A concert evening full of intimacy and emotion: Loyle Carner transformed the Berlin Velodrome into his home with the most personal stories.
Loyle Carner visited the capital and played a show at the Velodrome. We didn’t want to miss this! Here are our top five observations from the evening.
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1. Navy Blue: The selection of the support act is done
Loyle Carner demonstrated musical sensitivity right at the start of his Berlin gig on Wednesday evening, October 15th. By choosing Navy Blue as support act, the Brit showed a good sense of his audience’s preferences. The American’s music actually turned out to be a good addition to the “hopefully!” album.
Navy Blue, whose real name is Sage Elsesser, effortlessly managed to create a relaxed vibe for the evening. Calm, yet groovy beats, combined with profound, socially critical lyrics and bright blue spotlights, put the Velodrome in a cozy mood. With his relaxed and positive manner, Elsesser managed to attract and activate the fans.
He got the support of the audience for two songs. In “1491,” the interjection of “Fuck Christopher Columbus” initially caused restraint – until Navy Blue followed up with a grinning “That’s not anyone in this room.” On the next playthrough, the line echoed loudly throughout the entire venue and remained present until the end of the track. For his last song, he asked the crowd for even more support – after all, as a rapper, he wasn’t a good singer. No sooner said than done: the concert briefly turned into a singalong that created an intimate but powerful atmosphere – and this lasted throughout the evening.
2. Punctuality is king
Short waiting times – a rare, but all the better experience in the rap concert world. While mega stars like Drake or Nicki Minaj sometimes make their audience wait for around 45 minutes without addressing the topic, things were different for Loyle Carner.
At his “hopefully!” show, both the lead act and the main act adhered exactly to the schedule. Navy Blue took the stage at four minutes past eight and played ten songs. At 8:30 p.m. the conversion crew took over to prepare the stage for the main act. After a half-hour break, Loyle Carner and his band appeared to loud cheers and clapping – and brought the velodrome to a boil for around an hour.
3. Venue and stage design complement each other perfectly
The UFO in the Velodrome was well filled, but the show as a whole was not sold out – a circumstance that gave the audience enough space to dance really hard and enjoy the songs to the fullest. And the successful vibe check: The venue shone in warm orange with faster, upbeat tracks, while quieter, more thoughtful pieces were in bright blue.
The minimalist stage setup – two large loudspeakers, spotlights, instruments and microphones – was an ideal fit for the location. Dark curtains framed the stage, on which the band’s silhouettes became visible in the play of light. The highlight of the velodrome remained the futuristic ceiling decoration, which underlined the atmosphere of the gig. Everything simply went hand in hand here.
4. Loyle Carner delivers
Nothing was left to be desired: Loyle Carner played 15 songs and two encores. The setlist offered a balanced mix of quieter tracks and faster numbers – a balance of old fan favorites and new hits. The artist knew how to entertain the crowd, challenge them and build a personal connection. Small anecdotes – such as the fact that he was 17 when he was in Berlin for the first time and was thrown out of class because he was too loud – made him approachable.
For the song “purpose”, the family man brought his support act Navy Blue back on stage. The two sat next to each other and sang to each other – the large stage suddenly seemed like their living room. It felt like you were watching two close friends having a deep conversation. It was easy for the audience to completely get lost in the moment.
5. The special ending, the unique Carner
Instead of the usual two or three concert encores, Loyle Carner offered an unconventional finale. He announced the last song “hopefully!” and performed it with his band. After thunderous applause, he returned to the stage alone and asked the audience for emotional support – without a band, visibly nervous. Instead of another song, he performed a rap-style poem that summarized the lessons of his life so far. In the crowd, people reminded each other to be really quiet so that they could completely follow the unique man on stage. Because you wanted that so, so badly.
Conclusion: What an evening! What a show! Loyle Carner presented himself as an approachable, down-to-earth artist – a refreshing change from megastars who tend to take themselves a little too seriously.