Photo Credit: James Keane
In anticipation of his much-awaited return to the North, football fan extraordinaire TOM GRENNAN embarked on a small run of headliner outdoor shows as he prepares for festival season in style. His appearance in Leeds was part of Millennium Squares’ annual live concert series which see’s the everyday used picturesque city centre location closed off to the public and host a bunch of names through the summer. Bringing football home with him in his own way, GRENNAN warmed up the crowd with Fat Les’ ‘Vindaloo’ blasting out of the PA just as the England men’s national football team had just secured a spot in the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final earlier that day.
The sold out crowd began screaming as TOM and his band stepped out onto the stage, with the frontman going further to greet those in attendance as he walked from one side to the other, waving to everyone with that big grin on his face that he is known for. ‘If Only‘ kicked off the set, as the Leeds crowd were met with a sudden surprise by the brief bursts of pyrotechnics that occurred in between the song, with the small puffs of fire were face melting from the off. Naturally, TOM‘s declaration that he always looks forward to performing in the North of England was warmly applauded across the square.
Following a series of abridged renditions of ‘Sober‘, ‘Royal Highness‘ and ‘Barbed Wire‘, one of GRENNAN‘s most beloved recent additions ‘How Does It Feel’ made an early appearance on the set list. Needless to say, the entire venue was dancing to one of his biggest charting tunes; the positive energy persisted throughout the evening. Although the summer months are supposed to be the warmest of the year, one drawback of holding outdoor performances or festivals in the UK is that rain is a given. How appropriate that the rainy weather arrived during ‘Head Up‘ when everyone took a minute to connect rather than duck under cover this time.
When the rain soon stopped, ‘All These Nights‘ took over, it kept the energy levels high. Meanwhile, TOM urged everyone to light up their phone torches for ‘Here‘ so that when nightfall crept into the sky, the plaza would be illuminated. ‘Found What I’ve Been Looking For‘ which was his first charting single, and it continues to be one of his most popular songs to date, with everyone joining in showing that they have been on this ride with the Bedford man from the very start.
Next came a series of tracks that GRENNAN had featured on; as he performed all of them alone. The Leeds audience was still having a great time despite the performance was coming to an end. KSI’s ‘Not Over Yet‘ revived the exploding pyro, whilst Calvin Harris’s ‘By Your Side‘ is the ideal summer banger to start any party.
In addition to capping off his welcomed return to Leeds with the wonderful ‘Remind Me‘, GRENNAN ended the night with the much adored ‘Little Bit of Love’. The sold out Leeds performance sets the stage for the remainder of his festival season, from playing a series of sold out headline performances, to main stage appearances over the course of the next month, he is sure to continue bringing in large crowds to round off the summer in style.
Taped Magazine 