IF you were watching VANT on their tour date at Barrow Library last week, I’m sure you will have enjoyed the support act just as much as the band.

Geordie singer/songwriter Sam Fender is only 22 and you can’t help but thing he is on the brink of the big time. Sam has been gigging constantly in the past few years and supporting some great names such as Hozier, Michael Kiwanuka and now VANT.

Sam has released a couple of tracks independently to gauge reaction and he’s had some amazing reviews. One of his tracks even reached the top spot in the ITunes singer/songwriter chart.

On the way to his show in Barrow we dragged him into The Bay studios to warm up his vocals and perform a live session for our listeners. Sam explained the challenge of supporting well-known acts and how he has half-an-hour to shine and make an impression. “You’ve got to give it your all. I always believe first impressions are the most important and you’ve got to firmly plant yourself into people’s minds so they don’t forget you. I always try and put on the best show I can.”

There is a great buzz around Sam Fender at the moment and he is struggling to come to terms with all the attention. “We dropped the first single and since then loads of mad stuff has happened. From being completely unknown I just can’t believe it. I’ve only really been around for six months."

It has reached levels of madness that most budding new talents can only dream of. Sam’s management have had interest from 60 record labels desperate to snap him up. I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know there were 60 record labels in existence! And the crazy thing is, Sam isn’t sure he even wants to sign a record deal.

“It’s insane really. There have been so many people showing interest but we are just cruising. We are enjoying doing it all ourselves. We are like a well-oiled machine. We do all the artwork, we do all the music, we do all the recordings ourselves. We have freedom and control over everything. It would be a big thing to give up all that control.”

Music is in the blood for the Fender family as Sam’s dad and brother both sing and write songs. They are immensely proud of his success but don’t expect them to appear on his debut album. “No chance - absolutely no chance. We have too much pride and are in a big competition against each other!”

Hopefully 2018 will be a big year for Sam Fender. You can listen to the full live session on The Bay’s website.