Photo Credit: Press

Alternative rock seasoned veterans THE XCERTS returned to Sheffield for the first time since their 10th anniversary celebrations of ‘In The Cold Wind We Smile‘ back in 2019. This time, they graced the steel city with a performance at Yellow Arch in the growing Kelham Island area of the city as part of their intimate UK tour.

Cheers erupted around the room as the band emerged from the back of the stage, quickly kicking off the show with ‘GIMME‘. The Sheffield crowd was belting out the chorus to fan favourite ‘Daydream‘, and the trio’s energy was captivating throughout the whole performance. The short but upbeat track ‘Ache‘ was a perfect interlude before the heavier, more subdued ‘Jealousy‘, as the set progressed with a ray of songs from over the years.

‘Blame’ carried on with tracks from the band’s most recent album, ‘Learning How to Live and Let Go‘, before going back in time with ‘Live Like This‘, in order to give material from each record a chance to be heard that evening. Title track ‘Hold On to Your Heart‘ was one of the most well-received songs on the set and the Sheffield crowd returned with force for the chorus, and this continued for ‘Lovesick‘ and ‘Feels Like Falling in Love‘, where Murray Macleod allowed the audience to take control to finish the song in style.

Bassist Jordan Smith and drummer Tom Heron departed the stage as the night came to a close with Murray carrying out an unplugged version of ‘Aberdeen 1987‘ to give it that authentic intimate feeling one more time, with the Sheffield audience taking over the lyrics once again to see out THE XCERTS’ welcomed return to the steel city.