Louis Tomlinson brought his ‘How Did I Get Here?’ world tour to Leeds in April and it was everything fans hoped for.

Louis Tomlinson brought a mix of nostalgia, warmth and talent during his ‘How Did I Get Here’ tour stop in Leeds last month (28/04/26). From the moment he walked on stage to Lemonade at the First Direct Bank Arena, the energy in the room was another level.

The setlist was a great balance between all three of his albums with, of course, a major focus on his latest release How Did I Get Here?. All of his songs tend to fit in the indie-pop and indie-rock genres, but it was interesting to see how some had been spun live.

Louis, who was one fifth of One Direction, is no stranger to having a crowd right in his palm. Leeds was no different. His talent and passion shone, but so did his way of controlling a crowd. One Direction fans are well known for being loyal and it was great to see nothing has changed.

Louis’ stage presence is totally underrated in the music world, he has a way of making a huge arena (like Leeds) feel very intimate and personal. I think that is testament to him as an artist, and also to the songs he creates and to the fandom he has built. Everywhere I looked people were singing, dancing, crying, screaming etc. It was like a whole community, one of which I imagine you’d feel very a part of even if you’ve never attended a Louis concert before.

One song that really brought the whole arena together was Dark To Light. Louis allegedly wrote the song about his ex-bandmate, Liam Payne. It is a beautifully written song and it was very emotional seeing the fans rally around each other as Louis sang his way through it.

It was also brilliant to watch a fan project unfold during Kill My Mind. Everyone turned their phone flashlights on and flashed them up then down during the bridge. It seems that this happens at every Louis show, it is something that the fans have made their own during that specific song.

Between songs, Louis joked with fans and shouted someone out who had flown from Australia to be there. He also kept on repeatedly saying thank you and how grateful he was to his fans. It was so lovely to see such a mutual appreciation between him and the fanbase.

The concert also highlighted how much Louis has grown as a solo artist. I first saw him solo live in 2020 at The Wardrobe in Leeds and to compare the two is incredible now. He has grown in confidence massively, personality wise and vocally.

I had a few songs in mind, from the album, that I thought would sound great live and ultimately become my favourites of the night. However, I was proved wrong as I pleasantly surprised by how terrific On Fire was and that was my favourite of the evening.

Palaces closed the show, during the encore, with an added touch of confetti to make it even more memorable. It is such an animated high-energy song, so it really closed the show out on a high.

The whole show was built on the connection between Louis and his fans. It didn’t need a big production, although it did have one, it just relied on the special relationship Louis holds with them. It was a wonderful concert and I can’t wait to see him next at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland.

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Featured image is my own image.