Blue 25th Anniversary Tour Blog
- Marina Simioni
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Going on tour with Blue for their 25th anniversary UK tour was one of those full-circle moments I’m not sure I’ll ever completely process.
As an independent artist, the opportunity to perform across 26 cities over six weeks and often in front of around 2,500 people each night, was huge! But what made it even more surreal was that Blue were such a big part of my own musical nostalgia. I know all the words to all the songs. Every night after I’d finished my set, I would sit at the side of the stage singing along like the fan I’ve always been. My favourite song of theirs is "U Make Me Wanna." Hearing it performed live night after night somehow never got old.
Life on the Road: Blue's 25th Anniversary Tour
Touring sounds glamorous and parts of it absolutely are, but life behind the scenes is a very different world!
I travelled and slept on the tour bus with the boys, which was an experience in itself. After each show, the crew would begin de-rigging the stage and loading everything back onto the trucks. Once the venue had been cleared, the bus would usually leave at around 2am. We’d arrive in the next city somewhere between 5am and 7am, often after a very broken night’s sleep. Sleeping in a bunk on a moving bus takes some getting used to. You feel every corner, every motorway bump and every stop along the way.
Some mornings I would wake up, open the curtain around my bunk and have absolutely no idea where I was. New city, new venue, same suitcase! Some of my favourite venues were Hammersmith's Eventim Apollo, Brighton Centre and Utilita Arena Cardiff.
There was also a lot of tempting tour food around. (Popcorn catering were absolutely incredible!!) When you’re tired, travelling and surrounded by snacks, resisting the “naughty” options becomes increasingly difficult. I tried to balance it out by finding a gym whenever I could the following day. It gave me some structure, helped my energy levels and made me feel slightly better about everything I’d eaten the night before.
Taking my own music on tour
Each evening, I performed a 20 minute set: three of my own original tracks and two covers.
Sharing original music with audiences of that size was both exciting and nerve-racking. As an independent artist, you put so much of yourself into every song- it’s your music, your story and your responsibility to connect with the people in front of you but really hard at the same time to get the audience to listen as ultimately they are there to see Blue!
Walking onto a different stage every night taught me so much. Every venue had its own atmosphere and every audience responded differently. Some crowds were ready from the first note, while others needed a little more encouragement. Learning how to read the room and build that connection became one of my favourite parts of performing the set.
Meeting the fans
I genuinely wanted to meet Blue’s fans, so once the boys had finished their show, I would make my way to the front foyer to say hello. I met so many wonderful people, took photos and spoke to audience members about the show and my music. Those conversations meant a lot to me. Performing in front of thousands of people is an incredible feeling, but meeting someone face-to-face afterwards makes the experience real. It gave me the opportunity to hear what people enjoyed, which songs connected with them and what they thought of the night. There were people who came to see Blue and left having discovered my music too. That’s incredibly special and it was honestly one of the biggest highlights of the entire tour!
A full-circle experience
Touring the UK with a band whose music I grew up knowing word for word was completely surreal. One minute I was onstage performing my own songs; the next, I was standing at the side of the stage singing along to some of the most nostalgic songs of my life.
It was exhausting, exciting and unpredictable but it was an experience I’ll never forget (especially the Arenas!!)
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity, for everyone who listened to my set and for every person who stopped to say hello afterwards. You can find my original music on Spotify and all major streaming platforms and you can follow me on Instagram @realminamina. If you discovered me on the tour, I’d love for you to keep listening and I hope to see you at another show soon!
