JAMES BAY – Catching Up with the GRAMMY Nominee Between The Chaos and the Calm at the Hollywood Palladium

JAMES BAY has released a number of EPs and an album, CHAOS AND THE CALM  (2015). The album went to number one in the UK and number 15 in the US. Bay’s single “Hold Back The River” peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. Chaos and the Calm is already the “Biggest Album Release This Year” in the UK and has been certified Gold in Australia & Switzerland, Platinum in the UK.

Congratulations are in order as the 25-year-old “If You Ever Want to Be in Love” crooner was just nominated three times at the 2016 Grammy Awards! James is up for Best New Artist, Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song for “Hold Back the River.”

The English singer, songwriter and guitarist grew up in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, and studied at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. In 2015, Bay received the Brit Awards “Critics’ Choice” award. Aged 11, Bay was inspired to play classical guitar after hearing Eric Clapton’s “Layla” and he used a guitar he found in the cupboard in his house. When he moved to study in Brighton seven years later he gained a greater education from playing the city’s open mic nights, on which he said,

“That taught me a lot about writing and performing on my own and trying to hold my own. London is open minded, but its a bit more like New York whereas Brighton is a bit more like Austin, Texas. You can walk around the whole of Brighton in a night with a guitar and packed bars with open mic nights. I made the decision that it would be formative to live there and develop as a performer.” 

Bay caught the attention of a Republic Records A&R after a fan uploaded a video to YouTube of him performing at an open mic in London, and within a week he was signed to the label. His first EP, The Dark of the Morning, was released in 2013. Within a year he was selling out his first UK headline tour.

All Access Music writer, Nicole DeRosa got to catch up with the singer during his stop at the Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday, December 1st where he performed to a sold out crowd. The singer has been on tour for almost the past two years and when asked about writing on the road he says,

“Lately I’m trying to get my head into that space. I didn’t really need to initially because I was getting ready to release a record I had already recorded. Writing was  sort of in the back of my mind for the first time in a while but suddenly now I’m craving new ideas and enjoying flexing that muscle again. I’m on the road all the time, so it’s the only place to write. It’s a different thing if you can imagine as supposed to having your own space at all times, so I’m getting used to writing on the road now.”

The svelte rocker opened with “Collide” and followed it up with his swoon-worthy sing along “Craving” which flowed right into the poppy and oh so catchy track, “When We Were On Fire”.  Before the night ended, James teased the crowd ever so slightly and continued with a triple encore that included “Incomplete” a fun cover of Creedence Clearwater’s “Proud Mary” and ended the night on a high note closing out with his epic singalong “Hold Back The River”.

To stay up to date with JAMES BAY , visit him via his socials below:

Website  / Facebook  / Twitter  / You Tube  / Instagram