February 20th, 2025 - Minneapolis, MN

Placing third on The Voice UK in 2017 was only the start of Jamie Miller’s career. The 27-year-old has accumulated over 1 billion global streams, released a debut album, and opened for Jesse McCartney and Callum Scott. Now on his first headline tour, he chose Minneapolis to close out the North American leg of the Long Way Home Tour on February 20th at Fine Line Music Club.

The one thing about Fine Line is it’s always going to have a line out the door. Fans shivered out of coldness and anticipation before going into the venue. As I waited in line, I overheard squeals of excitement as people realized one of the openers, Alex Sampson, was talking with fans and signing items at the merch table before the show. I knew this crowd was going to bring the energy.

Kicking off the night was singer-songwriter, Garrett Adair. He and his acoustic guitar took the stage and belted out heartfelt lyrics. His set featured his songs “Bare Minimum,” “Missed the Boat,” and a cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” He played a new unreleased song, “Don’t Stress,” available to listen to via a QR code displayed on the screen because he couldn’t put it out yet. Throughout his set, he recognized fans in the audience who had been to multiple shows. Adair ended his time as an opener on this tour bathed in the phone flashlights from the audience and with a farewell I’m sure he’ll always remember.

From semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent to opening for Jamie Miller, Alex Sampson is getting the recognition he deserves. To say that I was pleasantly surprised with Sampson’s performance would be an understatement. He took the stage with such an infectious energy that I smiled throughout the entire set.

Sampson treated the Minneapolis crowd to three unreleased songs, one of which was written in Chicago, the previous stop on tour, and had never been played live. It was so new Sampson had the lyrics pulled up on his phone to ensure he didn’t mess anything up. His set included other songs like “Wallflower,” “WANT YOU!”, and “Pretty Baby.” He also got the crowd going by performing One Direction’s hit song, “What Makes You Beautiful.” While this was the last North American show, Sampson will continue opening for Miller as he embarks on his European/UK leg.

As Jamie Miller took the stage, I noticed a buzz in the crowd and pieces of paper being distributed through the audience. During the second song, “Guidebook to Healing,” fans held up pieces of paper that said, “You’re our guidebook to healing”. On top of already being an emotional closing night of the North American tour, Miller teared up reading the papers. His humanity was ever-present throughout his performance as he cried and spoke about deeply personal stories.

Miller didn’t want the night to end and prolonged his time onstage by sharing the background behind songs and savoring the moment he was onstage. He also covered “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus after being inspired by his recent watch of The Hannah Montana Movie. “Maybe Next Time” and “Empty Room” were the two most emotional songs of the night and once again brought Miller to tears after performing. After wiping his eyes and hugging fans, Miller played his title track “Long Way Home” and his song with Tori Kelly “Every Lifetime.”

During “Here’s Your Perfect,” Miller brought a young fan onstage to sit and sing with him, which the fan crushed. He knew every word and sang loudly when Miller put the microphone in front of him. It was an adorable moment between the artist and fan.

Miller was joined onstage by opener, Alex Sampson, for the final song of the night “It Is What It Is.” After a posed photo onstage and Sampson and Miller sang part of the song in the crowd, the show ended. My final thoughts on the show? As Jamie Miller said, “That was the way to end the North American tour.”