Live Review: James Bay, Gretta Ray

"I've seen lots of performances here that have inspired me as an artist," says Gretta Ray as she stands on stage in awe that she's actually playing at this incredible venue. Coincidentally, the headliner tonight is one of those artists who have had a big impact on her and they've reconnected for this tour. Ray has a skill of romanticising simple subjects in her songwriting and she shares songs about how she perceives people and relationships in a very poetic way.

"Who here went to Splendour In The Grass?" she asks the audience and points out that tonight is one of the festival sideshows. Another performer who she notes played a set at the festival was her friend Jack River and so she shares a stunning cover one her songs called Talk Like That. Ray reveals that she'll be releasing her new EP soon and plays a couple of new songs from it including one standout track that she says snuck in at the very end. Her vocal range and storytelling narratives show maturity beyond her years. Ray concludes with Drive, a song she excitedly reveals was even added to James Bay's very own Spotify playlist.

The Intro of James Bay's latest album is brought to life as a cinematic display on the screen to set the scene of a couple breaking up outside a bar. Bay can be spotted in this footage as an observer watching it unfold before it fades to black and he walks out onto the stage to open with Wasted On Each Other. His evolved sound also accompanies a new look with slick short hair and he's swapped his signature fedora hat for a sparkly red jacket for an electric touch. "Am I seeing things or were some people up on their feet?" he asks the audience and encourages everyone to jump up.

A striking visual display continues to enhance the performance as Bay takes us through emotionally charged anthems that we can't help but sing along to, as loud as we possibly can. He's excited to play the new songs that he's been working on for so long and reveals Us is his favourite from the new record Electric Light. He swaps his guitar between every song to ensure the delivery has a distinct sound and subtly strums Elvis's Can't Help Falling In Love before diving into the heart-wrenching Scars.

"This is the most beautiful room I've seen in my life, of course it's in Melbourne," he says as he stands underneath the spotlight. The singers from his band form a circle around a microphone stand behind him for a gospel harmony during Slide. They continue with a soulful rendition of Proud Mary, which starts off with a slow burn before Bay turns up the heat and shreds the stage with a spectacular rockstar guitar solo.

"I wouldn't be able to do it without you so if it's alright, I'm gonna keep making music," says Bay, feeling very grateful for his fans as they scream and clap with excitement. He takes us back to where it all began with an acoustic solo version of Need The Sun To Break, which showcases his soaring vocal range. The full band returns for Hold Back The River and Bay gives us the longest version of the song we could imagine by adding in every kind of breakdown and elongated verse that he can think of to build the momentum for a huge finale.