Live Review + Gallery | Dean Lewis @ Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

Dean Lewis

Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

15th February 2025

Photography by Gracie Hall (@gracroc)

Gracie Hall

Gracie Hall is a 21-year-old freelance photographer and journalist from Manchester, UK.

Specializing in live music, portrait, and behind-the-scenes photography, she’s covered over 200 artists and 300 live sets, including major events like Leeds Festival 2024. Passionate about music and storytelling, Gracie aims to inspire through her photography.

On the final date of his UK leg of his World Tour, Dean Lewis graces the Victoria Warehouse with his emotional anthems

Opening for Lewis is Sofia Camera, the viral rock-infused pop sensation, who delivers an upbeat yet vocally driven performance, highlighting her inspiration in vocal powerhouses such as Adele and Ariana Grande. With an excellent cover of Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck Babe’ sprinkled among her own tunes, Camera delights the crowd and warms them up for the evening.

Aussie Dean Lewis’ devoted fans eagerly awaited his arrival on stage. It’s clear from song one that Dean has an incredible connection to his fans. Throughout his performance, he climbs onto the barricades at both sides to intimately sing directly to the crowd. He performs three songs from the soundboard to give fans at the back and the balcony an intimate show, and during one of the final songs, Lewis even bravely wades through the crowd to give so many concertgoers an unexpected experience of a lifetime as they surround him with love and safety.

Lewis performs songs from across his career, including old favorites like ‘Hold Me’ and ‘7 Minutes‘ from his breakout 2019 album ‘A Place We Knew’. Dean also performs two covers: viral hit ‘That’s So True’ by Gracie Abrams to the delight of the younger female side of his audience, and the legendary ‘Iris‘ by The Goo Goo Dolls, which pleases the many accompanying parents in the room.

Friends embrace and cry together as songs like ‘Trust Me Mate,’ which is about almost losing friends to suicide, and ‘Half a Man,’ which tells the story of an internal battle about loving yourself in order to love another. In 2025, it’s expected of artists to give fans interactions and attention, but this often leads to inauthenticity. However, I don’t see this from Dean Lewis at all. From the way he interacts with fans online to at shows, he overflows with love and appreciation for everyone who supports him, and it’s refreshing to see.

‘Waves‘ stands out as a major highlight of the show as it starts with an extended intro of flashes of the chorus and verses combined together. A rock-infused version of the song is performed, amplifying the raw emotions the song emits. Lewis ends the song with his biggest hit ‘Be Alright,’ which is certified triple platinum in the UK. It’s an odd song to end a show with, as it’s a melancholy song about being cheated on, but Dean manages to turn it into an emotional climax, roared back to him by the audience. With a repeat of the final chorus and a bow from Dean and his live band, the performance concludes with confetti, smiles, and a few tears all around.

Check out the gallery below: