James Bay live reviewed by Graham Finney
Singer-songwriter James Bay gives a word of appreciation to fans who have queued round the block during one of the wettest days of the year so far for the first of two intimate acoustic shows he is playing in the city this evening.
Inside the cosy surroundings of The Wardrobe, a venue which has hosted many intimate shows from similar established artists, there is barely a space to be had by the time James arrives on stage at 7.45pm. It’s a short set but the singer still makes plenty of time for banter with the crowd joking ahead of performing recent single “Easy Distraction” that he will probably mention his collaborator on the single, Brandon Flowers of The Killers fame, a few more times during the set.
Kicking off the set with “Up All Night” (a track Bay collaborated on with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan ), the opener and first of a slew of tracks from his upcoming album ‘Changes All The Time’, these songs take on a different emotion when stripped-back to one man, his guitar and a microphone. That being said, even without a full band, James wasn’t alone, having the help of a few hundred voices during ‘Let It Go’ where the set paused briefly to deal with a medical emergency in the crowd.
“Us” became a surprising hit for Bay after being used on a Netflix One Direction fan-film he couldn’t remember the name of while “Speed Limits” and “Hope” were further representations of upcoming album ‘Changes All The Time’ due out in a few days time. The set ended with a huge singalong for “Hold Back The River” as James delved into his earlier material to wrap up the first of two shows this evening.
Filing out into a damp Yorkshire Monday night, there is another queue working its way down the street as the second lot of fans wait impatiently to escape the rain and their rare chance to experience James Bay performing in a raw, stripped-back environment.
James Bay releases ‘Changes All The Time’ on Friday and will be touring the UK in February 2025. To pre-order the album or get tickets for the shows, head over to his Official Website.
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