By Shaun Payne.
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On the 25th Feb 2026 I had the pleasure of attending the Alter bridge show at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle Upon Tyne. The arena has been a staple of the North East's music scene for many years and hosts a multitude of different events catering to all capacities up to a maximum of 9,000 people.
Before going to my seat I did take a look across the merch booths which you can't miss at this venue , as you walk in the main entrance you are greeted by bars food chains and then the merch directly in front of you, Each band had a great variety on display from £35 T-shirts, signed vinyls, setlists and drum skins at around £20 to hoodies at the £75 mark. For me personally it felt a bit pricey for the hoodies but the designs available meant there was something for everyone in my opinion.
Walking into the arena from the lobby one of the first things I noticed was the stage looked brilliantly set out, with Sevendust and Daughtry’s drums being set up on stands that could be rolled off stage and stage wide banners hiding the Alter bridge rig behind. I loved this detail of planning as the changeovers were only 20 minutes each allowing all the bands to have a great amount of stage time for what ended up being a well oiled machine throughout the night.
Taking our seats and waiting in anticipation as the likes of Bad Omens and Nothing More played to set the tone was a nice touch, I was disappointed by the amount of people who made it to doors as the arena looked only around half full before Sevendust took to the stage, This may have been an Issue with Doors times though as some sources stated 7pm when doors were actually at 6pm and first act was 7pm.
The lights went down and an atmospheric intro took over the arena as Sevendust took to the stage breaking straight into their song ‘Black’ .Now this is a band I have seen before many years ago but not one I had recently listened to by my own admission and wow did they blow me away making me wish I hadn't lost touch with them. The energy in the room erupted as they won over the crowd in quick succession. They've been around for a good while and definitely hit the stage with a presence that showed it.
Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon ensured the crowd was hyped between songs speaking with positive affirmation and love towards the crowd, a quote that caught me was “Look to the person beside you and say hi, This is not a concert this is an old family reunion” reminding us that we all share a deep connection through music. As they ended their set with their Hit single “Face to Face” I couldn't help but feel it went by way too quickly and I was left wanting more. I truly hope this tour entices the band to return to the UK in the near future.
Happily energised and ready for more I watched as the tour crew got to work quickly working in preparation for Daughtry to hit to stage, Now as a preface I am Biased when it comes to Daughtry personally as this is a band I have a big connection to, I love their music and the topics the band touch on have helped me through some dark times, that said I will not be bias with this review. What I will say as a fan is if you haven’t heard of Daughtry or If you're a long time fan, the set they've put together for this tour is the perfect blend of classic hits, new singles and songs that pull at your heart strings. It's in my opinion a perfect set to say THIS is what Daughtry is as a band. Using the track "The seeds" as an intro to kick start into "Divided"was a brilliant choice.
With a catchy chorus and head nodding rhythm it's a great choice to allow the crowd to get a feel for the band. Moving swiftly between songs my one complaint would be I’d love to see more crowd interaction from Vocalist Chris Daughtry. As he does hype the crowd but doesn't spend a lot of time talking to them between songs. That said it didn't harm their performance and I was really impressed by Keyboardist Elvio Fernandes as his Vocals were the perfect harmony to Chris Daughtry always locked in with perfect pitch for what was needed. Highlights of this set were the inclusion of the band's cover of ‘Separate Ways’ by Journey and a very personal acoustic performance of "It’s Not Only". For me this is a band I’ll always recommend for anyone to scream their heart out to and wear it on their sleeve as the band's songs are full of hope and catharsis, especially in the live setting.
Once daughtry finished their set I was expecting a long wait so took the opportunity to stretch my legs, grab a drink etc but to my surprise on my return 10 minutes later the stage had completely changed with Alter Bridges Rig ready to go and the band taking the stage soon after.
Now that the lights were up you could clearly see the arena had packed out during the previous bands sets with standing full and most of the seating areas filled showing that this tour, although now selling out the arena was definitely worthy of the arena stage. Now it was time for the main event, Celebrating 20+ years as a band on this tour Alter Bridge Walked out full of smiles and good vibes, smashing out hits ‘silent divide’ straight into ‘addicted to pain’ you could tell from the start this set was all about celebrating the bands history and future with the newly released self titled record. The band played for an amazing hour and a half never letting the atmosphere drop, singing fan favourites across the board with an enthusiasm that shows the band truly love what they do. As drummer and bassist jammed out together at the back of the stage both guitarists and vocalists in their own right Myles Kennedy and Mark Tromonti seamlessly swapped guitar solos and vocal lines coming together to harmonize with both. It was an amazing thing to witness as you could really feel how well every member of the band knew each other's playing and ability.
A big highlight for me was the band taking the time to play a requested some for the evening from a fan in the crowd, Myles talking to the audience explained how this song had a lot of personal meaning to the fan and even though it had been a long while since they'd played it they would do their best for them, and proceeded to play a heart felt rendition of ‘Wonderful Life’ that was so touching the whole crowd got involved and you could see a lot of teary eyes in the audience.
The band slid straight into another emotional track playing ‘Watch Over You’ and you could feel the energy in the room, everyone singing out to those they love and the band they love in a moment my words aren't doing justice. Ending their set on a trifecta of classic hits ‘Metalingus’, ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Isolation’ they really went out with a bang! Hitting a beautiful crescendo to end what in my opinion was one of the best arena shows I've been to in a long while.
We didn’t have a photographer on hand this evening, but I did snap a few images from my spot in the crowd. I would highly recommend catching any of the remaining dates below if you are able!
Further dates you can catch the tour on are:
FEB 28 - DUBLIN, IRELAND - 3ARENA
MAR 02 - GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM - OVO HYDRO
MAR 04 - LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - THE O2
MAR 05 - NOTTINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - MOTORPOINT ARENA
Grab tickets here: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/alter-bridge-tickets/artist/932539
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
For any information on the bands that played on tonights line up, click the links below:
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