James Bay made a triumphant return to Manchester’s Apollo on Friday evening, ten years since he last played here. The venue was packed with fans eager to see the singer-songwriter kick of their weekend in style.
Style is certainly something Bay has in bucketloads, as he sauntered onto the stage, a silhouetted figure, guitar in hand and his effortlessly cool outfit finished off with his trademark fedora, the screaming intensified. Fans already started shouting out song requests before Bay had even kicked off his first number, which was ‘Up All Night’ from his latest album ‘Changes All the Time’. The album version features Noah Kahan and The Lumineers, as Bay has collaborated with numerous musicians on this fourth album, including Killers Brandon Flowers and Holly Humberstone.
The setlist was of course a mixture of all four albums, and by song two we were into more familiar territory with ‘Give Me the Reason’ which was well received and started a mass sing-a-long which pre-empted the rest of the evening! Bay paused after the second track to welcome his audience and was delighted to be back at the Apollo, lamenting how ten years had passed since he was last here, and he hoped that his audience would sing as loud as they did last time.
Track six was another fan fave with ‘Let it Go’,. Having never seen Bay live before I was pleasantly surprised by his stage presence and I must say that listening to his tracks before without seeing him perform does not do them justice. Bay is passionate and hugely talented, surrounded by a minimal backing band, making this larger venue feel like a small bar gig, an atmosphere only broken by the roaring cheers at the end of each song. The crowd are respectful in the more sombre numbers.
The set ends with a very generous four track encore, and of course undoubtably his most well known track ‘Hold Back the River’ is the final song of the evening. The audience have certainly gotten their money’s worth here and no doubt head back out into the chilly night air feeling a little more mellow and musically fulfilled. Bay continues his UK tour and for more information on where he and his band are headed next check out his website below.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON JAMES BAY’S LATEST TOUR, HEAD HERE.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE RGM MUSIC AND GIG NEWS.
