Local musician Sam Fender is set to embark on the first of his three nights at St James’ Park on Thursday, and one Newcastle United player will be in attendance.
After his first time at the ground was such a big success, it came as no surprise when Sam Fender announced he is playing at St James’ Park in 2025.
The North Shields-born singer-songwriter played at the home of Newcastle United in 2023, just a couple of weeks after the Magpies qualified for the Champions League. It is fitting that Fender is coming back to the ground so soon after Eddie Howe’s side confirmed their return to Europe’s top competition.
Fender announced he was returning to St James’ Park last November, and tickets sold out so fast that they had to add a third date onto the bill to satisfy fans. Even then, it does not seem to have been enough.
With Newcastle fans preparing to head into the city centre this evening, a well-loved Toon star has confirmed he will be in attendance for one of the shows.
Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty ImagesNewcastle United star Dan Burn confirms attendance at Sam Fender’s St James’ Park show
In the midst of all the success this season, very few have benefited more than Dan Burn. The 33-year-old has become a local hero in his own right for giving his all and scoring an unforgettable goal in the Carabao Cup final.
Burn is one of Newcastle’s biggest winners this season. He played exceptionally all year, picked up a winners’ medal and earned his first England call-up under new head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Despite all the achievements, Burn has shared that Fender changing the lyrics of one of his songs in honour of him was the best thing that happened to him this season.
Fender referred to Burn as God after changing the song lyrics to his hit ‘Little Bit Closer’ to hail the boy from Blyth. Now, in an interview with Premier League Productions, Burn has confirmed how he felt about the lyric change and that he will be at one of Fender’s shows at St James’ Park.
“That was top of everything!” he said.
“I got sent loads of videos when he changed the lyrics & it was surreal. I’m excited to see him at SJP – if he sings the lyrics there, I’ll join in…!”
“What is God? His name’s Dan Burn” 🎵
I asked Dan what it’s like to be a @samfendermusic lyric?
💬 “That was top of everything! I got sent loads of videos when he changed the lyrics & it was surreal. I’m excited to see him at SJP – if he sings the lyrics there, I’ll join in…!” pic.twitter.com/nFaVdyBNSe
— Andy Sixsmith (@andysixsmithtv) June 12, 2025
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The last 18 months have seen Newcastle announce new partnerships to help boost their commercial profile. One of those collaborations was with Fender, whose latest studio album ‘People Watching’ was printed onto shirts during their Carabao Cup campaign.
Newcastle’s sponsored Fender shirts looked like they were going to be a one-off, with the match-worn tees being auctioned off after the game. However, their success made the collaboration a more frequent occurrence, much to the delight of many fans.
Because of the collaboration, Fender’s name and album will be part of the club’s history after they released a special ‘Winners 25’ shirt with the artist and album name on it to celebrate the Carabao Cup win.
Fender takes to the St James’ Park stage at 9pm for all of his shows, with several support acts before him.