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Lewis Capaldi’s arena tour ‘only the beginning’

Lewis Capaldi‘s backroom team have spoken to IQ about the Scottish superstar’s biggest tour to date.

The 26-year-old singer/songwriter, whose new Netflix documentary How I’m Feeling Now dropped yesterday (5 April), broke the record for Scotland’s highest-selling indoor show earlier this year after shifting more than 15,000 tickets for his DF Concerts-promoted date at P&J Live in Aberdeen.

He also performed a sellout date at the 14,300-cap OVO Hydro in Glasgow as part of his 2023 European arena tour.

“His shows in Scotland for this tour were amazing,” says DF promoter Craig Johnston. “He has been very open about his mental health and that anxiety can cripple him sometimes, so it was so powerful to see him enjoying the shows, because hometown shows come with huge pressures. Our Aberdeen show became the highest-selling indoor show in Scotland’s history: it’s an incredible achievement.

“Lewis has an amazing talent of making everyone, even people who have never met him, feel like they are his best mate, and that is an incredible tool for us when selling tickets.”

Capaldi was forced to reschedule his remaining European tour dates in Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Italy last month due to illness, but has a stacked slate of high-profile concerts booked for this summer.

“The focus now turns to 2024. We’ve got dates held internationally, and we’re looking at bigger venues, especially in the UK”

“He’s confirmed for Electric Picnic, and Reading and Leeds festivals, and we’ve recently announced additional outdoor shows in August for Manchester, Belfast, Chepstow, and Edinburgh at the Royal Highland Centre,” says Ryan Penty, who represents the star along with Alex Hardee at Wasserman. “But the focus now turns to 2024. We’ve got dates held internationally, and we’re looking at bigger venues, especially in the UK where the sales we had for the arena tour were ridiculous.”

Capaldi, whose second album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent is out in May, performed at the International Festival Forum (IFF) in 2017.

“The thing about Lewis is we never skipped a moment of building,” notes Penty. “In London, for example, we started at The Waiting Room [120 capacity], then we played a show at Oslo [350-cap] where there was an 18-plus age restriction, which was a little bit of a hiccup, at the time. But from there we played the Scala [800], then we went straight to Shepherd’s Bush Empire [2,000], then Brixton Academy [4,921], then Wembley Arena [11,500] for two shows on the weekend before the pandemic. And then last year we played two nights at The O2 [18,500]. That sort of sums up the hard work Lewis and the whole team have put in everywhere, just organically growing the audience each time.”

Speaking in the latest issue of IQ, Penty continues: “Lewis doesn’t do any VIPs – there’s no meet and greets, there’s no golden circle, there’s no end-of-the-aisle uplift or anything like that. He’s always wanted to keep the face value ticket prices affordable, so on the UK dates for this tour, we’re at £45, £55, and £65, which is the top price for the very best seats.

“This tour is only the beginning of the many things we have planned on the live side for Lewis Capaldi in 2023 and beyond”

“We don’t want his fans to feel like he’s ripping them off at any point, and I know he just wants to make sure that everybody feels like they’re not excluded from seeing him because of the price. Originally, the tickets were going to be even cheaper, but we had to push the price a little because the costs of everything have gone through the roof since this tour was routed two and a half years ago. But in the end, we worked hard to keep ticket prices reasonable. At the end of the day, if the fans come and have a good night, and they’ve had value for money, they’ll come back.”

Echoing Penty’s thoughts, Anna-Sophie Mertens, VP of touring at Live Nation suggests that Capaldi’s current tour is “only the beginning”.

“Lewis has a great team, from his band, his tour and production managers and road team who have, for the most part, been there right from the start,” says Mertens. “A particular mention needs to go to Ryan Walter, Lewis’s manager, who right from the start had a strong vision in place and ensures every step, every release, every artwork, every tour announcement and on-sale is meticulously planned and slotted into Lewis’s career. It was always a perfect execution of putting the right building blocks in place.

“This tour is only the beginning of the many things we have planned on the live side for Lewis Capaldi in 2023 and beyond. I am extremely excited for things to come.”

IQ subscribers can access the full tour feature here.

 


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