After the release of his debut single (and album) ‘Impossible’ and winning the ‘X Factor’ in 2012, James Arthur went through a self-admitted public breakdown. Fast forward to now, and he’s been smashing it. With the release of epic single ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ and amazing album, there’s no stopping him.
Yes, James Arthur is ‘Back From The Edge’ and currently on a sold-out UK tour, which I was lucky enough to get tickets for. Last week was such a busy week in my events calendar. On Monday, I went to see Russell Howard, then on Thursday I saw Craig David, followed by James Arthur on Saturday. All of which were in Cardiff, thankfully, so there wasn’t much travelling involved.
Was it any good?
Supporting James was Matt Gresham from West Australia (pictured above), and he was incredible. He definitely had a James Arthur vibe about him; very raw, very soulful. Not only that, but Matt was also a contestant on the ‘X Factor’, but on the Australian version. Thank goodness he was a lot better than the support I endured on Thursday! After an amazing set by Matt, James took to the stage and blew everyone away with his amazing vocals.
Encouraging the crowd to get up and dance (even though the information on the tickets told us ‘not to stand’), we all listened to James of course! The set list included various tracks from his latest album (pretty much all of them to be fair) and a few from his debut album, which the Cardiff crowd danced and sang along to.
He even treated us to a cover of Clean Bandit’s ‘Rockabye’, which he put his own twist on, It was SO good, I definitely think he should release it as a track. He also showcased his amazing talent by playing acoustic guitar and rocking out on an electric guitar, too.
After singing song after song, James left the stage briefly then came back to do a couple of extra songs; that’s when things got a bit crazy. I couldn’t believe the lack of security that was there on the night. There were only two people to cover the whole stage! Fair play to James for dealing with the invasion like a professional. It all started when one audience member decided it would be a good idea to try and get a selfie with him. Of course, chaos descended when everyone else thought it was a good idea to do the same.
https://twitter.com/JamesArthur23/status/843228861680828416
Thankfully, the situation was over as quickly as it kicked off, and James was able to finish the show drama-free, ending the set list with ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’. I really enjoyed the show; it was a nice mix of chilled out songs and some to get up and dance to. Thanks, James, for coming to Cardiff, and I hope the (almost) stage invasion hasn’t put you off coming here again!
https://twitter.com/eleanor_c88/status/843238876521095168
