Kiefer Sutherland’s Love Will Bring You Home European Tour Spring 2026, with support from Colin Andrew.
Leeds is lucky to be hosting Kiefer Sutherland – like many musicians lately, he recently cancelled a US tour. I expect this is largely owing to the challenges of rising costs for both musicians and their audiences.
Yep, times are hard for many of us … but, in a moment perfect for country blues music, it’s the big events of life, and the necessary reflections they provoke, that seem to have inspired Kiefer’s new album, released this week.
Before Kiefer takes the stage, it’s time for support act and massive Arsenal fan, Colin Andrew, from County Antrim in Ireland. It’s a difficult job for a man, with only a microphone and an admittedly very nice looking electro-acoustic Crafter guitar, to generate the stage presence needed for tonight’s venue – Leeds’ O2 Academy.
It’s not only a big venue with a capacity of over 2,000 people, but also a space that nearly 20 years after a major revamp is beginning to lose that sheen of new and fresh – but Colin is buzzing with energy on the last night of a tour of 34 gigs. He makes it clear that he feels “incredibly lucky” to be here tonight and he’s also got a few tricks up his sleeve to win over the audience.
One trick is to do a cover version of a famous song from the county he is in… winning over the crowd with a nod to Yorkshire being an independent state… soon, much of the audience is singing the “woah woah woahs” of Soft Cell’s Tainted Love.
Another trick is to add the name of the City he’s in to the lyrics of his upbeat and adventurous love song, Corfu, a song he says he wrote for his lovely girlfriend, Laura.
Finally, with a twinkle in his eye, he says “If I don’t sell all my merch before the end of my tour, she’s going to leave me,” which inspired some good heckling from the audience… many of whom did meet him at the merch booth at the end of the show.
Among the banter and some salty language, Colin plays a solid set of original ballads; from established songs like Still Waiting to new song on falling in love – One Way Down – and he has a lot of the crowd clapping along.
It’s a good start to the night and the venue is well staffed, with three bars open for the hundreds of people … maybe a thousand people here tonight. And as you might expect from being in a big music venue in Yorkshire, there’s a lot of complaints about needing to take out a second mortgage to buy a round.
After a comfort break, Kiefer Sutherland’s band members take the stage one by one. Keifer is best known as a Hollywood actor in 1980s and 90s classics like The Lost Boys and Flatliners as well as 2000s TV show 24… but I have a soft spot for him from his role as an FBI Agent in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me…
Tonight he is wearing a pretty fancy hat with a stripey feather, he has a fancy guitar and – on the cusp of turning 60 and at the end of a gruelling tour – he is looking fit and well.
On stage, he is flanked by formidable bassist, Roger Inness, Chris “CJ” Hillman on a handsome Excel Steel Pedal Guitar and guitarist Ash Wilson whose brother Phil is behind on drums. These are incredibly experienced session and touring musicians and amongst Kiefer, Ash and CJ, they have a huge guitar collection (many of which are waiting at each side of the stage.)
Behind them, there is a backdrop of the new album graphic – a bare tree, possibly lifeless or possibly leafless and on the cusp of renewal – that is lit with different colours for different songs, creating an ever-changing mood.
CJ and Ash have similar mid length hair, high hairlines, and are both comfortable doing all the hot shot guitarist moves, including doing an exaggerated “ooooh” with their mouth and leaning forward whilst walking backwards or pushing their hips forward, nodding as they play. Kiefer seems to be having a whale of a time standing in front of them – guitar to guitar. But it’s hard to tell as his hat helps keep the spotlights off his face for most of the night.
Perhaps part of the reason he seems a bit guarded is that it has been a rough couple of years for Kiefer Sutherland. In 2024, he lost his dad, and occasional co-star, Donald, after a long illness and no doubt he is still contending with the unexpected 2025 death of director Rob Reiner, who provided him with the opportunity to star in Stand By Me. There were indications that Kiefer hasn’t been doing so well lately with allegations in the press that he assaulted a private hire driver back in January.
Though, in general, he seems in his element, some new songs seem to comment on these harder times with See You on the Other Side, which explores grief explicitly and recently released single, Simpler Time, which captures a nostalgia for the past.
Other new songs like Goodbye California have a strong autobiographical element, charting Kiefer’s relocation after 35 years and in American Farmer he sings in solidarity with the agricultural neighbours he has built a community with. He shows an understated sense of humour, saying ‘I’m not one to give advice but if I did…’ to introduce what I consider his big hit Something You Love. With elements of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and fellow Canadian Bryan Adams’ Summer of ‘69, it’s an example of where the storytelling of acting is employed strongly in his music.
As well as singing songs from his past three albums, Kiefer includes covers of hit songs from his youth as wide ranging as 1970s country rockers The Marshall Ticket Band, 1980s chart topper Phil Collins and 1990s rockers Garbage. Influences of American stadium rock, country and blues including bands like Journey and artists like Johnny Cash are evident.
Though there’s a lot of warmth and expressions of appreciation for everyone here tonight – the musicians, the crowd attending, and the soundman, Steve – there are no big personal revelations or anecdotes. With no significant changes from the sets of other tour dates for tonight’s final show, it remains a solid, energetic and committed performance that has delighted the audience.
There’s a push for requests for set lists and plectrums as the main lights come on and the grumbles at the costs of a night out have now given way to typical Yorkshire generosity in appreciation of the performances – ‘absolutely fantastic’ says an appreciative fan to me…’you should put that in your review’. And I have!
Photography by Johanna Populoh.
