Such was the anticipation for Lovejoy’s show at the O2 City Hall on Tuesday evening, fans of the band started to queue outside the city centre venue the night before. Of course, a prime spot in front of the stage was the group’s diehard fans' want.

The Lovejoy fans continued to arrive at the venue early on Tuesday morning, with a small gathering already present by 10 a.m.

Such has been the meteoric rise of the Brighton-based indie outfit that the venue was upgraded due to demand. By the time the show day arrived, the concert had long been sold out.

Lovejoy's latest Tyneside date followed on from a high-profile appearance at Leeds Festival during the summer. Tuesday’s concert marked the group’s second North East show of 2023.

There has been a lot of interest in Lovejoy since the band’s formation in 2021. The indie-rock outfit is fronted by Wilbur Soot aka William Gold, who gained a huge following online for his Twitch and YouTube videos.

From the moment the group took to the stage, screams from the fans resonated loudly inside the O2 City Hall. Whilst a sea of mobile phones was raised aloft to capture those precious moments of the band onstage.

Lovejoy opened their fourteen-song set list with Consequences and Taunt. The fans knew every word of every song and sang at the tops of their voices so loudly they were practically in competition with the band for most of the evening.

By the third song of the set Model Buses, the frontman stopped the song to allow the security to attend to a fan in need. The conscientious lead singer kept an eye on the audience throughout the course of the evening and stopped songs on more than one occasion to allow fans to receive attention from the venue staff.

The beauty of Lovejoy’s songbook are the infectious riffs, catchy hooks, and singalong choruses. The group performed several tracks from their new EP Wake Up and It's Over, including It’s Golden Hour Somewhere, Scum and Warsaw, to name but a few. Whilst a frantic airing of Concrete put drummer Mark Boardman’s arms to the test.

Lovejoy took their followers back to the start of the group with the inclusion of fan favourite One Day. The latter was the first track the band wrote. Call Me What You Like brought the main set to a close, leaving the fans chanting for “One more song”. As the old saying goes, ask, and you will receive, as the band brought the show to a final close with Portrait of a Blank Slate.

Of course, such a sudden rise to fame could be overwhelming for many artists. Soot declared: “We’ve come a long way to get here physically and emotionally.” The singer suggested that playing a room of this size last year would have been cause for a panic attack. But on Tuesday evening, Lovejoy looked more than comfortable playing to a sold-out crowd in Newcastle’s prestigious venue. Perhaps an arena tour is just a matter of time for the rising stars of the indie/pop world.