Concert Review: Sam Fender Is A Millennial Poet At Rough Trade

At Rough Trade, smiles and pints reigned as Sam Fender became one of the most important, rising artists you can hear. Fender creates music that zips with Billy Joel melodies, Springsteen’s self reflections, and the epiphany of an entire generation of youth realizing they either have to change the ways of the past or be forever chained to them. Somehow, Sam Fender makes such fear the type of thing you want to hear at a pub crawl.

From his best mate/ bassist Dean’s accidental egging of children to his belief he did not have “the look” for an Ariana Grande video, Sam Fender has stories. He is hilariously relatable and fearless at telling everyone every awkward moment he has ever lived. Naturally, the audience loved it, and even began an impromptu Q & A because they felt so comfortable with him. He was our “Geordie” friend, and his amiability only amplified the emotions of his music. As a person, he is funny, but, as a song-writer, he is thought-provoking. 

From “FIFA 19” to “White Privilege,” nearly every Fender song confronted a level of abuse. Whether it was physical, systemic, or spiritual, he sings to a growing sense amongst younger generations that we are inheriting a mess from the previous one. Everyone assumes you want to leave your home and go off to the world because your dreams are  “too big,” but, for Fender, it’s because you want to know better. For many youth, reaming big isn’t a sign of arrogance as much as a symbol of escape from poverty, prejudice, or literal, family dysfunction. Yet, for Millennials, moving back home is, inevitably, apart of our “moving up” process, and leaves many feeling stuck. 

“Play God,” ‘Dead Boys,” “Hypersonic Missiles,” and “Millennial” might as well have been sonic, comfort blankets telling every young person that they are not deranged in feeling the world has gotten worse. Thus, Fender’s voice swims, floats, and sticks like the bedrock of a river; sounding graveled and grounded while singing to a generation that feels buried. Ultimately, his show taught me that catharsis can make you dance. People were skipping and clapping in place; with grown men gleefully screaming “Oh My God!” The audience felt deeply connected like he was their town poet; writing poems about oppressors that never see their darkness and the oppressed who struggle to hold on to their light. Hence, Sam Fender empowers a youth learning that a society going two steps back can still go four steps forward. For More Information On Sam Fender Click Here.