Sam Fender at St James’ Park LIVE: Newcastle gig timings, support acts and singer leaves soundcheck

Irish rock band Inhaler are up next, as Fender’s third and final support. They’re due on stage at 7.30pm.

Genre: Indie/Alternative

For fans of: Circa Waves, Blossoms, Peace.

Local musician Cortney Dixon just performed a stunning rendition of Sam Fender’s Will We Talk?

Our reporter Simon Duke is at the eatery turned pop-up music venue on Grainger Street.

Two Sam Fender superfans who met at one of the star’s concerts in the United States have travelled across the pond for his homecoming gigs in Newcastle.

Charly Lollis, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Hannah Schmidt, of Oklahoma, met at one of Sam Fender’s shows in New York City last summer. And as soon as the tickets went up for sale in October, they set about planning their trip.

They secured tickets for both nights and can’t wait to see their idol yet again.

Read the full story, here.

The parents of one of Sam Fender’s band members have spoken to the Chronicle about the overwhelming pride they have for their son.

Saxophonist Johnny “Blue Hat” Davis is arguably the most recognisable of Sam Fender’s band, other than Sam himself. And tonight, he’ll take to the stage at St James’ Park as part of Sam’s homecoming gigs.

And he’ll be doing it with his proud parents Duncan and Diane watching on. Ahead of the gig, they spoke to ChronicleLive and praised their “hardworking” son.

Read the full story, here.

Our reporters Simon Duke and Craig Connor are heading to St James’ Park for tonight’s sell-out Sam Fender show. If you see them, be sure to say hello!

Sam Fender’s second support in Holly Humberstone is currently on the stage at SJP, with a setlist jam-packed with her biggest hits.

One traveller taking to Twitter, wrote:

“The metro is packed and they have the heating on, damn you Pink and Sam Fender.”

Scarlett singer Holly Humberstone is set for the stage at 6.00pm sharp.

Social media users have flagged an excess of Newcastle United shirts in and around the city this evening, as fans of Sam Fender head to St James Park for his opening gig.

One Twitter user, said: “You’d think Newcastle were playing today the amount of Toon tops around for Sam Fender tonight,” while another, added: “Sam Fender madness has taken over town – it’s a sea of Newcastle shirts and bucket hats. Godspeed.”

Fans from inside the ground are sharing their photos and videos.

Holly Humberstone will be the second support act of the evening, taking to the stage of SJP at 6.00pm.

Genre: Pop/Synth-Pop

For fans of: Sigrid, Maisie Peters.

Taking to Twitter earlier today, Metro wrote:

“Going to see Sam Fender tonight? Extra Metro trains will be running before the concert to help everyone get there. Metro trains and stations will be exceptionally busy after 4.00pm so please make sure you leave extra travelling time.”

Photographer Craig Connor was present to take some snapshots of the action, with rapper Kay Greyson and comedian Louise Young entertaining guests.

Fender’s first support in Hector Gannet has taken to the stage, opening the evening’s proccedings to fans inside the ground….and fans are loving it!

Metro took to Twitter earlier today to inform passengers to changes of service.

• St James station will be closed from 8pm
• Monument’s platform four will be exit only from 8pm
• Haymarket is exit only all day
• All other stations will remain open as normal but will be busy

Large crowds are starting to form around the stadium, with fans eager to get inside and hear hits like Hypersonic Missiles, Will We Talk? and Getting Started.

In case you missed it earlier, here’s everything you need to know ahead of tonight’s gig.

Sam Fender at St James’ Park Newcastle: stage times, support and ticket advice ahead of big gigs

Sharing a photo of him looking much younger on the pitch at St James’, Sam wrote:

“This day has been the subject of a joke for about 15 years of my life. When I formed my first band at 14, we would joke about playing here – but it was genuinely just a joke, we didn’t believe it was possible, who would?

“We f**king did it boys. We f**king did it.”

He added:

“Thank you so much to every one of you, my friends, my family, my fans. You are the ones who made this happen, I am in debt to you all – and I intend on paying some of that back this weekend for all the ones who didn’t make the night!”

