Lewis Capaldi is a pop star known for his patter. But tonight, he warns the crowd he is feeling too overwhelmed to perform his usual funnyman routine. “I probably won’t say lots this evening because I don’t know what to say,” he says. “I’m just genuinely thrilled that this is still a possibility for me.”
The 28-year-old being lost for words tonight is understandable. In 2023, Capaldi announced he was taking a hiatus from touring, after sharing his struggles with his mental health and his diagnosis in 2022 of Tourette syndrome. Having disappeared from the spotlight for the better part of two years, he made a triumphant return at Glastonbury earlier this summer for an unannounced and emotional set on the Pyramid stage. Tonight’s Sheffield show, however, marks the Scottish singer’s first headline performance since his extended break. “We’re back baby,” he tells the crowd at one point.
The show begins with Survive, with Capaldi singing “I still got something to give / Though it hurts sometimes / I’m gonna get up and live” over thunderous drums and lashings of guitar. As he hurtles through Grace and Heavenly Kind of State of Mind, he seems incredulous, nervously giggling as he gazes out at the audience. But by the time he performs Forever – complete with mass audience singalong – he has relaxed into it and shaken off any disbelief at being back.
Capaldi’s music has never been especially adventurous: it’s his voice – raspy and emotive – that’s the appeal. But absent his usual onstage banter, the back-to-back balladry and heartbreak anthems do begin to merge. The homogeny is thankfully broken up by the schmaltzy 80s stylings of Leave Me Slowly, with its pillowy electric pianos and guitar solo, and the poppier melodies of Forget Me also offer a little variation.
The most striking moment comes during The Day That I Die, a new song Capaldi says was written “at a time I didn’t know I would be around”. Sat at the piano following a raging final chorus, his voice stormy with emotion, Capaldi lowers his head and cries. It’s a performance that clearly takes a toll. However, judging by his face during the encore of Someone You Loved, the price was worth paying. “It means everything that we’re back doing this,” he says with a grin. “Excuse the pun, but I’ll be doing it till the day I die.”
• At Utilita Arena, Sheffield, 7 September, and touring the UK until 27 September
