James Blunt: The Who We Used To Be Tour

The hip may find him unredeemably uncool, and his voice is definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but James Blunt’s songs are well-crafted, articulate, often accessibly personal, and speak to a broad audience of wildly enthusiastic fans. It helps that he has a nice line in self-deprecation; famously he started a 2022 concert by saying this was a greatest hit (singular) evening, and he was going to play You’re Beautiful about 22 times.

He’s touring his seventh studio album Who We Used To Be, a decent collection of songs about love, loss, self-discovery and personal growth of – so the lyrical mix much as before – that blends elements of folk, pop, upbeat rock and even housey beats (as on the new album’s first single, Beside You: a possibly relevant fact is that Blunt has a house on Ibiza). The album divided critics (“one of Blunt’s best albums to date” vs “completely tedious and unmemorable”) but Blunt always puts on a good show, so we’re happy to recommend this one …