Sam Fender’s first support of the evening in Hector Gannet is set to grace St James’ Park at 4.45pm.

Genre: Alternative/Indie.

For fans of: Bombay Bicycle Club, Alt-J.

Greggs is hosting a pre-party for Fender’s gigs this weekend – transforming it’s Graniger Street store into a pop up music venue.

Reporter Owen Younger has shared some snaps from inside the makeshift music store.

Noel Johnson used to play mandolin in a skiffle band with Johnny’s dad. He’s come back from France with his wife Ilona for the gig.

He said:

“The last time I was here was in 1985 when Bruce Springsteen played here and that was the last concert I went to and seeing Johnny playing here with Springsteen style music seems like fate.”

There’s an abundance of merch available at Sam’s SJP gig, including feature programmes

Sam has been spotted leaving SJP with his bandmates.

Speaking to Chronicle Live outside St James’ Park, Duncan Davis said:

“I’m pleased for him, he’s worked hard to get where he is and he deserves it.”

Doors are about to open at St James’ Par, if you’re going to Sam tonight, here is a reminder of those all important stage times:

Gates open: 4pm

Hector Gannet: 4.45pm

Holly Humberstone: 6pm

Inhaler: 7.30pm

Sam Fender: 9pm

Curfew : 11pm

Fans are expecting to hear sax player Johnny blast out a bit of Local Hero tonight, here he is just now, outside St James’ with his proud parents

Our photographer has got a shot of Sam Fender coming out of his sound check at St James’ Park in the last 10 minutes. He was joined by members of his band near the box office.

Sam Fender fans are in a party mood for his St James’ Park gigs and pubs and bars in the city are doing their bit by hosting parties both before after the gigs and Friday and Saturday.

Close to the ground, the likes of The Three Bulls Heads, Mayfair, Mojo and Wonder Bar are going all out, while elsewhere, Market Shaker, Old George and Dog and Parrot are also laying on entertainment into the early hours.

Sam Fender pre and after parties for St James’ gigs

This group of fans have travelled from Blackburn and only got tickets this morning!

Stephen said: “They kept putting them on this morning so we booked the B and B first.

“We thought we’d just come for a long weekend but then we got the tickets.”

Hayden said: “It would have been good just coming up to Newcastle though. We like Newcastle, we’ll definitely come back.”

Emily and Finola have travelled from Stirling, where they are at uni.

Emily said: “It’s been his dream since he started and we have a sneaky suspicion he’s going to announce a third album.”

Finola said: “He’s a great act it’s nice to be in Newcastle seeing a Newcastle act especially in a venue this big.”

Many fans are expecting to use the Metro to get to and from the gigs this weekend but, there will be some operational changes to certain stations, with the majority of them on Saturday, the night that Pink is also playing the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

Friday, June 9

• St James – closed from 8.00pm

• Monument platform 4 (to St James) – exit only from 8.00pm

• Haymarket exit only all day (no entry into the station)

Trains will run through closed stations and platforms without stopping.

For more information visit here

Super fan Gordon Smith has seen Sam 10 times in concert, with this being his fourth time in Newcastle.

He told us: “I don’t know what it is I love so much, I just seem to enjoy it.”

Our reporter Dan Hall has been chatting to fans outside St James’ Park.

Freya and Eilidh have travelled from Leicester to see him peform.

Freya said: “We love him, it’s a hometown gig so it’s a bit more special.

“We have never been to Newcastle before, it’s exciting, it’s really nice.”

Hannah Schmidt and Charly Lollis met at a Sam Fender gig in NYC last year.

They have travelled from the USA to see him perform tonight and tomorrow.

The boutique owner Hanna Cox told us “it is a massive event for Newcastle” and everyone loves Sam.

The whole city is buzzing for Sam Fender’s gigs at St James’ Park, this is the window of Accent Bridal Boutique opn Mosley Street.

Our reporter Owen Younger is out and about in Newcastle speaking to fans ahead of the gig.

Businesses in the city are showing their support for Sam.

The atmosphere is starting to build at St James’ Park ahead of trhe first of Sam’s gigs, with fans arriving steadily since late morning.

