Dan Whitlam had the Roundhouse hanging onto his every last word, so much so that fans forgot to dance. Poetry isn’t for everyone and I’m still not convinced it’s for me, but introduce music and Dan Whitlam nails the ever-growing UK spoken word genre. Viral clips of the London-based artist speaking vulnerably to a camera on a train in the capital must have found their way into my Instagram algorithm last year. Immediately I opened Spotify to see if there was more where that came from. Indeed, there was not quite enough to fill a headline show at The Roundhouse – or so I thought.
Whitlam filled the stage with not just a band but a revolving door of collaborators, Sophie Faith and Tamzene among them, singing their part in his relatively young discography stretching only as far back as 2022. With his debut album not out until February, it was the poet’s most recent project, the EP ‘Mama Said It’, that captured the attention of the Roundhouse on the London stop of Dan’s autumn tour last week.
I’ve seen plenty of American hip-hop stars perform at the stunning Camden venue and few have connected with the crowd with their lyrics as Whitlam did that night. The well-spoken, red-headed part-time model was only one song into his set when it became clear: marketing is the only reason I wasn’t looking at a rapper.
Dan’s verses covered topics of romance, loss and the “Irony of being in your 20s, but feeling like you′re running out of time” (to quote Young Minds).
For all his effortless glimpses of humour and light-hearted charisma that shone between songs, the crowd remained firmly hooked on the vulnerability of each track rather than the uplifting music accompanying it. There were moments to be still, not least his dual perspective story of being stabbed – which was spoken with all the emotion and, in part, venom of a grime artist’s freestyle.
Light relief came in the shape of Dan’s father who took to the stage not to support his son, but for a good few minutes to experience the limelight himself. Unsurprisingly, he sang and played the keys very, very well.
The real unsung star of the night though was Dan’s guitarist and Think of Me collaborator Fractures. His energetic stage presence was as impressive as his support vocals on every song.
Ending a week on the road, Dan signed off on Instagram: “TOUR 2025 THANK YOU so much to everyone who’s come to one of my shows. Been insanely special. Off to EUROPE now! Keep living for today.”