Concert Photos: James Arthur at Baloise Session, 30.10.2026

Nov 3, 2026 - 22:00

Concert Photos: James Arthur at Baloise Session, 30.10.2026

Another night, another concert, this time it was James Arthur at Baloise Session in Basel. The British singer-songwriter first made a name for himself by winning The X Factor back in 2012. He has since given us big, emotional hits like Impossible, Say You Won’t Let Go or Naked.

I’ve seen James a bunch of times over the years, but not for quite a while now. So I was intrigued to see how he has evolved. I have to admit, it can’t be an easy task to come on stage after Nicotine Dolls. I might be a bit biased on this one, as you can probably tell from my review of their set :)… But the James Arthur fans in the room were excited, and that’s what counts.

Impossible Brings the Fans to the Stage

When James started playing his second song, Impossible, his breakout single back then, you could see that many fans were ready to storm to the stage. And right after the song, they did. It got a bit tight for us photographers during the last song we got to shoot, but it was really nice to see how excited some of those fans were, singing along like there was no tomorrow.

Jokes That Didn’t Quite Land

As for James, I feel like he might not have been aware of what kind of audience was going to be there. Apart from the fans who were able to score tickets, the room was mainly filled with older folks, possibly corporate guests invited by the sponsors, who might not all be super fluent in English. He tried to crack some jokes in the beginning, but they didn’t really hit. It’s kinda hard to talk about STDs in front of that crowd 😀 I thought it was funny, but many others didn’t get the joke.

A Little Rock Star Attitude at a Laid-Back Festival

Baloise Session is known for its laid-back atmosphere. The audience is mostly very appreciative of the artists, but some artists might find them a little too quiet and not very active. The Rick Astley and Nile Rodgers & Chic night earlier in the festival was very much the exception. James should know this, since he played the opening night here back in 2015, sharing the evening with Sarah Connor. But that was ages ago, so maybe he forgot? Whatever the reason, it kinda felt like he was a bit pissed off at times.

He has always had an “attitude” on stage, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s more of a little rock star image, which fits him well, to be fair. But here it felt a bit off. Then again, maybe that’s just me.

Either way, the songs and hits were still great to hear live, and James is no doubt a talented artist 🙂