RAYE brought her largest Montreal-area headline show to date to a sold-out Place Bell on April 12, with opener Absolutely setting the tone before a two-hour headlining set that drew over 10,000 people into something closer to a 1960s jazz reverie than a standard arena concert.
Backed by a full band with brass and strings, RAYE moved between jazz, soul, and pop, working through material from her sophomore album This Music May Contain Hope alongside earlier favourites. The staging leaned into Old Hollywood glamour — floor-to-ceiling red curtains, a signature Hollywood bob, a long black fur coat that gave way to a bright red dress as the set built. A "rave section" mid-show shifted the mood entirely, darker and heavier, before the night closed with "Joy" and an encore of "Escapism," with sisters Amma and Absolutely joining her onstage for the finish.
Keep reading “RAYE at Place Bell Was a Masterclass in Owning a Room”
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