James Bay w/ David Ryan Harris
Showbox, Seattle, WA
03.25.18

Previously known for his long hair, hats, and emotional acoustic songs, James Bay has ditched his old branding, changed his pace, and created a wonderful show out of it.

After David Ryan Harris opened the show—with an acoustic set that managed to be both heart-warming and hilarious—the stage dramatically filled with smoke, ready to welcome our headliner.

With so many other artists around, I don’t follow James Bay too closely. I know a handful of songs and livestreamed one of his festival performances a year or two ago, but that’s about it. So, when a tall guy with a guitar ran up to the mic and started the set, I was pretty confused and a little worried. Where was his hair? Where was the hat? I thought he played slow songs? Was I at the wrong Showbox?

As soon as he muttered “this one’s called ‘Pink Lemonade,’” though, I knew I was in the right spot, and I was in for a treat. Pretty much everyone has heard, and probably dramatically sung along to, “Let it Go” at some point in the past, and up until the latest singles Bay has been releasing, he was pretty much characterized as the singer-songwriter of sad love songs.

But along with the new messy short hair came a slightly different musical style, perfectly captured in “Pink Lemonade,” his second song of the night. With a more alternative-rock sound, the song hooks you right away and sounds like something perfect for the opening credits of some dramatic teen romance movie. It’s well done, fast-paced, and shows an incredible new side of James Bay he hadn’t previously explored too much, but I honestly like it even better than his more touching songs.

But of course, he is still a master of those sweet, slow songs, which we got back in “Scars” later in the set. The track is a little softer, a bit more stripped-down than others, which in turn let his voice and emotion ring through beautifully.

The whole crowd sang along passionately with “Let it Go” and “Hold Back the River” before Bay left the stage among screams and applause.

James Bay is not an artist you want to sleep on. Taking new strides in a different direction, the new album he has coming out soon is shaping up to be a pretty killer one, which the little tastes he showed at Showbox proved without a doubt.

Review and photos by Lulu Dawson

James Bay

David Ryan Harris