Touring across sold-out arenas throughout England on their Love is the Answer tour, James returned to Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena giving an awe–striking performance to an ever-eager crowd. Support came from Doves...
Before the band made an appearance on stage, I could feel an incredibly strong sense of excitement and anticipation from the tightly packed crowd, with shouts of excitement and camaraderie during the buildup to the performance. Once the background music faded and lights dimmed, an uproar of cheering and clapping arose from the crowd filling the arena with noise.
Opening swiftly with Out to Get You, a clear connection between the band and the fans was prominent, with a sea of people dancing and singing along to the music which was incredible to see. Following this, they continued the palpable performance with Waltzing Along, I Know What I’m Here For and Come Home, engaging with the crowd establishing a community brought together by music.
The band were accompanied with an incredible lighting and stage set up, with defining and appealing strobe lights effectively complimenting the music and animating the stage bringing a strong visual element to the audible experience. Further into the performance, notably during Say Something, I was surprised to see frontman Tim Booth exit the stage and leap down to audience level into a welcoming crowd, traversing across the arena, hand in hand with fans, sharing the iconic moment. After a brief performance from on top of the bar counter at the back of the standing space, Booth returned to the stage to carry on the show.
Before a brief pause off stage to prepare for a highly demanded encore, they finished off the initial round of songs with the performance of the band’s highly revered Sit Down followed by Sound. Seemingly the entire room knew the lyrics and were singing their hearts out, creating a highly charged emotional moment, sending chills across my body as I looked around to see elation and tears of joy from the crowd.
Tension was rampant throughout the band’s brief departure from the stage as everyone began chanting and cheering, excited for an encore, hoping to continue the sentimental night. After some words of praise and thanks between Booth and the crowd, James performed Nantucket, their latest, unreleased single, which was well received by the audience, heightening the
emotional atmosphere in the room with the stirring lyrics and composition.
Ending the gig with Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) and Laid, two of their most popular tracks, finishing off the night with a powerful and memorable performance through the two fan favourites. The crowd felt like one of the loudest and most connected I had seen in a while, well directed by the band’s engaging stage presence and frontman Booth’s charm throughout the night.
Overall, this was a highly personal experience, with the entire arena as one, guided by the powerful and iconic music, creating a truly memorable night.
James performed at Motorpoint Arena on 14th April 2026, with support from Doves (pictured further below)
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