James Marriott continued his Bitter Tour with his performance at popular Sheffield venue, The Leadmill.
After beginning as a content creator on YouTube and Twitch, James Marriott announced his first UK tour a few weeks ago.
Tickets for the event sold out within the day of being released, and Marriott announced that the Sheffield date would be the biggest show of the tour.
A few fans who attended the show gave me their reactions to the gig.
Emily Wallace, 19, from Nottingham, told me: “It was my third time seeing James live. I had seen him perform at the Lovejoy Halloween gig last year and the night before in Nottingham. I also travelled from Nottingham to see him in Sheffield.”
This is one of many dedicated and supportive fans who travelled from all over the country to see their favourite artist perform live.
She added: “As a fan the show itself meant quite a lot to me as it meant getting to meet someone who I look up to quite a bit as well as hearing him perform live.”
“As for James’ music career, all I can say is that it’s going great so far and I hope he continues to make music for his fans for a while.
James and his band also performed some covers of songs, including ‘Model Buses’ by Lovejoy – a band which several of James’ fans also adore, and had performed at the Leadmill in 2022.
Several fans told me of the surreal experience they had at the event.
Megan Davidson, 19, a university student in Sheffield, said: “The vibes were immense and you could see how much he enjoyed it and how much people appreciated him and his music.”
The reception from fans followed onto the next day, and James posted a photo which captivated the highlighted the experiences shared by fans.
Frazer Spooner, who works in Live Promotions at The Leadmill, spoke highly of the artist’s “genuine appreciated for an art form”.
“It’s a great time to welcome James to the Leadmill.”
Reflecting on James Marriott’s music career, Mr Spooner said that James was helping to empower a young fan base to try different avenues of art.
The dedication of attending fans was only emphasised by the queues outside of the venue from 9am, the morning of the gig.
Frazer added: “The night meant a lot to James and it meant a lot to the fans.”
He said that it was amazing to see such a diverse group of young fans, some of whom had never attended a gig at an independent music venue before.
“[The performance] created a great sense of communion for fans”.
Mr Spooner spoke on behalf of staff at The Leadmill, saying “we are all very excited by these internet personalities”.
James brings his sold out tour to a close tonight at The Garage in London.
