Tom Walker - O2 Institute, Birmingham 18.10.2018

After arguing with the box office for 40 minutes about how I was, in fact, supposed to be shooting Tom Walker’s show tonight, I ran into the main room only to find I had missed the first support band.

After a few minutes, Maisie Peters slowly made her way on stage, and proceeded to perform one of the most beautiful sets I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing in the O2 Institute. Performing alongside a vocoder, piano, guitar and violin, tracks like 'Worst Of You' and 'Places We Were Made' seemingly struck a chord with everyone in the room. Her sense of humour was also wonderful, with her describing her latest EP as ‘above average’ and getting ridiculously excited when she realised her one friend from home had travelled to the show.

I’m not sure what I expected from Tom Walker – a laid back set perhaps, with a couple of tempo changes but overall something fairly relaxed. Instead, we were treated to a 13 song setlist that opened with 'Fly Away With Me' and included some unexpected tracks like 'Walk Alone'. The full band was a welcome addition to the show, making each song much more powerful and punchy. 'Play Dead' was an incredibly powerful performance, evident by the number of fans openly crying in the front row.

Exiting the stage after 'Rapture', the encore was deafening for his return. Tom Walker is a pleasure to watch – with boundless energy and one of the most impressive live voices I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this year, I can’t see him being confined to these smaller venues for much longer. Returning to the stage to perform 'Not Giving In' and his biggest hit, 'I Will Leave A Light On', I was solidly impressed at the sheer showmanship the man possessed. Absolutely fantastic.

Tom Walker - https://www.facebook.com/IamTomWalker/

Maisie Peters - https://www.facebook.com/maisiepetersmusic/

Photos & Review - Sutcliffe Photography