The Scottish singer spoiled listeners, not just with two hours of wildly swinging genres and soulful belting, but following it up with a double encore. First, he returned for ‘Let Me Down Easy,’ ‘Iron Sky’ and ‘Shine A Light,’ which suddenly evolved into a bassy club classic just when fans needed it. Then, after you really thought he was done for the night, Paolo came back on stage alone with just the one guitar in hand.
This was probably the tempo most casual listeners expected from the artist behind ‘New Shoes’, not the certified rock star he proved himself to be over the course of two hours. Maybe he did this next bit just for Sheffield , as a thank you for the night and for his gig at The Leadmill years ago? “I want to give you the biggest thank you, Sheffield,” he told the screaming crowd. “I’ve had the best day.
I got to meet an old friend, I got to meet his beautiful family, and I want to give this song to them, to you, to the birthday boy Sam.” In what was probably a special moment for thousands of sweethearts, couples and families listening, Paolo tenderly strummed out Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You.’ It may have been one of the sweetest love songs heard in Hillsborough Park since Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Just Wanna Be Yours’ in 2023.
Then said goodnight for a final time. Here are 12 more photos of fans out loving life on Hillsborough Park for the first night of Tramlines. And don’t forget to check out our other fan.