Pop sensation and actor Joshua Bassett returns to the uk with “the golden years tour” to perform his debut album Golden Years along with playing some tracks from his ep’s too! Tonight  Joshua plays in Manchester and we go though such an inspirational journey and come out the show with a whole new prospective in live because for someone who is so young he’s been though one hell of a journey! Some people may know his name from the High school musical tv series which came out back in 2019 and for the old school fans of that show , we think of high school musical the films which will turn 19 in september and that is really showing my age now!

There has been a change in the support act as Thomas Day had to drop out  so opening up instead is Hetta Falzon , a rising star who has now probably played her biggest show ever tonight too!  It’s just one woman with her piano on a tranquil journey though life’s pain to overcome the past and present issues  and to become a better person. 

Despite the emotional songs the venue is very calm and relaxed which will of course change when Joshua Bassett comes on stage. What makes things more remarkable is that Hetta doesn’t actually have any music out yet so we are actually actually quite lucky to hear new music that doesn’t exist anywhere yet!

One song that stuck out to me was called the “bus song” I think and  it’s about anxiety ,about acknowledging of having if didn’t open up the bus to come, the rabbit hole , about learning what anxiety is going down a rabbit hole about what it is and how to deal with it , where simple tasks seem near impossible to do because of this . As someone who still deals with anxiety its true!

The final song for Hetta’s set is Sobery and that will be her first ever single out! Sadly her mic cut out due to some technical issues so we were unable to hear what the song was about but despite this issue , Hetta handled the situation very well by just laughing at the situation and having a chat with some of the crowd before the mic got fixed! 

Now it’s the moment these eagerly fans have been waiting all day for and that’s Joshua Bassett and man this guy is so energetic and bouncy right from the start as he jumps on to stage with ” the golden years”  and then “secret” and ” cherry blossom” as the fans sing along to pretty much every song. What I will say is again how flamboyant he is and how talented the guy is! From singing and dancing to the piano and swapping to the guitar so quickly and smooth on the songs it’s just incredible to see and to listen too!

There was one very lucky fan who had a dream come true as she’s taken on stage to dance with Joshua on stage for ” circles” and of course Joshua wears a fans hat too! Now throughout the show it feels like we are going though a journey of self love , peace and happiness as Joshua talks about parts of his life growing up and how he deals with stuff. For the next song “biting my tongue” Is a big one as Joshua spoke about having to speak to the producer to see if it was right to talk and sing about what exactly is on his mind rather than holding stuff in and biting his tongue! Of course the producer was very happy to say yes!

The metaphor I think Joshua is trying to get is that sometimes it’s wise to bite your tongue and hold in on what you want to say because sometimes words to hurt but on the other side. If you just keep everything in and don’t express how you feel that can actually be worse than bottling things up. It’s one of many journeys tonight about becoming the better person. and that “lie lie lie is next”

Joshua then opens up more throughout the night and talks about the struggles with addiction.

Addiction is suffering from pain and there’s a taboo about it , the reason I struggled is I refused to seek help , talks more about seek help from any addiction you feel powerless , speak out about it even if it’s addiction to social media you’ll feel amazing to get the help. With that “Mirror” is sung next.

It’s mental how a young lad has had a bad addiction so early in life and he got help, he pulled though and got better. This is a pretty big deal and he’s an inspiration to this new generation of people, heck even us older folk shed a tear at that.

What I heard next was simply astonishing , I still can’t believe it. So back in 2021 Joshua said he rushed to hospital as he suffered with septic shock & heart failure with a 30% chance of survival and the fact he lost 20 pounds in a week! He then talks about how it made him think about everything and that everything stupid he worried about ment nothing, all he cared about was family and fiends. He regained a relationships in his life that ended on pettiness etc.

Joshua says to let the ones you love, know that you love them, don’t wait for the conversation do it now.  He sings “lifeline which goes out to his mum and everyone he loves both present and those who have passed on. Can you see what I mean when I say he’s an inspiration! He nearly died and he’s found a new lease in life just to spread joy and happiness.

For the next bit Joshua talks about this is the time where he ventures in to the unknown and he basically says please don’t touch me, grab me or give me gifts. He appreciates it but I can’t talk all the gifts and you do laugh at the grabbing part but you’ll be surprised how often it happens and off he pops into the crowd for a good few mins to ” different”  Then as the chorus hits “here will be different ” “spoiler alert it didn’t” Josh says amazing! 

“Manchester you ready to party I want to see Manchester mosh , safely but I want to see you mosh”  and that’s to would you tell me and yes that’s a first i’ve heard a pop singer wanting to do a mosh pit at a show. I think he just means bop about like a silly sossig!

Back again for another story and that the only thing that matters in life is love. Physical possessions can be destroyed but love cannot. His friends childhood home burned down in a fire a while ago which is pretty bad, just like the LA fires which is pretty terrible. With that he sings little rita.

Joshua talks about when you feel down, it feels like forever and if anyone is struggling I can promise you there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As someone who has suffered from this it’s “all in due time” It’s true. As someone who suffers with depression for years it does really get better. He might be a child at heart but Joshua is so wise , charismatic and mature i’m really glad to see that people have someone to look up to in a positive manner.

Up next is “smoke slow” and Joshua advises against smoking. What’s funny is that quitting smoking is hard in America but it’s so much more harder in Europe as everyone smokes! “don’t smoke, it’s bad!”

We have a surprise duet now as Hetta is called to the stage as Joshua bigs her up “isn’t she killer bro” “she’s the next Norah Jones watch out!” As they cover one of Norah Jones songs ” don’t know why and yes Joshua has an Ipad out to play the song on piano as they are free balling it. “Yes I’m using and Ipad, i’m an Ipad kid”

This got me thinking,is he this generation Troy from high school musical as back in my day when it came out Troy and Isabella were the faves of the original high school musical saga.

Carrying on with the personal life stories and Joshua talks about love. He spent his entire looking for love and after hitting multiple dead ends he found his love in Jesus Christ. He apologizes on behalf for the Christians that have hurt you and there is the stigma of talking about being catholic and being so confident to talk about the love in God. “God is love and he loves all of you, I think the lack of love is the main issue with everything in the world. “just love” is of course sung.

“Manchester are you ready to feel something?” “Soon as this stupidly long intro is over, are you ready to have the party of your life? and bam it’s “feel something” and the crowd goes bananas!. “I’m feeling the love guys, if anyone feels forgotten and alone, you are loved! and with that “dancing with tears in my eyes” . Ending the show with “set me free” It feels like we are at church it’s so soulful.

You think that was the end of the show but bam an encore with ” she said, he said, she said” &  ” look how far you’ve come”. And what a song to end on. Tonight has been a remarkable journey and I hope people will find more happiness and positivity because Joshua has been an absolute saint with tonight’s show. Please come back soon!