Music

Sam Fender covers Thin Lizzy and invites brother Liam on stage at first of three homecoming shows at St James’ Park 

Jun 13, 2025 - 15:04
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Sam Fender covers Thin Lizzy and invites brother Liam on stage at first of three homecoming shows at St James’ Park 

Sam Fender performs in 2025

Sam Fender kicked off the first of his three huge Newcastle shows by inviting his brother Liam on stage. Check out footage and the setlist below.

The gig took place at the mammoth St. James’ Park venue in the artist’s hometown last night (June 12) and saw the singer-songwriter and guitarist head back to the football ground after first playing there in 2023. Those gigs meant he was the first Geordie artist to headline the stadium, and saw him bring out AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and pay tribute to Bruce Springsteen.

Now, in his return to the site, Fender kicked things off by entering the stage to the Champions League anthem. From there, he kept the theme going by launching the show with a cover of the song ‘Going Home: Theme Of The Local Hero’, which was written by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler.

Following on with ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ tracks ‘Will We Talk?’ and ‘Dead Boys’, the singer performed ‘Get You Down’, ‘Getting Started’ and ‘Spit Of You’ from sophomore album ‘Seventeen Going Under’, as well as tracks from his latest album ‘People Watching’.

One of which was a rendition of the record’s penultimate track, ‘Something Heavy’ – which Fender invited his brother Liam on stage to collaborate on.

The appearance on stage together comes following Liam, who is also a musician, previously joking that if they were in a band together, they’d “make the Gallagher brothers look like fucking Jedward.” He also opened up to NME about how he and his brother got into music as kids, explaining that their parents raised them on Steely Dan and Sting.

Liam wasn’t the only surprise guest of the night, as Fender also invited his former guitar teacher Phil Martin to the stage at St James’ Park, where the two of them covered the classic Thin Lizzy hit ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’.

Other highlights of the night included a huge homage to footballer Dan Burn, who helped Newcastle win their first major domestic trophy in seven decades this spring, with their 2-1 win against Liverpool at Wembley. As seen in fan footage of the gig, Burn was in attendance for the gig, and got to witness the crowd chanting his name firsthand.

Check out the moment below, along with the setlist, and clips of other parts of the gig.

Sam Fender’s June 12 setlist was:

‘Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero’ (Mark Knopfler cover)
‘Getting Started’
‘Will We Talk?’
‘Arm’s Length’
‘The Borders’
‘Dead Boys’
‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’
‘Crumbling Empire’
‘Tyrants’
‘Something Heavy’ (with Liam Fender)
‘People Watching’
‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ (Thin Lizzy cover with Phil Martin, Sam’s former Guitar Teacher)
‘Get You Down’ (preceded by Dan Burn chant)
‘Spit of You’
‘Seventeen Going Under’
‘Remember My Name’
‘The Dying Light’
‘Hypersonic Missiles’

“Sam Fender is the greatest artist this country has had in YEARS,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter, in response to the gig, while another added: “What an atmosphere! Absolutely amazing performance”.

“Absolutely amazing atmosphere at St James’ Park in Newcastle for the first of Sam Fender’s three nights here,” a third shared, while someone else posted: “From big techno numbers to pared-back vocals, he was awesome!”

Find more fan responses below.

Sam Fender’s shows at St James’ Park will continue this weekend, with further slots lined up for both Saturday and Sunday (June 14 and 15).

The shows follow on from Fender playing at the 82,500-capacity London Stadium last week as he kicked off his huge UK summer tour. For the gig, he was joined by Olivia Dean for a rendition of ‘Rein Me In’. He also used the show to give a passionate pro-Palestine speech.

“It breaks my heart, and it’s probably more relevant now than it was then. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’ve got Doctors Without Borders with us at the show tonight,” he said.

“They do incredible work out there, they’re legitimate, real heroes who are out there helping the people, and they’re gonna be with us on all of our summer shows.”

In August Fender will play three big outdoor gigs in Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as top the bill at Ireland’s Electric Picnic. Find any remaining tickets for Fender’s UK and Ireland headline dates here.

In a four-star review of ‘People Watching’, NME shared: “Reflective, analytical and vulnerable, ‘People Watching’ does exactly what the title may suggest: takes stock of the characters, friends and loved ones who have made Fender the person he is today. He approaches each track with sensitivity as he looks back on his life so far – perhaps even with an inkling of guilt – and contemplates who he may be next.”

The post Sam Fender covers Thin Lizzy and invites brother Liam on stage at first of three homecoming shows at St James’ Park  appeared first on NME.

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