James Bay, Abby Holliday
MTelus, Montreal QC
August 14th, 2023
Canadian Beats Passport
Tonight, British singer-songwriter James Bay made his grand return to Montreal! As part of his North America tour, the singer stopped by MTelus for his first show in town since 2019.
The evening opened with Nashville-based Abby Holliday, who warmed up the crowd with an intimate acoustic set. James Bay followed around 9pm, kicking things into high gear with the infectious Best Fake Smile. His 90-minute set was a perfect blend of new material (such as Goodbye Never Felt So Bad, which premiered a few days ago), and of course the classics like Let It Go and certified platinum hit Hold Back the River. The stage setup was simple, just James and his band, but that’s what makes the magic at his shows. It felt like an intimate and calm evening, the perfect remedy and contrast to last night’s over-the-top Metallica madness. Now we just hope we won’t have to wait another 4 years to witness James’ magical guitar-playing, soothing voice and deep lyrics!
James Bay
Abby Holliday
