James Bay visits NX Newcastle

Review – 23rd November 2022 – NX Newcastle

A work colleague had attended Electric Callboy at NX and forewarned me about the sticky floor. A lot of beer got spilt during the gig. I can confer that she was right. However this doesn’t stop me from loving this venue.

We arrived in time for the support act Kevin Garrett. I’d not heard of Kevin so off to Wikipedia I went;

Kevin Garrett (born March 25,1991) is an American musician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based out of Brooklyn, New York. He has released two EPS as well as a full-length album, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for his work on Beyoncé’s album Lemonade.

Unassuming in double denim and a white t shirt Kevin Garrett took to the stage. His performance though was a little beige, the sound from his mic between songs wasn’t the clearest so it felt like he was unable to make the important report he need to help the act. I’m going to listen to Kevin in my kitchen to see just how much better he is when he doesn’t have a live audience to contend with.

Despite the lack of lift from Act 1 you could still feel the anticipation in the air for James Bay and his ensemble.

Going from the acoustic guitar of Kevin to two guitarists, a bassist, drummer and pianist it was inevitable that the main act was going to be so much louder than the first.

Sauntering onto stage donning his identifiable Fedora, Bay lifted the whole room with his opening rendition of ‘Best Fake smile’.

This was an audience filled with couples and singletons alike and song after song people joined in and were happy. I love a good people watch into a crowd and I could only see enjoyment in people’s eyes.

James brought to the forefront that sometimes he has unhappy days. It fills me with hope when I hear people being vocal about their mental and physical health.

My favourite songs of the evening included, ‘Us’, beautifully melodic, ‘Let it Be’, so many of the lyrics resonate with me and ‘One Life’ and James I definitely want you in it.

Hold Back the River was the PERFECT encore. James truly loves what he does, he’s humble and approachable and an artist I’m looking forward to watching in future.

Review by:

Suzanne Whelan

Twitter: @suzannewhelan @sofa_stories