Sam Fender is a force to be reckoned with. He’s got a voice that simply makes you go wow, lyrics that give goosebumps and puts on an effortless live show which does not disappoint.

Playing the newly refurbished Rock City Basement, a small venue with nowhere to hide, Geordie Sam Fender took it in his stride putting on a performance to the sold out crowd, which he not only charmed but he left them wanting more.

The 23 -year-old from South-Shields made the it onto the list as one of the BBC’s Sound Of artists to watch out for this year, and he’s certainly had a pretty successful few months on his sold out UK tour.

He started his 12 piece set with Millennial, an upbeat track with exciting instrumentals and slightly darker lyrics. With the two contrasting aspects combined it works perfectly. It’s a song which show’s of Fender’s stunning vocal range.

Will We Talk In The Morning was followed by Start Again, maybe one of his catchiest songs, he got the crowd bobbing along anyway. One of the great things about Sam is he sings so effortlessly and yet seems to pull off each performance seemingly faultlessly.

“Take me back to your bed” are the lyrics in his next number All Is On My Side and I think a few girls (and boys) would be saying the same thing back to him. Perhaps one of his slowest numbers, he drew the crowd in and then picked up the pace with some dazzling instrumental solos.

One of the best thing about Sam’s music is he doesn’t write wishy washy songs about love, instead focusing on the harder social and political issues. Non more so then his next track, Dead Boys.

About men’s suicide it should be a haunting number, and the lyrics are; except his energy on stage, the melody and the guitar and drums bring it another lease of life. Ironic, but it was one of the best live tracks of the night and if it makes the issue more accessible then he needs to keep doing what he’s doing.

The Change was followed by Friday Fighting, the best song live to have a bop to. It’s got some amazing guitar riffs and you can tell everyone up on the stage was having a really good time, so was everyone in the crowd for that matter.

The next track, That Sound has an anthem feel about it, and live it certainly shows off Fender’s vocal range which he nailed to a T!

Probably one of the best named tracks out there; Greasy Spoon got it’s Rock City debut and it went down a treat. The crowd sung the lyrics back and had a little boogie at the same time. One of the most exposing song’s not just showing off his vocals, but also in the lyrics too.

He was recently quoted in a BBC interview saying: “I think honesty is an important thing when writing a song. If you can’t sing it with conviction, then no-one else is going to believe it”.

The last song with his band, Play God got one of the biggest reactions of the night. It’s got one of the best hooks lyrically and it’s perhaps one of his most complex songs. Fender’s vocals were pretty damn good too.

Just a man on stage with his guitar, Sam Fender doesn’t have that showbiz ora that can make artists seem unrelatable, he’s actually a pretty down to earth guy. Leave Fast was his penultimate track and after starting it off brilliantly he soon paused mid verse to tell a group of girls in the crowd to stop talking while he was singing – not all heroes wear capes, some wear guitars too.

Resetting on Leave Fast, it was a pretty stunning performance that show’s off what Sam Fender is all about. Lyrics that made you think and vocals that give you goosebumps. His performance was vulnerable yet powerful all at the same time and I think it captivated everyone in the room (except maybe those talking too loudly after a few drinks).

A very untraditional encore as it’s a venue where walking on and off the stage is done very awkwardly through the crowd (so he stayed on the stage). He finished with an acoustic cover version of Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark. With his Geordie twist he made it his own, he gave it a lighter feel making it more vulnerable and less rock n roll. The crowd thoroughly seemed to enjoy it.

Sam Fender has undoubtedly one of the best live vocals. Leaving the venue two girls were talking about how you can’t tell the difference vocally between recordered tracks and the live performances, and you have to agree, an nod to his talent. If you get the chance to see him live, you must! You’ll be wowed by his stunning vocals, his energetic stage presence and that cheeky Geordie accent.

Sam’s 6 track EP Dead Boy’s is out on the 20th November, you can pre-order it here.