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Evening Standard

Lifestyle

Vicky Jessop

How to get tickets as Sam Fender announces London dates and stadium shows for 2025

Sam Fender Europe Newcastle London Utilita Arena (Organization)

Sam Fender can be ‘as big as he wants to be’ (Owen Humphreys/PA) - (PA Archive)

Sam Fender has announced extra dates to his 2024 People Watching UK tour, including another arena show in London and a stadium tour for 2025.

The Geordie singer-songwriter announced initial dates last week off the back of releasing his comeback single and third album, both also called People Watching.

On Friday (November 22), he announced stadium shows for both London and Newcastle.

Fender, 30, is in the frame to headline next year’s Glastonbury Festival off the back of People Watching - the album which is set for release on February 21, 2025.

North Shields’ finest has earned praise from Mark Knopfler and has already sold out his local St James’ Park football stadium.

But he is expected to dip his toes back into the water and try out new material on this December run of shows.

It will see his first appearances in the capital since 2022 and fans now have more than one chance to see him in the flesh.

Sam Fender performed at Boardmasters 2024 (PA Archive)

Who is Sam Fender?

The 30-year-old Fender is an English singer-songwriter. Born and raised in North Shields, near Newcastle, he grew up in a musical family: his father Alan plays the guitar and piano, while his brother Liam plays the drums.

At eight, Fender received his first guitar: a present from his father. He was a quick study, and started performing with his brother, playing Jimi Hendrix covers, which eventually developed into a desire to become a professional musician. “When I hit 13 it was the only thing I wanted from life,” he later said.

Despite a tumultuous adolescence – Fender and his mother lived below the poverty line for several years – he was spotted at a gig by Ben Howard’s manager, Owain Davies. In 2017, he put out his first single, Play God, which premiered on BBC Radio 1, and in November, he was put on the BBC’s Sound of 2018 shortlist.

In 2018, he released his first album, Dead Boys – while his second, Hypersonic Missiles, became a bestseller when it came out in 2019.

Famed for combining an American sound (he cites Bruce Springsteen as an influence) with British rock, his biggest hits are Seventeen Going Under, Hypersonic Missiles and Spit Of You – which addresses his fractious relationship with his father.

When will he be touring?

First things first, the People Watching tour kicks off on December 2 in Dublin, before heading to Leeds, Manchester, London on the 10th (his first gig in the city since headlining Finsbury Park in 2022), Birmingham and Glasgow. He’ll finish off on December 20 with a gig in his home city of Newcastle.

Next spring, Fender will be heading to Europe and headlining shows in Paris, Tilburg, Zurich, Cologne, Munich, Bergamo, Berlin and Amsterdam, before finally finishing in Brussels.

Fender has grander ambitions, however, and in 2025 will also be playing stadiums.

He will play London Stadium on June 6 and then two dates at St James’ Park on June 12 and 14.

CMAT and The War on Drugs have been announced as support acts - although the latter for the first and third shows.

How can I get tickets for the arena shows?

Tickets for the shows went on sale on October 25 at 10am via samfender.com.

And in Newcastle, tickets for the show on Friday, December 20 will be available by ballot to customers with North-East postcodes only. The ballot can be accessed at samfender.lnk.to/newcastleliveMB.

£1 from every ticket sold for the UK dates will be donated to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues.

How can I get tickets for the stadium shows?

Tickets go on general sale on Friday, November 29 after a presale from 9.30am on Tuesday, November 26.

To gain access to the pre-sale, fans need to pre-order the new album from the Sam Fender official store before 10am next Monday, November 25 for access.

For more information, visit www.samfender.com