If you want to witness glorious joy personified, go see George Ezra in concert.
With a deceptively deep baritone voice and a beautiful British accent, Ezra sounds good – whether he's speaking, laughing or crooning his award-winning songs to the crowd.Back in Brisbane for another visit (2 November), Ezra and his seven-piece band simply could not contain their delight. The enjoyment was palpable with gleeful grins, lots of arm waving and laughing onstage.
Joining him on the tour and adding layers of soul to his more pop-skewed playlist, there was an entire brass section (trumpet, trombone, sax), plus a man on keys, an enthusiastic drummer, a slap-happy bassist and another guitarist.
They played in front of a dreamy mountainscape, a washed watercolour in the background and shining at the front was a vibrant and bright medley of lights, ranging from bright yellow to deep purple to a sunset orange. It simply felt like happiness in concert form.
With a packed crowd filling The Riverstage to the furthest reaches of the grassy knoll, Ezra chatted amiably between songs, telling anecdotes and explaining his songwriting process. He encouraged the crowd to sing-along – and for his big hits, everyone was more than happy to oblige.
On tour to promote his newest album, 'Gold Rush Kid', Ezra played a mix of old and new, sliding between upbeat pop to laidback lounge to foot-stomping soul.
With the setlist including old favourites 'Cassy O', 'Pretty Shiny People', 'Barcelona' and 'Budapest', and a few from the new album like 'Green Green Grass', 'Gold Rush Kid' and 'In The Morning', Ezra knows how to hold a crowd and moved from uptempo bursts of energy to emotional moments with ease.
There's a reason why his albums have hit the number one spot and stayed there. He sings from the heart, he speaks to those ever-relatable subjects like love, heartbreak, loneliness and happiness, and sings the broken parts back together.
Even though he looks young, his talent feels as old as the hills and he makes magic when he sings.
Effortless, endearing and oh so happy, George Ezra is a voice for all generations.
