Louis Tomlinson is a true performer, and he always knows how to turn it on and give fans a special moment. His latest Australian tour saw him returning to arena’s where these accoladed venues packed out with die-hard fans excited to see the One Direction member in his solo lane. This tour follows his sold out two night run at Hordern Pavilion in 2022, and the release of his sophomore studio album “Faith In The Future”. 

With the venue filled with haze, the lights abruptly turned off and the opening riff of “The Greatest” began. Louis ran out onto the stage to deafening screams and it was quickly made apparent that everyone knew every word. “Kill My Mind”, “Bigger Than Me”, Holding On To Heartache” and “We Made It” followed which kept the singalongs loud. During the first couple of songs Louis looked a little unsettled and deep in thought. Finally addressing the crowd he admitted he was feeling nicely overwhelmed by playing somewhere solo where he played with One Direction. “Some of you know that I played this venue with One Direction, and it’s really nice to be back here playing one of my own shows” he admitted. Surprising fans with a One Direction classic, “Drag Me Down” was one of the big highlights of the evening. And Directioners got a second serving during the encore when he performed “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”, which is an underrated tune.  

Going back into his solo material, highlights from the set included “Chicago”, “Walls”, “Back To You”, “Out Of My System” and the unreleased “Copy Of A Copy Of A Copy”. Highlighting his inspirations, he even added a cover of Arctic Monkeys’ “505” which I was surprised to see get such a passionate response from the fans. Rounding out the evening in the encore was “Saturdays” and “Silver Tongues” which kept the energy high until the very end. As fans poured out of the arena, Louis surprised them by popping out at the front behind a barricade and taking pictures with them which was a very special moment. 

This tour saw Louis Tomlinson delivering a punchy show that had a lot of levels. From the elevated production, to strong hook writing, the show had its share of special moments, intimacy, and big arena energy. The only thing missing from the show was a variety of fan interaction compared to his last tour. It felt slightly less interactive, but that also may have been cause he has returned to arenas. But either way, Louis is sounding on-top of his game.