Singer-songwriter Tom Walker rocked the KOKO in Camden, London with his sold-out show on 27th March. He had two incredibly talented support acts: Mariam Bryant and The Beach, who both performed to a packed out crowd. The Beach left the crowd eager for Tom Walker to come on stating it was “unreal to be up here supporting him”.
With time for people to grab another drink, the already full KOKO seemed to fill out even more, with everyone excited for Tom to come out. Suddenly the lights focused on the stage and Tom stepped out, straight into a new song called ‘Be Myself’, from his upcoming album.
Tom and his band brought immense energy as they continued on to another song, ‘Heartland’, a single which came out last summer. Tom’s vocals perfectly complemented the atmosphere as the stage lit up a rustic orange, bringing a warmth into the venue. Everyone put their hands together as Tom showed awesome skills on his electric guitar. He thanked everyone for coming to the gig by saying “I can’t tell you how f**king buzzing I am right now, in the sold-out KOKO. Thank you for coming, this is absolutely wild”. He mentioned that he is working on his new album which is planned to debut in September this year, which made everyone laugh by saying “it’s like cooking a loaf of bread, you can’t get it out too early”.
He teased his new album by then performing ‘Dominoes’ which he confirmed is from the upcoming album, a gentler track with an upbeat chorus which was heartily welcomed by the audience. ‘Fly Away with Me’ got the whole audience singing along, which showed its popularity. Tom showcased another track called ‘Cry Out’ which he explains was inspired after he thought he lost somebody for a moment and describes how he found that “f**king scary”.
There was a brilliant reaction of applause and cheers to Tom’s guitar skills, as he performed ‘Sun Goes Down’. His new electric guitar was a winner after this song and he explained that he brought it after his old one got ran over by a British Airways luggage truck. ‘Karma’ sounds absolutely brilliant live, with the drummer bringing so much passion into the song. I’m not surprised Tom and the band needed a bit of a rest performing a quieter track ‘Blessings’ next followed by ‘Just You and I’, both hugely popular songs which the audience sang along to.
‘Play Dead’ made me think of Rag’n’Bone Man, highlighting the similarity in their raspy vocals. Tom has a particularly raspy voice that is a delight to listen to. Next, he performed ‘Rapture’ after he explained that sometimes when he watches the news and hears about politics, he feels like he needs help to feel himself again. He got the crowd to join him in this song, asking “Will you help me? When I say f**k it, say f**k it back with me as loud as you can”.
The crowd wasn’t going anywhere, cheering for Tom to come back. He did, to perform an upcoming single ‘Angels’ which is bound to be a huge success. This was followed by his most popular record with over 53,000,000 listens on Spotify, a track called ‘Leave A Light On’, to which everyone got out their phone torches to enjoy the last song of the night.
With so much success already and hearing some upcoming releases at this gig, Tom Walker is bound to achieve great things and I would expect to see him play an even larger venue next time!
‘Leave A Light On’, Tom Walker’s latest single is out now, via Relentless Records.