He had one of the biggest tracks of 2014 and last week saw George Ezra performing in front of thousands of people in Durban, Cape Town and Jozi.
When we found out that George Ezra was coming to play a few shows in Mzansi, we were pretty excited! His smash hit singles ‘Budapest’, ‘Blame It On Me’ and the brand new single ‘Barcelona’ have been doing incredibly well around the world and we couldn’t wait to hear these tracks live.
The show, brought to us by 5FM and Seed Experiences, had an awesome line-up. Before George took to the stage, we were, once again, wowed by the brilliance of Freshlyground who played their hit singles such as ‘Doo Be Doo’ and ‘I’d Like’. Freshlyground, and fellow support acts BCUC and Bongesiwe Mabandla, kept the crowd entertained before he took to the stage. We’re so bummed, however, that Beatenberg performed in Durban and Cape Town and left Jozi out in the cold. Even George is a huge fan of the local group and took to twitter to express his admiration. “I want to be in @Beatenberg_Band,” he tweeted. So do we!
When George finally took to the stage, we were instantly captivated by his beautiful strong, deep vocals. He performed his singles with such grace and had us hooked on every note that came out of his mouth. His music was the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon in Johannesburg and we loved the array of ballads and up-tempo jams. Naturally, the crowd went wild for ‘Budapest’ and ‘Blame It On Me’.
The singer did a few covers as well. He blew our minds with his cover of Macy Gray’s ‘I Try’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Girl From the North Country ’. He has only released one album to date, which was the third highest selling album in the UK last year, so it’s great that he added some covers to his setlist.
While we really enjoyed the show, we must be honest and say that he didn’t blow us away. He lacked stage presence and his interaction with the crowd was incredibly awkward at times. That being said, we had a brilliant time at the show and we hope he brings that beautiful voice back to South Africa soon!
Setlist:
Cassy O’
Stand By Your Gun
Listen to the Man
Benjamin Twine
Song 6
Girl From the North Country (Bob Dylan cover)
Leaving It Up to You
Blame It On Me
Spectacular Rival
I Try (Macy Gray cover)
Barcelona
Budapest
Blind Man in Amsterdam
Did You Hear the Rain?
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