Live Review: Dean Lewis - Bush Hall, London 26/03/2024
When an up-and-coming, soon-to-be-global-superstar plays intimate shows and showcases new material, it’s heartbreaking not to be there. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for one lucky cohort of fans at London’s Bush Hall.
With fans queuing around the venue from the early hours of the morning, the excitement for Dean Lewis’s intimate London underplay show at the inimitable locale of Bush Hall was almost painfully palpable. Tickets for the six small European shows went on sale 9am one quiet Friday; one second and 115,000 people later, they were all gone, hungrily snapped up by fans desperate to see the Australian singer-songwriter ahead of his then-unannounced 2025 arena shows. So, at 7pm on the dot, hundreds of fans, merch on hand and phones at the ready, descended on the beautiful venue for a night of wholesome and heartfelt sing-alongs.
Not having a support at a show like this is a mixed blessing. It meant that, prior to Dean and his band coming on, there was a lot of restless standing around for the 400 fans crammed into the ballroom-esque building; and yet, that same anxiousness meant that when Dean did emerge from backstage, drummer and guitarist drifting in his wake, the crowd were free to let loose and go ballistic. Diving straight into the fan-favourite duo of ‘7 Minutes’ and ‘Looks Like Me’, almost immediately drowned out by the screamed singing of the emotionally devastated fans, it was painfully obvious just how much he meant to much of the crowd. And he knew it; as fliers were held up by the crowd during the poignant ‘Memories’, to the visibly emotional Dean’s surprise, or as bouquets of flowers were handed up to the stage, the adoration was obvious - and well deserved.
Of course, these small shows were as much as anything to showcase upcoming new material; and, even if this only referred to a short run of four tracks, the sudden shift felt wondrous. With recording up until that point not only allowed but encouraged, fans were threatened with being banned from future ticket pre-sales; and, although delivered tongue-in-cheek, you could feel the simmering hostility from the crowd towards any fellow members who dared to get their phones out. There was the crooning-led, foot-stomping future anthem of ‘All Your Lies’; the shoulder-swaying epic ‘Empire’; the violet-tinged emotional ballad ‘Last Bit Of Us’, a new single set for release this coming Friday that still somehow managed to have a substantial contingent of fans singing along; and, finally, the at-once oppressive yet entrancing, folk-y number ‘All I Ever Wanted’, which also saw a member of Dean’s team emerging into the crowd to block an audience member trying to get a sneaky clip.
This just meant, though, that returning to normal service saw the cameras coming back in force. With the room aglow with phone screens during the despondent ‘Half A Man’, or ‘To Have You Today’, made incredibly poignant by being dedicated to a recently passed away friend, it was a free for all once more. A medley of older songs that are still clinging to the setlist, struggling to stay away from the live show cutting room floor, followed shortly after, along with a cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’; and then, suddenly, it was nearly the end of the night.
Although, it couldn’t finish without a quick plug: “is anyone coming to my Wembley date? We’re 90% sold out already!” And, as shameless as it was, it also highlights the intimacy of the night; 400 to 12,500 is quite the jump!
The trio of hits seen in ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’ — with Dean’s dad joining him on stage to play guitar — ‘Be Alright’ and closer ‘Waves’ got not just the loudest reactions of the night — bar the shriek at the mere mention of Taylor Swift, of course — but likely a contender for loudest reactions in general; and, suddenly, the night was over.
Well, sort of. Any fans who stayed to the side of the venue, hoping to get one final glimpse of the troubadour, were treated to some unplanned acoustic tracks, with Dean, his dad Grant, and his guitarist Alex Bennison running through hits and deep cuts alike on the Shepherd’s Bush sidewalk, before a litany of selfies and signatures swamped the singer.
And THEN it was done. With fans tearfully leaving, tote bags and signed posters in tow, Dean Lewis’s gig at the iconic South West London venue was complete. Getting to see a singer songwriter, just on the brink of true global stardom, playing at such an idyllic venue — which notably is currently on the cusp of a potential closure, unless it’s Crowdfunder campaign is able to raise enough funds to keep it alive — was a true pleasure and one hell of a privilege.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by Kevin O’Sullivan
