James Bay at Lafayette

James Bay is no stranger to the bright lights of a grand stage, but the artist chose a more laidback, intimate setting for previewing material from a forthcoming third album last night. Aptly titled New Songs New Stories, the headline tour arrived at London’s cosy Lafayette, testing the waters alongside revisiting old hits, whilst supporting Britain’s independent venues. This could easily have felt high-pressure, being his first tour since 2019, but there was an undertone of relaxed experimentation throughout and the evening felt like a comfortable return to the spotlight.

Armed mostly with just an acoustic guitar, this was the former busker going back to his roots, performing solo with no idea how the audience would react. As he gauged reactions to new melodies and even joked about forgetting unfamiliar lyrics, it often felt more like a living room jam session among friends than a gig. Tracks in familiar catchy but heartfelt ballad territory like Silent Love, Everybody Needs Someone and future single Give Me the Reason were well received, with new guitar tricks and licks thrown in for good measure alongside the singer’s distinctly soulful, husky voice. 

As the tour name suggests, the sharing of “new stories” was a significant part of the show; the songwriter’s talent as a storyteller spilled over on-stage as he candidly explained the writing process, including some of the challenges that influenced the songs. For example, We Used to Shine is based on a fallout with a close friend, and one-to-watch One Life is an uplifting and unashamedly romantic number dedicated to his partner and new baby that incorporates some impressive vocal acrobatics too. Delighted fans were treated to both exclusive previews and behind-the-scenes exclusives along the way.

Despite not being the focus, there was still ample time for older hits. After opening with Craving, the crowd were also regaled with the likes of the well-known Let It Go and Scars. If anything, the singer was able to play around with the arrangements even more than usual, something he didn’t hold back on for the outro of Us, whilst If You Ever Wanna Be in Love featured a very sweet audience singalong chorus. This could well have been one of London’s friendliest gigs in a while. 

By the time Hold Back the River closed the show, a large chunk of the new album had probably been previewed. It makes for calm easy-listening, reminiscent of the musician’s debut release in 2014. Perhaps the next tour will have a great deal more familiarity, but for now, there was a different form of audience participation. If Bay needed a seal of approval from his fans, this was it.

Bev Lung
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit James Bay’s website here.

Watch the video for Let It Go here: