Only The Poets + Pedro Santos – Wrocław, A2 Club
Long before the main band of the evening appeared, the A2 club was already quite crowded. The fans have been queuing since 7AM in front of the venue. The Polish audience, as always full of energy and hungry for live music, warmly welcomed the support act – Pedro Santos, and rightly so, because this Portuguese vocalist proved that he can captivate the crowd not only with catchy melodies, but also with his authenticity and personal charm.
Pedro was acting incredibly natural on stage – relaxed, smiling and clearly enjoying the moment. His music balanced somewhere between pop and indie rock. The performance started with a few covers of well- known songs, such as “Yellow” by Coldplay or “Please, Please, Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, after which he moved on to his own song called “Someone I Don’t Know”, which won the hearts of even those who came only for the headliner. The singer recorded a short TikTok video to promote the single. Santos’ voice sounded very good live – rapsy, warm, not exaggerated, with a delicate edge that added character to his performance.
The audience was quite eager to interact – Pedro managed to get people to sing along to the chorus a few times and also to turn on their flashlights. After each song you could hear his sincere gratitude. Although support acts are often neglected, this time you got the feeling that people were really listening and absorbing what was happening on stage. He left a very good impression and it was hard not to notice that his career has a chance to accelerate a lot – especially if he maintains this level live.
When Only The Poets took the stage, enthusiasm reached a completely different level. The band focused on giving 100% of their energy from the very first seconds, without unnecessary introductions – they got straight to the point. Wrocław was carried away by the opening “miserable”, and it only got stronger from there. The concert had a great pace, and the set list was arranged in such a way as not to give the audience a moment to breathe – the band maneuvered between hits and newer material, keeping the crowd constantly engaged.
The vocalist, Tommy Longhurst, showed his absolute best side – charismatic, but without artificial stardom. It was obvious that he felt great in contact with the audience. He thanked the fans many times for their support and for coming back for more concerts. The highlight of the evening was of course “Jump!”, which literally made the entire club tremble with collective jumping. It is also worth mentioning the quieter moments – “Waking in the Dark” played only with an acoustic guitar in a circle made in the middle of the general admission had something intimate and calming about it, providing the necessary balance.
There are no weak links in the Only The Poets line-up – guitarist – Clem Cherry stood out with a great sense of rhythm and climaxes, and drummer – Marcus Yates flawlessly powered the whole concert. Bassist Andrew “Andy” Burge brought a lot of energy to the stage. Their shared chemistry on stage was noticeable – you can see that this is a well-coordinated group, playing together not out of obligation, but out of want and need.
The setlist also included “Every Song I Ever Wrote” (which brought up a lot of memories from the times when the band used to play as a supporting act for Louis Tomlinson’s world tour), “Nana’s House” and “Looking at You” – each of these songs was received by the audience as a number one hit. Interestingly, the band avoided excessively long breaks between each song – most of the transitions were smooth or had only a few words said from the band in between, which only increased the dynamics of the entire performance. However, when Tommy did say something he did it with great sensitivity – he mentioned, among other things, that this was their another visit to Poland and that they were grateful for how much their local fans supported them.
The end of the concert was not accidental either – they have finished the night with “Emotional”, which closed the event with the climax of power and emotions. Tommy encouraged the audience to squat and jump up on one of the verses. The fans stayed by the stage for a long time, taking pictures, crying and hugging each other after the lights went out. There was something very sincere about it – this evening will truly be remembered.
From the technical side, the concert was one of the high standard ones – the sound system was clear, the vocals were well embedded in the mix, and the lighting perfectly matched the mood of the songs. There was also something charming about the band really enjoying playing – this was not a mass-produced-like tour, but something that still gives them joy and gratefulness. This concert was further proof that Only The Poets are great on stage – not only as performers, but also as a band that builds a relationship with its audience.
Wrocław absolutely loves them – and vice versa. If anyone was still hesitating whether it’s worth going to their concert, the answer is a clear “hell yes”!
Words & images: Ada Woźniacka
