Unplugged Tour (Matt Cardle)

The Unplugged Tour was an eight date concert tour by Matt Cardle. In contrast to his previous tours, the Letters Tour and promotional tours, it was not specifically in support of his most recent album, rather a set of songs from both his albums and other tracks that have meant a lot to him. It was the first he had done without the backing of a full live band. Cardle played acoustic guitar for the majority of the songs, but had the addition of Paul Bullen on keyboard for the middle portion of the set and the encore. No other instrumentation was used. All dates sold out.

Unplugged Tour

Tour by Matt Cardle
Matt Cardle performing in Glasgow on his Unplugged Tour
Associated albums	Letters The Fire
Start date	April 23, 2013
End date	May 2, 2013
No. of shows	8
Matt Cardle concert chronology

Background

The tour was announced on 10 December 2012 with tickets on general sale on 12 December. Cardle explained the reason behind it being unplugged was that it hadn't been long since doing a big production tour and he wanted to strip it down and make it a more intimate show, especially for fans who prefer his acoustic side. The tour began on 23 April 2013 in Cork. The first half of the set included songs from his first album, Letters, and covers of songs that have been part of his musical journey, such as the first song that really inspired him, "Thank U" by Alanis Morissette and the song he performed for his first audition on The X Factor, "I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse. The second half consisted of songs from his most recent album, The Fire.

Reception

Dean McAdam of Herald Scotland said Cardle is "comfortably establishing himself as something just a little different from the rest" and claims that the acoustic approach suits him well. Phil Allely of Fame Magazine said he "ticked every box imaginable " and "Cardle was on the ball for start to finish, he built the crowd up perfectly and ended on the perfect high he possibly could." Bernard O'Rourke of Golden Plec said "it is clear that he has left the manufactured reality show pop version of a singer-songwriter behind, it just isn’t clear what exactly he’s grown into."

Setlist

1. "Letters"
2. "Thank U"
3. "You Know I'm No Good"
4. "When We Collide"
5. "Faithless"
6. "Lost & Found"
7. "Amazing"
8. "Set Fire to the Rain"
9. "Millionaire"
10. "All That Matters"
11. "Water"
12. "Anyone Else"
13. "It's Only Love"

Encore:

1. "Lately" (Added from Manchester onwards)
2. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
April 23, 2013	Cork	Ireland	Cyprus Avenue
April 24, 2013	Dublin		Whelans
April 25, 2013	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Empire Music Hall
April 27, 2013	Glasgow	Scotland	Oran Mor
April 28, 2013	Coventry	England	Arts Centre Theatre
April 29, 2013	Manchester		Lowry Theatre
May 1, 2013	Cambridge		Junction
May 2, 2013	London		Union Chapel