in the standing area who appeared to be struggling.
A group gathered around the individual, shining their phone torches to direct arena staff, as Lewis informed the crowd that if anyone else was suffering they should do the same and someone would come to help.
Then, towards the end, he gave a more emotional statement, admitting that he hadn’t spoken to the audience as much as he’d have liked, but since this was his return to touring he was still trying to get into the swing of things.
He added: “It means everything being back here doing this.”
It was followed by him performing the contemporary classic ‘Someone You Loved’, where for a moment he stood back and listened to a full arena singing his own lyrics back to him.
In the digital world, people have learned to hide behind performative acts and squeaky clean, highly-filtered statements.
Yet, in front of an ocean of people - some carrying signs saying ‘we came from Spain’ and one reading ‘I skipped therapy for this’ - Capaldi didn’t resort to a typical ‘rockstar’ character.
He remained authentically himself; funny, sweary and with his heart on his sleeve.
His music is brilliant, anyone who turns on the radio can tell you that, but his unflinching authenticity is what makes him unforgettable.
Before I go, I would also like to celebrate the Supertram staff who did an amazing job.
Despite the huge swathes of people, they remained organised and efficiently got everyone where they needed to go late into the evening.