by Matt Kelchner

Back in March English singer/songwriter and rocker James Bay unleashed his debut full length album, Chaos and the Calm, to the masses. After a handful of strong EPs and a few key openings slots on tours, like with Taylor Swift and Hozier, Bay has quickly developed a devote and growing following. Case in point: Friday night at the newly opened Fillmore in Philadelphia. For the first night of his headlining tour in support of Chaos and the Calm, he played in front of a way sold out crowd.

Fellow rising singer/songwriter and English native Frances warmed up the night with a short but very sweet set filled with a handful of her own tunes as well as one cover that went over very well with the audience. Her own hits like “Grow” and “Let It Out” were met with loud applause but it was her cover of Justin Bieber’s hottest new singles “What Do You Mean” that really set the fans wild.

Every song off Chaos and the Calm was played Friday night. Bay even squeezed in one bonus track and an incredible cover of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You”. Backed by his band, Bay did not just play every tune, he did so with an energy that left you tired from all of the cheering and screaming.

Many of the great aspects present on the album, like the raspy growl and clever guitar work, were amplified on stage. Bay himself was a true showman, both by doing his part to energize the crowd as well as feeding off that same energy. Every song that night felt like one big singalong but “Running” felt like it was the biggest. About half way through his night, Bay took time to send his condolences to the awful, almost unimaginable attacks that took place in Paris earlier that day. He then went on to dedicate “Move Together” to the victims in France.

The set came to a close with “Get Out While You Can” and after a short time backstage, Bay and company quickly walked back onstage to perform a three song encore that was just as impressive as the rest of his night. It was a quick 1-2-3 combo of “Incomplete”, Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” (filled with one hell of a guitar solo) and arguably his biggest hit “Hold Back The River” to truly end the night. In a time when more and more pop music is drifting away from the old standards of simply great guitar music, Bay has made it clear he is here to make sure it is does not go away.