BRADLEY SIMPSON: BIRMINGHAM, UK
Bradley Simpson with support from Nieve Ella
O2 Institute Birmingham
words by Caitlyn Finkelstein
On Saturday 17th May, Bradley ‘Brad’ Simpson took the stage at the O2 Institute for a hometown show on the tour of his debut solo album The Panic Years. With the stage set with a red curtain, and his name illuminating the backdrop, the crowd filled the room, buzzing with anticipation to see what The Vamps’ star had in store for them.
The night began with a beautiful set from Nieve Ella, who was the perfect person to warm up the crowd, as her infectious energy captured everybody in the room. Performing her own fan favourites; beginning the set with ‘The Things We Say’, throwing in a cover of ‘Spring into Summer’, by Lizzy McAlpine, and finishing with ‘Sugarcoated’, it was clear that she knew her audience. She played alongside guitarist Finn, as her full band wouldn’t be joining them until further into the tour, however this didn’t prevent her sound from filling the room and hyping the audience up for Bradley Simpson’s set. Nieve is an incredible artist, and definitely making her mark in a time of female artists beginning to take over the scene.
As the opening notes blared from the speakers, band members Elena Costa (drums) and James Attwood (guitar/bass) took to the stage, receiving a very warm welcome from the audience. Despite not being a single, ‘Getting Clear’ was the perfect song to start the night with, the crowd electric with excitement as Bradley Simpson finally made his entrance and instantly filled the stage with a rockstar energy, even dressed in a leather jacket to complete the look. Building on the energy in the room, Brad encouraged the crowd to sing along to the song’s iconic hook of “Going from okay, the alright, to f**k yeah, it’s my time”, and it certainly was his time.
Around halfway through the set, Brad welcomed support act Nieve onto the stage for a performance of ‘Favourite Band’, one of Brad’s album tracks that the pair had recently released a duet of, and the crowd went wild. The duo was the perfect match as their stage presence bounced off each other, singing, dancing, and engaging with the audience in a way that seemed natural.
Throughout the night he embodied the stage, a born performer as he captivated the room that he spent countless hours in watching acts in himself through his youth. In counter to his usual performance and creating what holds a core memory for everybody in the room, Brad jumped into the crowd for an acoustic performance of ‘The bands not breaking up’. Silence filled the room as he took his place in the middle of the crowd, just him and his guitar echoing amongst the walls of the venue until, in the last chorus, the crowd joined in, creating a beautiful moment between artist and fan.
Intense energy quickly returned to the set as brad jumped back on stage for a cover of ‘505’ by the Arctic Monkeys, his second time covering the iconic track as he first shocked the Sheffield audience with it, much to their joy. He then transitioned back into his own tracks, playing ‘Always Like this’ and ‘The Panic Years’, before disappearing off stage leaving the audience wanting more, and knowing his most iconic songs were yet to come.
Returning the stage following a determined chant for “more” from the audience, the band burst into the unmistakable intro to ‘Daisies’, one of Brad’s first solo tracks, and evidently a crowd favourite. He asked the audience to put their phones away for the last verse of the song, encouraging them to dance and live in the moment with him as much as possible, even telling people in the pit to sit on each other’s shoulder’s festival style. It was a moment of pure happiness for everybody as they danced and sang along with Brad, without worrying about capturing the perfect video. The show ended with ‘Carpet Burn’, another fan favourite as the audience loudly sung along to every word, hanging on to the final moments of the set before Brad and the band made their exit, leaving that same feeling of electricity from the beginning of the show hanging in the air.
Overall, the night was nothing short of incredible, it was evident how well Brad knows his audience and his constant interaction with those in the crowd almost blurred the traditional lines of artist and fan as the genuine excitement to see each other felt almost mutual. This is just the beginning of Brad’s solo career, and it’s safe to say that whatever comes next will be nothing short of show-stopping.