Sam Fender Storms the Thunderbird Centre
- Tucker McLean
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
April 6th, 2025
UBC’s Thunderbird Sports Centre may have looked just like his hometown ice rink in North Shields, England, but Sam Fender and his band were a long way from home.
On Saturday night, Sam Fender, heavy with jet lag, played the only Canadian stop in his People Watching tour, a sold-out show in Vancouver. Sam was noticeably impressed by the size of the crowd. “Who here’s Canadian?” Sam asked. A roar erupted from across the stadium. “Any Geordies? Irish? Scottish?” With each call, a response rippled from the back of the stadium to the stage lights. “This is the maddest production we’ve ever had,” Sam said, noticeably intoxicated by the energy of the crowd.
The 8-piece band had a full, commanding presence, with multiple guitarists and keyboardists and the occasional feature of trumpet, mandolin, saxophone, harmonica. It was the kind of driving sound you’d want to backtrack a long-distance road trip, with a thumping kick drum like the revolution of a tire, sing-along choruses you’d roll down the window to belt out, and winding solos to close your eyes and lean back into.
Sam played a spread of songs off of his three albums, with subjects ranging from the struggles of the working class with “Crumbling Empire” and new B-side “Tyrants,” to his own inner conflicts in “People Watching.” Feeling comfortable with the crowd, and a bit cheeky, Sam even teased the audience several times with the opening lick from “Spit of You,” stopping and starting until the audience was rabid.
At the close of the show, under the championship banners hanging from the stadium rafters, the band left the stage and the audience kept crooning the melody of “Seventeen Going Under” like a throng of English football fans. When the band inevitably returned to the stage for their encore, Sam couldn’t help but join in on the chant, noticeably touched by the moment, a rare instance of a rising artist and a rapt audience in mutual awe of one another. Though he’s blown up in the 6 years since Hypersonic Missiles, Sam is clearly still humbled by his success. He likened it all to being in a car accident, and this is a dream he’s woken up into.
Sam ended the night with a promise, “Right, well, we’re definitely coming back here.” It stands to reason that when he next crosses the ocean to these shores, he’ll be greeted by an even greater wave of fans.
