By Kyle Brown
At just 26 years old, Lewis Capaldi has become a household name. The singer-songwriter and musician came to the worldwide popularity with the release of the song “Someone you Loved” in 2019. With doors opening at 6:45pm on Saturday April 15th, traffic was at a gridlock in Detroit. I spent forty-five minutes in traffic to get one block to where I needed to park. An act like Lewis, who at the time of writing this has thirty-three million monthly Spotify listeners, will do that.
Opening for Capaldi was Em Beihold. Beihold is no stranger to performing before big acts. She has opened for the likes of King Princess, The Jonas Brothers, and AJR before Capaldi picked her up for his tour. Beihold walked onto set with a loud applause and began her first song on the keyboard. The band consisted of a drummer, a guitarist, and Beihold.
During the half hour set, one of the first things I noticed was that Em used every part of the stage. Rather than staying stationary, she wanted everyone in the venue to be able to get a good show. Bouncing, jumping, and just flat out enjoying her time on stage. The pop artist who blew up in 2022 with the song “Numb Little Bug” and having that song on TikTok, enjoyed connecting with the audience. She took the time to introduce her band and herself, and just connect with everyone in attendance. Another thing I noticed, and liked, was the bluntness and way she doesn’t sugar-coat things. Beihold is honest in her music. A way that to me, helps convey the songs message as it was supposed to.
The color palate used was one of my favorite parts about the set, aside from the singing. Ranging from white, light blue, pinkish purples, and red. These colors were accompanied with a light smoke. The palate was one I rarely see and offered a uniqueness that I can remember her for. During the third song, the venue suffered a small power outage. Beihold kept on going, not letting the abrupt light outage stop her. She finished the song, explained the situation, and then proceeded to just chat with the crowd without any hesitation until the lights came on a few minutes later.
One of the loudest ovations came after Beihold’s version of “Until I Found You.” A song the crowd made sure to sing along to as well. Going back and fourth between songs that had slow melodies to songs with a faster paced tempo, Em Beihold and her band made sure to keep all eyes on her. Even doing a rock like guitar and solo during a song that came during one of the slower paced songs.

Hailing from Scotland, Capaldi is on the second leg of his Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent tour before taking a month break in July, and then heading to Australia. Not a seat was empty in the venue, except for a few poorly placed seats that had a literal pole in front of them. By the time I was finished shooting the first three songs, I was forced to stand at the back of the venue. It was that packed. The venue itself was hot. With so many people, everyone in the upper areas of the theater was sweating like they just did a high intensity workout. If it wasn’t for the bottle of water offered to me from the security staff in the photo pit, I may not have had made it through the entire set.
I, like many who enjoy his music, also love his sense of humor. It was nice to see Capaldi go from heartbreaking songs like “Lost on You” to immediately telling jokes and bantering with his audience. Jokes that were sexual, jokes about America in general, and even a joke or two about himself. Nothing was off the table. For one instance, he had the crowd sing “Happy Birthday” to an audience member named Madison, after reading a sign. That was immediately followed by a song about death. To which Capaldi pitched was a perfect way to go from a happy moment, to a sad one. The song that came next was “Before you Go.” The way Capaldi could ease his audience from tears of the heartbreak songs, to having a room full of laughter was astonishing.

Another attention to detail Capaldi showed was when he stopped a song to congratulate a couple he saw had gotten engaged. He dedicated the next song, “Hold Me While You Wait” to them. The show was extremely personable. Capaldi made sure to talk to the audience and keep their attention. Joking Ed Sheeran was in attendance, or how he really was not playing the piano are a few examples. One thing was a for sure thing. Capaldi’s stage presence did not lack.
I loved the stage set up. Lewis was on one tier, and his band in the back on another tier that was high enough you could see them as well. LED strip lights wrapped around each member and the front of the stage where Lewis stood. The audience at one point lit up the Masonic Temple Theater with their phones like the lights came on in the actual venue. From start to finish, the crowd was roaring with thunderous applause, loud singing, and everyone had their eyes and attention to Lewis and his band.
The set ended a tad bit early due to Capaldi having some pain stemming from his Tourettes. He mentioned halfway through the set he was having some flare ups and apologized, but was only met with warm applause and cheering showing support of the artist. Despite the issue, he pressed on like a pro for as long as he could. If there was one thing that was a certain, the Masonic Temple Theater had its roof blown off and is probably floating somewhere in outer space.
Check out some images captured below.







