James Blunt performing his The Stars Beneath My Feet Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday 12th February 2022



Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

With large screens announcing that the band, artist and crowd were all ready, the affable and much maligned James Blunt and his band arrived on the Motorpoint Arena stage on Saturday night, to finally deliver his The Stars Beneath My Feet Tour.

Opening with Breathe from his 2013 album Moon Landing he quickly got the crowd on their feet and singing along to Wisemen that saw Blunt running around the stage, playing an acoustic guitar like a man possessed.

His good looks, public schoolboy accent and distinct vocals have all stopped him from getting the credit he deserves, but his use of social media has certainly endeared him to his massive fan base as he jokingly dismisses himself as a one hit wonder. But his in between song banter and his timeless songs of romance and heartache really kept the crowd entertained.

Telling the crowd that he had discovered many things during the lockdown that he didn’t know existed, like his children, had everyone laughing, showing that his scathing self depreciation is actually very popular.

Switching seamlessly between acoustic guitar, ukulele and piano, Blunt took everyone on a trip down memory lane with the likes of Goodbye My Lover, High, So Long Jimmy and of course his massive hit, You’re Beautiful all taken from his debut studio album, Back To Bedlam.

The Arena was silenced for the incredibly emotional Monsters, a stunningly raw farewell to his ailing father and The Greatest, a song originally written for his children was recently re-released to raise funds for the NHS.

The skilful guitar shredding that closed Postcards was very impressive and allowed Blunts fellow band members to merge their musical talents perfectly with his famous vocals. There was the Mumford & Son sounding Stay The Night before his latest single Adrenaline had the whole Arena rocking.

Finishing off with the Pixies Where Is My Mind, 1973 and Bonfire Heart that had everyone swaying along, Blunt had delivered a show that was impossible to hate.