A massive crowd of 2,500 people gathered at the new Munro Martin Parklands on Saturday evening to hear British singer songwriter Passenger perform songs from his latest release ‘Young As The Morning, Old As The Sea’. No stranger to the Far North, Michael Rosenberg aka Passenger has toured her many times and even busked here frequently between 2009-2011.

Having once played a gig at The Central Hotel in Port Douglas, Passenger now returns to Cairns for sell out shows, recently in 2015 at The Convention Centre and now to a huge 2500 people at Munro Martin Parklands on Saturday Night. A fantastic indicator to this performers growing popularity here in North Queensland.

Following a fantastic support set by The Paper Kites, Passenger took to the stage and instantly had the sold out crowd in the palm of his hands. With his distinctive voice and stage presences captivating the audience from the get go.

The second song of the evening ‘Life Is For Living’ was given an upbeat feel with a full band behind him, getting the crowd to its feet with Passenger encouraging everyone to sing a long “even if you don’t know the words Cairns, make something up”.

The increasingly witty Passenger spoke frequently to the crowd over the course of the night, with his English humour creating an intimate bond between the crowd and performer.

“I’ve only had one hit song. Don’t laugh it’s true. There’s been a bit of confusion with my song ‘Let Her Go’ and the song from the movie Frozen ‘Let It Go’. That movie! (laughter). So I just want to say, if you’ve come along tonight to hear ‘Let It Go’, I’m sorry but I’m not playing it.”

As well as playing all of his well-known songs, Passenger also broke out a number of impressive covers including Bill Wither’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and the classic ‘Sound Of Silence’ by Simon & Garfunkel. The latter holding the crowd in dead silence while Passenger made the song his own.

Songs such as ‘I Hate’ and ‘Scareaway The Dark’ proved incredibly popular with the audience, with the crowd meeting to the performers every command. While his massive hit ‘Let Her Go’ created a 2,500 person strong chorus, at parts its volume overriding the band.

The audience was also treated to many softer moments; with the story of the song ‘Travelling Alone’ explained in detail before a gripping solo rendition. The power, in which he could be given complete silence from the crowd during these parts, was a great show of skill by the performer and also a great show of the respect from the listeners.

Returning for an encore, the song ‘Poles’ had the entire Parklands on its feet and was a perfect way to finish the evening. Overall an incredibly great show which will hopefully see Passenger return to the Far North for many years to come.

Mitch Sullivan
Photos by Jen Frei – Frei Films

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