After what seems like an eternity, concerts are finally back on the horizon – Louis Tomlinson continued his long-awaited world tour this week with a packed-out performance at the OVO Wembley Arena.

Approaching 2 years since events like concerts were banned completely due to covid, I wasn’t quite sure exactly what to expect when we first arrived. Would the arena be frighteningly empty, half the seats sectioned off with yellow tape and social distancing rules? Would the room echo with overbearing silence, no fans screaming or shouting until their voices ran out? Could the atmosphere ever be the same? 

To be honest, I was a little concerned the live music experience would not live up to all of my expectations. It had been so long, after all. As we stepped out of Wembley Park underground station, however, the ever-growing merch line with seemingly hundreds of people queueing for the same £50 t-shirt told a different story.

I was particularly surprised by the number of my friends who had never been to a concert before. Excited to be part of their first ever experience, I took my friend along with me to the arena. It took a while to explain that yes, you will have to sit through two supporting acts you’ve never heard of before the main show comes on, and yes, you will probably have to pay an obscene amount of money for a can of coke and a hot dog, but I’d like to think she had a great time in the end.

Louis packed almost every song from his debut album Walls into his two-hour slot; from the tear-jerkers like Two of Us or Only the Brave (the ones that force you to get your phone torch out and sway dramatically), to the crowd-favourites like Kill my Mind and even a few oldies from the One Direction days like Little Black Dress, there wasn’t a moment you were not on your feet. The listeners standing downstairs in the pit were like ants, a sea of heads floating around as a conga began to form towards the back.

And once the show got going, it was obvious there truly is nothing like a live performance. There is no better feeling than being surrounded by people just like you, enjoying some music and having a good time. After so long apart, so many online concerts and Spotify streams, it is finally time artists can be reunited with their listeners for some good old-fashioned singing.