Sam Fender, Holly Humbestone, Esha Tewari @ Entertainment Centre, Adelaide 25/11/2025
It was quite the contrast to when Sam Fender last played in Adelaide at the inaugural Harvest Rock Festival in torrential rain. To enjoy this show in the salubrious surrounds of the Adelaide Entertainment was a much-welcomed relief. There’s no denying the elite talent of Sam Fender who has built a wealth of material across three albums now with the cherry on the cake being the recipient of this year’s Mercury Prize for his latest album People Watching as well as three BRIT Awards. That’s nothing to be scoffed at either! It is fair to say the Fender is riding the crest of the wave which does not look like breaking any time soon.
It is tough going getting to these shows that start at seven o’clock but those who made it were rewarded with some great music starting with up and comer Esha Tewari. There are big wraps on Esha and it is quite easy to see why. There are plenty of stunning indie pop ditties in the kit bag and playing solo on acoustic is tough in the Arena compared to say, the intimate surrounds of The Gov across the road. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Esha Tewari if latest single In Two’s.
Holly Humberstone has built quite the following since her first to Australia in 2024 bringing her unique brand of fusing synth driven pop and indie rock. There’s a certain sense of vulnerability in her music that makes it relatable and gives it that wholesome charm. Asking the crowd if they were excited to see Sam Fender it was down to business starting with The Walls Are Way Too Thin followed by Paint My Bedroom Black and Falling Asleep At The Wheel. Committed to her art Holly mentioned that she had not left her home much over the past year focusing on writing songs for her new album. Balancing the new in Die Happy and Cruel World (not officially released yet) with older songs Dive and Scarlett worked seamlessly.
Sam Fender’s roots are firmly tied in Newcastle, UK so it was no surprise to see loads of fans sporting Newcastle United shirts. It would have been interesting to see the count of ex-pats versus Adelaide locals in attendance but irrespective of that the show had a great vibe which lived up to the hype. Eighty minutes of indie rock backed by a seven-piece band who were well drilled and super tight. Wow! They were seriously good charging out of the blocks with Angel In Lothian. Comparisons are made to the likes of legendary performers in the ilk of Bruce Springsteen who are renowned for creating songs that are anthemic drawing on the everyday struggles. There is something captivating about his high tenor vocals and his distinctive accent.
The crowd sung in earnest to the first of many sing-a-longs in Will We Talk? followed by Getting Started. Fender remarked what he considered to be the best day of the tour launching in to Arm’s Length. Fender jokingly said he was happy seeing Aussie fans at Aussie shows asking how many were actually here. One lucky fan who knew the chords to The Borders got dragged up to stage to play a stellar role in convincing fashion fitting in the band well. Crumbling Empire was tops followed by a special dedication to Fender’s Uncle Paul, who lives here, playing People Watching. Fender reflected on a massive three years with this being the second to last show before taking time away to write the next album. He also dropped news of a deluxe version of People Watching coming before the year is out.
Things got a little chaotic on Howdon Aldi Death Queue to which Fender labelled it as a “fucking stupid pop song about Aldi”. It definitely made for a subtle twist compared to the rest of the set list. Finishing the main set in a blaze of glory on Spit Of You and Seventeen Going Under the encore offered something else with Fender returning solo on piano to start The Dying Light. Holy Humberstone returned to duet on Something Heavy finishing on his epic hit single Hypersonic Missile which sent the fans in to hyperdrive one last time. With confetti being showered over the crowd it was quite the finish. Great show and now with a family connection here we’ll no doubt be seeing Sam Fender return next time round.
Live Review By Rob Lyon