Here are Charlie Smith and Katie Hatton

Newcastle icon Alan Shearer is one of the big names being mooted for a special cameo at St James’ this weekend.

ChronicleLive don’t want to risk ruining any huge surprises, so we won’t reveal any of the other names apparently in the mix; but we will say the four names being mentioned are all absolute music legends and, if they turn up, St James’ Park will go wild!

Sam is now at St James’ Park, with a few lucky fans grabbing a selfie with him outside as he went in and here at Chronicle HQ, we’ve just heard him sound checking Getting Started

The pick of the merchandise for St James’ this weekend has got to be the commemorative Newcastle United shirts with Fender 17 on the back.

They will set you back £55 for both the traditional black and white and famous 90s blue and burgundy away designs.

Greggs will be hosting THE pre party to be at this weekend, after its Granger Street store had a big makeover to become pop up live music venue Fenders Uncovered.

The venue will open on Friday afternoon and welcome a whole host of local acts for fans to enjoy, while sipping on some Newcastle Brown Ale.

It’s not just Sam on stage at St James’ Park this weekend, there are a whole host of acts on warm up duty.

Friday, June 9

Hector Gannet: 4:45pm

Holly Humberstone: 6.pm

Inhaler: 7:30pm

Saturday, June 10

Gates: 4.pm

Ernie: 4:45pm

Wunderhorse: 6pm

Holly Humberstone: 7:30pm

With no food and drink allowed to be taken into SJP, bars inside are expected to get really busy and to try and alleviate some of the queues, there will be ‘fast’ drink kiosks fort fans to take advantage of, with them selling beverages Madri beer and Carling Black Fruits cider. The prices for the drinks are still to be confirmed but the kiosks are set to prove very popular on both Friday and Saturday evening.

Fans heading to St James’ Park at the weekend will also need to be aware of Sam Fender entry and security rules and the Metro closures in place for both concerts.

There are a few different items to choose from from stands inside and outside the ground and here is what you can expect to pay:

Baseball cap – £25

Sam at St James black and white scarf – £20

Sam Fender Newcastle star tote bag – 2″0

Official event programme – £15

Sam Fender Newcastle star black t-shirt – £35

Sam Fender Newcastle star white t-shirt – £35

Greetings from St James’ Park t-shirt – £35

Sam guitar photo white t-shirt – £35

Sam live black t-shirt – £35

Sam is an artist known for having some top notch merchandise, with some very eye catching t-shirts, posters and picture discs flying off the shelves over the last few years as his career has gone strength to strength.

And fans have now had their first look at the merchandise available just for the St James’ gigs – from t-shirts, to a SJP scarf and various posters.

Over 100,000 fans are expected at St James’ Park over the course of the weekend, with some fans camping out over night to get a prime position for Friday’s first gig.

A number of rules are in place for Sam Fender fans this weekend and there is a specific warning for those with standing tickets.

Information sent out by NUFC reads: ‘Ticket holders with ‘pitch standing’ tickets are advised to arrive early as there will be increased security measures in place.

There’s been some mystery in Newcastle city centre this week, over the appearance of billboards outside St James’ Park, carrying Newcastle shirts with Sam Fender album titles on. There were three different posters, with the third carrying a QR code.

And on Friday morning, it was revealed that Sam is launching a special edition of his upcoming third album just for Newcastle, with commemorative picture discs of photos from both Friday and Saturday.

A full house is expected at St James’ Park on both Friday and Saturday night as Sam has career defining moment on home turf.

And, with gates opening at 4pm on each day, there is loads of music for fans to enjoy before the North Shelds star takes to the stage,

Friday, June 9

Gates: 4pm

Hector Gannet: 4:45pm

Holly Humberstone: 6.pm

Inhaler: 7:30pm

Sam Fender: 9:pm

Curfew : 11pm

Saturday, June 10

Gates: 4.pm

Ernie: 4:45pm

Wunderhorse: 6pm

Holly Humberstone: 7:30pm

SAM FENDER: 9pm

Curfew : 11pm