After taking some time off to recuperate, Lewis Capaldi is well and truly back. One of the last stops on the UK leg of his huge world tour was at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, where he treated his fans to a confident performance...
Lewis Capaldi is a man who wears his emotions for all to see. He is no stranger to sadness, nerves or depression – and when he feels joy, it’s joy that everyone can share. When you give so much of yourself, there will inevitably be times when it all becomes too much, and times you need to retreat for a while.
After Capaldi’s truncated Glastonbury 2023 performance, he duly took some time away from the glare of the spotlight. Then, this summer, he returned to Worthy Farm to exorcise some demons on the Pyramid Stage, before embarking on a world headline tour in September. Reviews of the first stop of the tour, in Sheffield, revealed a revitalised Capaldi, but also someone still adjusting to the reality of being back on stage.
Tonight, after almost three weeks of touring, there was no sign of the nerves which had flared in Sheffield. Capaldi strode on to stage as an ambient, slowly building intro formed into Survive. His voice sounded notably strong, although he paced the stage cautiously at first, never starting far from the safety of his microphone. But those paces became stronger quickly as Capaldi adjusted to the setting during the first trio of songs (Grace and Heavenly State of Mind were the next two).
“My name’s Lewis Capaldi and it’s good to be back in Nottingham again,” were his first, understated words. ”I’ve been away for two years getting myself in good nick, and here we are.”
There’d be plenty more of that understated, modest and totally down-to-Earth attitude from Capaldi tonight, and plenty more references to his hiatus and the healing process he’s been through. In a charmingly self-aware way, he was also quick to acknowledge that his music tends to the slower, sadder side.
“There’s a lot of f*****g ballads… we’ll lose you for a little bit in the middle but then we’ll get you back at the end,” he said, before launching into a plaintive and heartfelt Wish You The Best, followed by Love the Hell Out of You. Honestly, it was doubtful that any of the 10,000-strong crowd cared about the prevalence of ballads; in fact, most had probably come for exactly those kinds of songs.
Capaldi declared he had lots of new music to share, with lots more coming before Christmas. He then offered Almost, which came through as a rich and strong (and, yes, a ballad), with Capaldi’s voice soaring as he began to push it more firmly.
Bruises was stripped back, with a piano merely providing emphasis, and featured a great contrast between roaring lyrical lines, where the full-throated crowd provided a huge backing track, and near-silence in the gaps – a clear mark of respect and love from the fans.
There were lots more highlights after this: after Pointless, a fan threw a custom-made T-Shirt on stage which Capaldi jokingly noted was “only a Medium”; and gorgeous new song Something in the Heavens sparked a galaxy of lights across the vast venue as the fans’ LED wristbands came to life, before a deluge of confetti rained down.
Forget Me is one of Capaldi’s rarer, faster numbers and was always going to be a high point. It sounded particularly upbeat tonight, with the band given licence to play around with the tune and rhythms a little. In this song, and many others, Capaldi couldn’t resist allowing the crowd to fill in some lyrics, but it never felt overdone: we got our money’s worth from the star on stage.
After The Pretender, Capaldi moved to the piano to perform The Day That I Die, which he described as “the most personal song I’ve ever written”. It was an emotional moment, but Capaldi did not allow himself to be swept away tonight, keeping things confidently moving while still engaging.
Before You Go saw the array of lights in the crowd turn blue. After it ended, Capaldi spent some time chatting before confessing that this was supposed to be the end of the main set where he would leave the stage and return. Having not quite performed this part as planned, he casually restarted the song, delivering another huge rendition of the chorus before darkness fell.
Capaldi returned after a minute or two, alone, to play How I’m Feeling Now. The band returned during the first chorus, seamlessly joining in to build the song to a strong ending. Then it was Hold Me While You Wait, with a flood of red lighting filing the hall, and time for the band to depart again.
It fell to Capaldi to finish this huge performance almost alone, with just his pianist in support. The closing song was, of course, Someone You Loved (dedicated tonight to a fan named Harry): a soaring, lush and deeply satisfying song which was followed by waves of ovation from all corners of the Arena.
“Thank you very much for coming – honestly this is the most fun I’ve had at any of the gigs. I’m nice and relaxed and happy,” were Capaldi’s parting words. And it was clear to all of us that he really meant them, from the heart.
Lewis Capaldi performed at Motorpoint Arena on 26th September 2025.
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