Following the stunning response to his début album ‘Wanted On Voyage’, George Ezra set off on a European tour, kicking things off in Dublin’s Academy.
Opening the show, and rolling out the entire tour was the incredible, quirky pop aura of Blackpool’s Rae Morris. Diving straight in with ‘Skin’, one of her strongest and most impressive tracks, it’s no wonder Rae had an almost packed out venue in early to catch her perform. Other notable numbers included her new single ‘Closer’ and an originally written duet usually performed alongside its co-writer, Fryars.
Stepping on stage to an excited and hyped Dublin crowd, George Ezra introduced himself and sailed right into the upbeat riffs, beats, rhythms and strums of ‘Cassy O’, all coming together in a belting fusion that is one of his finest and most recognised songs.
Drifting through the impressive set of an all inclusive variety, showcasing the height of ‘Wanted On Voyage’ and the roots of previous EPs such as ‘Did You Hear The Rain’ and ‘Cassy O’, each track seemed to better the previous consistently; like a reverse domino effect.
Highlights included the energetic performance of album opener ‘Blame It On Me’, as well as the kinetic energy flooding from ‘Stand Your Gun’, not forgetting crowd favourite ‘Benjamin Twine’, which George executed solo.
Sticking to the solo presence for ‘Leaving It Up To You’, Ezra performed a more stripped back version met by the adoring crowd with the catchy underlying hook.
With an almost effortless looking stage presence, and a real moment-immersed ambience to his style, the likes of ‘Get Lonely With Me’ and ‘Breakaway’ are left to show the real distinctiveness and pure depth of his vocals.
Departing the stage on the renowned ‘Budapest’, Ezra returned with what was indefinitely one of the most impressive encores we’ve seen from an artist – his known Live Lounge cover of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and an impeccable performance of ‘Did You Hear The Rain’ to finish right on track.
Projecting flawless and powerful vocals across the intro of the closing track, the influx of the full band made even more of an impact, seeing the opening date of this tour out with a fearless and mighty bang.