Loyle Carner, Cardiff Utilita Arena

Following four sold-out nights at London’s Brixton Academy, Loyle Carner returned to Cardiff, continuing the UK leg of his hopefully ! tour with a true sense of disbelief. “This is fucking insane,” he asserted, whilst paused in silence, soaking up the atmosphere.

Whilst the Utilita Arena is not the most beautiful venue with its high echo prone ceilings and the architecture of multipurpose function, Carner shaped it to his pace effortlessly. In an era of pop hyper-visuals and over-the-top stage productions, he continues to run in the opposite direction: strip everything back until all that remained is intent, and the impact was immediate. 

He made a subdued entrance from the rear of the stage, hood up, head down, as the beat to all i need rolled in. From the opening verse, it was clear he wasn’t pushing the room upward. He let the songs sit in their natural register, and the audience recalibrated towards him. The crowd that once swayed drunkenly moments before were now stood, nodding in unison as they paid full attention, focussed on every word.

Songs centring on fatherhood formed the emotional structure of the set. He talked about his young children falling asleep in the studio whilst the band tracked the new record. Later, he paused mid-show while a fan proposed at the back of the hall. Homerton was dedicated to the NHS. These weren’t bits of sentimental stagecraft, they were evidence of how lived-in the material has become.

The new track's, particularly the core of the album's message, formed the night’s most poignant moments. Before launching into horcrux, Carner spoke openly about his children and how life has shaped him, the concept making the cavernous arena feel profoundly attentive and still. His performance of lyin was another compelling moment, unveiling a beautiful stream of conscious vulnerability that captured the disorienting, transcendent joy of new parenthood, delivered over shimmering guitar lines.

That emotional weight stayed with him, especially on purpose and about time. Rather than wrestling with an old demon, Carner just stood there centre stage talking about legacy, responsibility, and breaking the cycles he grew up in for the kids who’ll come after. It felt calm and sure-footed, a moment of resolve rather than rage, which perfectly complemented the gentle, soulful instrumentation of his band.

By the time Ottolenghi arrived, the crowd was completely in his palm as the audience became a single, joyous choir as they sang back in acappella, much to his delight. With no encore, Loyle asked the crowd if they'd like one more song, the cheers of course said more than words could as the rhetorical question needn't be answered. 

The hopefully ! tour proves to be a profound meditation on growth, cementing Carner’s status not just as a rapper, but as a crucial wordsmith of the quiet, hopeful complexity of adult life. 

Stepping effortlessly in to the larger arena space, it's something he does so well. There's no doubt, Loyle Carner has quietly become a writer whose voice can command space of this size without decoration. And Cardiff recognised that in all it's glory.

*****