When Sam Ryder was 13, he went to his first ever concert — a Sum 41 show at Wembley Arena. He left that night clutching his ticket stub and a dream.
“I’ve still got the ticket framed in my house,” he laughs while speaking to the Standard. “That was the night that changed my life. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I can only hope there’ll be a kid sitting in that same seat at our show, leaving with the same feeling.”
On November 6, the 35-year-old Essex-born singer will return to that same venue — only this time, he’ll be the one on stage. His upcoming Road to Wembley tour and second album Heartland mark another milestone for the former construction worker turned Eurovision hero.
“It’s like the mecca of music in the UK,” he says. “Getting to say ‘Hello Wembley!’ — they’re immortal words.”
Recorded between the UK and Nashville, Heartland — out October 17 — captures a decade of graft and grit. “Nashville’s been a spiritual home for me for 13 years,” Ryder explains. “When I first went, I was crashing on people’s dorm-room floors and eating free tuna rolls in the cafeteria. I wasn’t even enrolled at Belmont University — I was just this British kid who wanted to learn everything about music.”
Now settled in the Tennessee hills, he still feels inspired every time he’s there. “It’s such an amazing place to make music,” he says. “The city’s growing fast, but it’s kept its soul. There’s still a truth in how people create music that you don’t find everywhere.”
Back home, his Road to Wembley tour revisits the small venues that helped shape him. “A lot of those places don’t exist anymore — they’ve been torn down or turned into flats,” he says. “But the ones that are still left, I wanted to revisit, because quite frankly, when I first played them, no one came!
“It’s a way to pay homage to where this project started, and to the venues that gave us our first shot.”
The singer admits he misses the camaraderie of those early years. “I think people really crave community in music again,” he says. “Making music’s become a bit solitary — you record, make content, post it and hope for the best. But that’s not what creates a scene.”
He recalls his time cutting his teeth in the heavy-metal and punk circuits — and some of the unforgettable venues along the way. “Back then, everyone was jumping on each other’s records or touring together in vans,” he says.
“We were failing, but failing while living the dream. I remember playing in these tiny underground clubs in South America, and even a bunker in Russia with pipes running across the ceiling. You didn’t really want to know where they led, but everyone was hanging from them. It was chaos — and it was magic.”
That spirit, he says, taught him resilience. “Those years made me who I am,” he nods. “I was 31, thinking it wasn’t going to happen for me — and then overnight, it did. So now, if my biggest problem is a packed schedule, I refuse to be anything but buzzing about it.”
With Wembley on the horizon, Ryder says he wanted this tour to mean more than just another run of shows. “It’s not a normal academy tour — I wanted these dates to have heart and intention,” he explains. “That road from the small venues to Wembley tells the whole story of this journey.”
And while fans can expect fireworks, he’s keeping his feet on the ground. “The setlist is already a nightmare,” he laughs. “We’re only two albums in and struggling to fit everything in. I don’t know how bands like Oasis do it!”
Away from the stage, Ryder has been busy filming a brand-new Channel 4 show, Your Song, alongside Paloma Faith and Alison Hammond. “It’s got so much heart,” he says. “It’s about singing as a behaviour, not a career. Some of the people who take part have never sung in public before, but their songs mean everything to them. It’s so moving — I defy anyone not to cry.”
He pauses, then adds: “You don’t need the best voice in the world to tell the best story. Look at Bob Dylan — he’s not Whitney Houston, but he tells the truth.”
Between releasing a new album and touring this autumn, and with both an ITV show and a London New Year’s Day Parade performance lined up for early next year, Ryder’s schedule shows no signs of slowing. But he’s learned to keep perspective. “My granddad always told me, ‘Plough your own furrow,’” he says. “Focus on what’s in your control and don’t get distracted by what isn’t.”
It’s advice he’s come to live by. “Your path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s for it to be a success,” he adds. “For ages, I tried to make my career look like everyone else’s, but it never brought me peace. Now I’m embracing the fact that my route’s different — and that’s okay.”
Sobriety has also reshaped his outlook. “I’ve been sober for a year and a half,” he says. “I still have fun — I just go to bed early while everyone else carries on! These days, my crew and my band feel like family, so spending New Year’s together on the road is perfect.”
When he does get downtime, Ryder turns to a surprising passion: archaeology. “Egyptian history was my first love before music came along,” he admits. “I’d love to dip my toe into that world — maybe a TV show where I drive a Ferrari along the Nile?”
He laughs, remembering his own trip to the pyramids. “They look magical on Google — but turn around and there’s a McDonald’s! Still, the Valley of the Kings? Absolutely breathtaking.”
For now, though, the focus is firmly on music. “There are so many things I love besides it,” he smiles, “but music’s the thing that’s brought me the most joy — and I still can’t believe I get to do it for a living.”
Sam Ryder – Road to Wembley UK tour dates:
- Oct 16 — Resident, Brighton
- Oct 17 — HMV Manchester, Manchester
- Oct 18 — Brudenell Social Club via Crash Records, Leeds
- Oct 18 — Spinning Around Records, Telford
- Oct 19 — HMV Oxford Circus, London
- Oct 19 — Circuit via Banquet Records, London
- Oct 21 — Jacaranda, Liverpool
- Oct 22 — Cavern, Exeter (Matinee & Evening)
- Oct 26 — Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff (Matinee & Evening)
- Oct 29 — King Tut’s, Glasgow (Matinee & Evening)
- Nov 6 — OVO Arena Wembley, London
Tickets for the tour are available to buy now. Sam Ryder’s new album Heartland is out October 17.
