Celebrating 20 Years of ‘Back to Bedlam’ in Belfast, with James Blunt [SSE Arena, 11.02.25]

James Blunt began the UK leg of his 20 Years of Back to Bedlam Tour at Northern Ireland’s only arena—the SSE, in Belfast.

This tour is celebrating his most popular album, which became a massive commercial success for James Blunt, propelling him to international stardom. It features his signature blend of soft rock, and acoustic pop, with deeply personal and emotional lyrics.

By the time the night came, the venue was packed with eager fans, who have been waiting three years for his return to Belfast.

However, before the main event, we were treated to an opening set by English rock trio, Toploader.

I had never seen them live before, until now, and admittedly, I only knew their hit song Dancing In The Moonlight, which I absolutely love (who doesn’t?).

The band had amazing energy, with the crowd clapping along in excitement. Their musical style surprised me: it was loud, energetic, and layered with a multitude of instruments including synths, keyboards, and guitars.

Based on their hit track, I had expected a laid-back opening set to ease us into James Blunt’s performance, but we got something entirely different. Toploader were jumping around the stage, with sweat dripping down lead-singer, Joseph Washbourn’s face, as the whole band pulsed with passion. The highlight came when Washbourn playfully deceived us by announcing “you all know this next one” before launching into Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra. Their fantastic cover flowed seamlessly into Dancing In The Moonlight for a perfect set finale.

Before Blunt took the stage, we had thirty minutes to mentally prepare ourselves for the performance, and when the house lights went down, you could feel the crowd hold their breath for a total of 2 seconds, before erupting into thousands of cheers.

As the English pop-star walked on stage, the audience’s roar was deafening, and his genuine, broad smile showed how grateful he was to be there.

Surprisingly, he opened the set with two of his most well-known songs, You’re Beautiful, and Goodbye My Lover, after which he joked the setlist would all ‘go downhill from [there]’.

If you follow James Blunt, you’ll know that he has a very dry and self-depreciating sense of humour, that some find very funny. This was no different in person, and his set was often broken up with funny anecdotes and jokes.

Obviously, the setlist included the entirety of Back To Bedlam, but it also consisted of some newer tracks and hits from other albums, such as Monsters.

Each song was played perfectly with his tight-knit ensemble, providing much more depth to the songs than I was expecting. Though the whole crowd was seated, Blunt encouraged the audience to stand, and soon had everyone up on their feet. The amazing performance, both from Blunt and the band, really got everyone jumping and singing along.

Overall, I was incredibly surprised how much I enjoyed this show.

As I was familiar with the jokes that people often make about James Blunt, I was not expecting to be this starstruck by such an energetic and captivating performance, that felt truly new, despite being a 20th anniversary tour.

I think if Blunt were to return to Belfast anytime soon, I would definitely be tempted to see him again.

Do not let your preconceptions of James Blunt stop you from seeing an incredible artist that is hated on for no apparent reason.

Photography & Text Copyright 2025 © Oliver Galbraith/ADRENALINE Magazine. All rights reserved.