Juliana Melara-Recinos / The Hoya
If you were looking for one of the most harrowing voices in the world, you would have found it at the Anthem, where English singer-songwriter Sam Fender took the stage on an unsuspecting Tuesday night. Backed with a dynamic band and beautiful lyrics, Fender’s stop in Washington, D.C., was a magical sequence full of passion and heart.
Shot into stardom by his 2019 debut album “Hypersonic Missiles,” Fender released his third album, “People Watching,” earlier this year — an 11-track project that showcased Fender’s storytelling and larger-than-life instrumentation. Hitting seven cities on this branch of his “People Watching” tour, Fender returns to the United States with a revived energy after previous cancellations in North America and Europe due to health issues.
The show opened with indie rock band Young Jesus, led by frontman John Rossiter. The quartet looked tiny on the stage, but their infectious energy was enough to make up for the empty space. Rossiter’s voice is emotive and gorgeous, positively soaring in the pre-choruses of “Rabbit.” However, the highlight had to be the simple piano and guitar combination of “Two Brothers,” a song Rossiter described as having come from using song to let hardships and loss loose on a church organ with his friends.
When Fender took the stage, the cheers and wave of sound that was “Angel of Lothian” immediately transformed the space, the atmospheric blue of Young Jesus’ set shifting to bright white and orange lights. The set faded into “Will We Talk?” soon after, to which Fender encouraged the audience to dance. After a quick introduction, the driving beat of “Getting Started” filled the expanse of the Anthem.
Although the concert was light on tracks from the eponymous album, with only four of the 11 tracks on the album performed, the setlist was a good mix of both the hits and lesser-known tracks from his previous albums “Seventeen Going Under” and “Hypersonic Missiles.” Much of Fender’s music is quite rhythmic, making slower songs such as “Crumbling Empire” and “Spit of You” feel as engaging and driven as faster-paced, instrumentally full tracks like “Getting Started.”
From the barricade, the Anthem’s sound setup made the band feel like a pounding wave of sound — strong, yet sometimes overpowering. However, Fender’s voice cleanly cut through the space, a gorgeous tenor in the midst of the beautiful instrumental layers.
A lot of the concert’s lively energy was as much a credit to Fender’s wonderful band as Fender’s performance. The band’s saxophonist Johnny “Blue Hat” Davis was a consistent highlight, shining particularly during “People Watching.” Keyboardist, occasional tambourinist and backing vocalist Brooke Bentham’s voice elevated “Tyrants,” an enchanting blend of her and Fender’s voices on the track’s chorus.
It was clear the whole band was having the time of their lives on stage, and that enthusiasm couldn’t help but pull the audience into the performance. D.C. can be hit or miss in terms of crowd energy — and given that it was a Tuesday, much of the audience felt more willing to sway rather than sing their hearts out. But that initial calm turned into an outpouring of heart by the show’s end, with much thanks to keyboardist and guitarist Joe Atkinson, who didn’t miss a chance to encourage the crowd to let loose.
Fender was quite playful throughout the show’s entirety, frequently joking with the crowd. At one point, he commented on the crowd’s politeness as claps and cheers cut off in clean bits, but that didn’t last long as the crowd delved into grunts, hoots and barks by the end of “Wild Long Lie.” After Fender expressed his appreciation for the new chants (“never heard that one before,” he joked), the grunts were a mainstay for the rest of the show.
A few audience members were able to participate in the show themselves. Selected for his sign, which read “Can I play in Borders, por favor?” one audience member joined Fender on the stage, playing the acoustic guitar for “The Borders.” During the encore, another fan positively shrieked for a performance of “Spice” as Fender prepared to play “The Dying Light.” “Tell you what, if you let me get through this fucking song, I’ll play it,” Fender said — and, much to that fan’s delight, the pounding drums of “Spice” came soon after.
It was indeed this interaction between artist and audience that made the show all the more special. The most beautiful moments were when Fender and his band led the audience to sing the choruses and backing melodic lines of “Seventeen Going Under” and “Hypersonic Missiles.” It was magical to be in the dark space as the audience finally let all their inhibitions go and sang the iconic melody of “oh”s that make up “Seventeen Going Under” before the encore.
In the past year, I have listened to Fender; I’ve found that what makes his music so special is the quiet beauty buried underneath the often massive instrumentation that builds the anthemic base Fender is known for. On that Tuesday night, Fender and his band put that beauty on full display — a joyous, ever-beating force of nature, inviting the audience to join in on the wonderful spirit and passion they poured out on the stage.