I have never, and I mean genuinely never been so excited to be able to write about a concert experience. I love all the concerts I attend, but this one had a vibe I have never felt before, a kind of vibe you rarely every get which makes me want to write this post at 12:58 AM on November 25, 2015.
Last night I had the incredible opportunity to go see James Bay at the House of Blues in Houston, TX. The night was full of so many incredible (and very interesting) moments which absolutely led to having an unforgettable evening.
The concert began with an opening performance by Cloves. Cloves is from Melbourne, Australia and performed about six songs, all which gave very chill and soothing vibes. She has a very strong and mellow voice which set a great undertone for James Bay's following performance. The song "Don't You Wait" is most definitely worth the listen and check her out if you get a chance to! It's worthwhile.
Last night I had the incredible opportunity to go see James Bay at the House of Blues in Houston, TX. The night was full of so many incredible (and very interesting) moments which absolutely led to having an unforgettable evening.
The concert began with an opening performance by Cloves. Cloves is from Melbourne, Australia and performed about six songs, all which gave very chill and soothing vibes. She has a very strong and mellow voice which set a great undertone for James Bay's following performance. The song "Don't You Wait" is most definitely worth the listen and check her out if you get a chance to! It's worthwhile.
James Bay is a 25 year old singer/songwriter from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, in the UK. He has four EP's out and an album titled Chaos and the Calm. Bay 's first single was the song "Let It Go," which has been featured on many shows such as Jane the Virgin, and Grey's Anatomy. Following "Let It Go," Bay released his second single titled "Hold Back the River" (a personal favorite), and absolutely smashed it. Currently he is touring across the U.S. and if you have a chance to go see him, please do! He is absolutely wonderful and delivers such a chill, strong and beautiful performance. The first time I ever heard James Bay, I was watching Jane the Virgin and there was a scene between Jane and Michael where Michael takes out his phone and plays "Let It Go," which instantly caught my interest and from there it was all sparks that ignited a very strong admiration from then on.
Wow. Honestly, all I can say is wow. I am at a loss for words at the show I just attended. Never did I think that I would ever see James Bay live, never did I think I would be as close to the stage as I was, never did I think that he would make eye contact with me (maybe that part was in my head but a girl can dream). James Bay brought to the stage a combination of many elements I never expected to be so strongly rendered through a performance. He has an incredibly large amount of humility, passion, and love for the music. Most importantly, the way he connects with each and every song was something I did not expect at all (in the best way possible, seriously I have never witnessed an artist connect so personally with his songs on stage) and very easily became my favorite part of the show. I was absolutely mesmerized by the way he would simply play a few chords on his guitar, close his eyes and suddenly vibe with the music so well that just by watching him, you get zoned in. All of this led to my favorite moment of the night being when James played the song "Scars" and made the whole venue go quiet. All he did was start playing and he silenced every person in the room. Without asking. Who does that? I was blown away at his raw talent.
His humility overwhelmed me. The way it ties into his passion and love for music is the strongest aspect of the performance. You can tell James doesn't perform to try and show off, or to try and make himself more popular, he performs because he loves it and it is so clear while he is on stage. Bay's success has come from his genuine love for the music, it's beautiful to see that he does not have to force his performance. He connects to his songs on such a strong level and pours all he has into them. My favorite song he performed had to be"Incomplete" (not just because it is my absolute favorite song by him which I have listened on repeat for over a month now and am still obsessed with). I could not help but be mesmerized at everything he was doing, it was very hard to look away when someone clearly expresses such a strong passion for what they are doing. My favorite thing he would do is close his eyes whenever he would sing. It would not be for the whole song but it was the right amount where you are reminded to focus on the music, not on him. After all, it is the music that brings you to the show.
If you ever ask me what is something I absolutely love about people, I will tell you I love it when someone gets so passionate about something that their eyes light up, they carry a sort of confidence about it in their body language and are genuinely so happy. James Bay took all the passion he had and it has reflected through to his work. Honestly I'm blown away. I loved watching him completely own every song, be passionate about it, about the music more than anything. If I thought I loved this artist before then I have grown to love his music even more (I was unaware this was even possible). I have seen approximately twenty live performances and he has definitely made it to my top three along with Ed Sheeran and The 1975. He brought something to the playing field that has made me so excited to watch him grow (because I definitely plan on seeing him again).
Here are some pictures from the show:
Here are some pictures from the show:
