It's the gig his fans have been calling out for and Sam Fender has announced that he will play a massive stadium gig at St James' Park in Newcastle.
North Shields singer Sam has had a year to remember, with wins at the Brits and NME Awards, sell out shows across Europe and America and an emphatic debut at Glastonbury, which was lapped up my music lovers and critics alike. He and his band also played two consecutive capacity shows at Newcastle's Utilita Arena, as well as raising thousands of pounds for North East Homeless with a more intimate charity concert at O2 City Hall.
Every time Sam plays on home turf, fans, particular those unable to get their hands on a ticket, long for him to do a bigger venue. Well, now their wish has been granted in emphatic style as Sam took to the turf at St James' Park to announce that he will be playing there on .
READ MORE: Sam Fender's St James Park support acts announced as fans go wild
Speculation that Sam was about to make a huge announcement involving SJP was rife on Twitter on Thursday, August 25, after fans doing the stadium tour, clocked him in the centre circle armed with a black and white guitar. Given that there was already plenty of excitement surrounding United with talk of the record signing of Alexander Isak being completed, some fans wondered if Sam was going to play some part in the unveiling.
And just over a week later the man himself confirmed that the rumours were true as he confirmed he will play St James' on Friday, June 9 2023.
Revealing all, above a video of him and his bandmates walking out onto the SJP turf to the strains of Local Hero, Sam wrote: "It's a childhood dream come true. I always joked that one day we might play St James' Park in Newcastle, the biggest stadium in the north east, and now we're actually gonna play it on the 9th June next year. It's gonna be such a special moment and I hope you all join us for it."
Tickets go on sale next Friday, September 9 via Ticketmaster. Pre-sale goes live on Wednesday 7 at 10am. Sign up for access HERE.
The June 9 date will also clash with the annual Geordie tradition of the Blaydon Race, with runners taking off from Collingwood Street to Blaydon in Gateshead.
Sam is a massive Newcastle United fan, having been there to party with fans outside of St James' when the club's takeover was confirmed in October last year, before going onto be very hungover for an appearance on BBC Breakfast the morning after. And when his debut album Hypersonic Missiles hit number 1, it was down to Magpies legend Alan Shearer to surprise him with a number 1 statue.
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