Tom Grennan @ Bedford Esquires, Tuesday, 6 October 2026
You can take the boy out of Bedford, but you won’t ever take Bedford out of the boy – this much is true for local legend Tom Grennan, who played two special shows at Bedford Esquires on Tuesday night.
Tom’s mini tour of venues where he played at the beginning of his career was only announced a few days prior to the shows, complete with free tickets for frenzied fans who snaffled up tickets within seconds.
The demand for tickets was so high that a second show was added at Esquires to allow more fans from Tom’s hometown to see him in action.
The stripped-back acoustic shows were set up as a soft launch into Tom’s new era of music.
Our chart-topping, arena-headlining popstar is due to release new music later this month, and what better way to get some practice in than popping back home for a night in the place where it all started.
I remember seeing Tom supporting Wolf Alice back in 2013 as part of his band The Jebs; little did we know then the success that would later come his way.
Arriving at Esquires, there is a queue around the block, a rare sight, as ticket holders arrive keen to get to the front of the stage and get up close and personal with Tom.
There is no support tonight, but it was not needed – the crowd was buzzing in anticipation and excitement, thrilled to be among the lucky few who got tickets.
Tom took to the stage announcing it was “good to be back in Bedford” and he was delighted to see so many familiar faces in the crowd.
He warned the crowd that the show might be a bit “raggo” as he was playing a short set, the majority of which were new songs, but I never noticed any mistakes at all.
Tom opened his set with “North Side of the River”, a song about Bedford.
Tom previously gave a sneak preview of this track at his show in Bedford Park this summer, but finally we got to hear the full version.
Phones were held aloft in the air filming the track, keen to capture the moment Tom sang about his hometown in well… his hometown! The track was instantly catchy, and the crowd were singing along loudly to the refrain of “looks like we made it.”
Before launching into the next track, Tom told the crowd he had some buffalo chicken wings from the locally famous chicken shop Chicken George, and he already wanted to go again, but was feeling the heat of the wings.
Spice is no contender for Tom, though and he continued his set with his distinctive strong, soulful and gritty vocals with new tracks “Echoes of a Boy” and “Howling”.
The new tracks are a different direction from Tom’s more recent releases, and are more reminiscent of his early releases on the “Something in the Water” and “Release the Brakes” EP’s.
Tom noted prior to performing the new track “Hail Mary” that half of his heart is Irish and he has always loved Irish melodies and stories, which inspired the track.
As well as performing his music, Tom had a good ol’ chat with the crowd, and mentioned the photo of him that is downstairs at Esquires of when he played a show here roughly ten years ago.
He requested that it was time for a new photo as he looks better now, to which someone in the crowd shouted “take your top off”.
Tom laughed off the slightly odd request and said, “You come to Bedford and they’ll try to strip you naked!”
The last of the new tracks Tom played was “Wrapped in Gold”, which is due for release on the 21 October, so keep your ears peeled for that. The country-eque song was a hit with the crowd who sang along joyfully.
Before closing his set, Tom took the time to thank the crowd for believing in him since day one, in particular Esquires’ owner Gareth Barber, for allowing him on stage in the early days, all of which has allowed Tom to put Bedford on the map.
“I love this town, it’s not s*** at all. It’s got its beautiful parts, and this is one of them,” Tom said before launching into what was the final song of the set, but the first song he ever wrote, “Something in the Water”.
The Bedfordian choir (the crowd) was out in full force again, singing along beautifully. Maybe we should get a few of the crowd to provide some backing vocals next time Tom’s in the studio…
It was heartwarming to see the crowd welcome Tom back home, and also to see the impact Bedford has had on him.
Despite his success across the country, we know Tom will always come back to us, and he will always be welcomed back with arms open wide and Chicken George on the table.
