WHAT WENT DOWN: JGRREY’S INTIMATE GARDEN HEADLINE SHOW [@JGrrey13]

JGrrey’s first headline show of the year was intimate and cosy. The stage at Amazing Grace was decorated with flowers and greenery, which really suited the venue aswell as her vision. The set design was done by Shania-Mae Wright – from GUAP’s last cohort of creatives with the Adidas Originals Creator Network. Bel Cobain was the perfect support act, she warmed up the crowd with her soft, sultry voice and quaint lyricism.

JGrrey’s airy vocals flood the venue while her fans sing every word along with her. What makes her voice so distinct is that unlike her peers from the UK, her British accent doesn’t disappear when she sings. This translates magically on stage with the live band – she’s truly a breath of fresh air because she’s just so authentic and true to herself. Watching her interact with her fans throughout the show from start to finish was beautiful to witness because it’s so rare nowadays that you’ll actually see this level of fan interaction at shows. 

So, here’s all the ways that JGrrey gave her fans a night to remember:

The smile on her face when she sees a familiar face in the audience

You can see in her face when she recognises people from the crowd. She would even say hi to her beloved fans mid-song and occasionally stopping to ask them how they were briefly.

Filling the audience’s cups with rum for ‘Half Full’

She eagerly pulled out a bottle of Captain Morgan’s dark rum and poured it into the cups of the fans in the front row, even handing the bottle to someone to make sure it got passed around.

Singing with a fan on stage

She invited one of her fans, a singer called Kamona to join her on stage to sing Half Full. The story behind it being that it was Kamona’s birthday the following day and she’d DM’d JGrrey asking to sing with her. JGrrey seemed impressed and they both looked like they had a wicked time singing with each other.

Dedicating ‘Theirs13’ to their partner in the audience

Bringing out a saxophonist and celloist, she mentions how she wrote ‘Theirs13’ for their partner because she loves them and that they’re somewhere in the audience. The saxophone and cello give the track new dimension, the saxophone in particular really adds to the raw emotion. She also performs popular hit ‘Pretty Insane’ with this pair, a crowd favourite.

Bringing out Kojey Radical for ‘May’

The hi-hats give JGrrey’s vocals a textured foundation. When Kojey comes out it’s smiles all round as his velvety tone glides across the live instrumentation.

When she handed the mic to her fan in the crowd

During ‘For Keeps’, one of her fans started rapping just a tad quicker – an impressed JGrrey then handed the mic to her fan who had a cheeky grin on her face as she rapped the lyrics. This made the show feel even more warm and interactive.

The encore that didn’t go quite to plan

Realising she’d forgotten to leave the stage for an encore – she explained how she was going to leave and the crowd was meant to chant “One more song!” – she promptly left the stage as we began to do exactly what she had planned. She returned to the stage with the band playing to the beat of our chants acting like she had nothing planned then surprised her audience with ‘Don’t Fade’ – a song she never performs live.

Once the show was over, she began handing out bouquets of flowers while on her knees, making sure all of her dedicated fans were able to get them, she’d even stop to chat to a few of them aswell. She came outside to speak to all her fans after the show as well – taking pictures, asking if they enjoyed the show, remembering people she’d met before. And she took her time with it, nothing was rushed and it all felt natural.

AFTER THE SHOW, WE CAUGHT UP WITH JGRREY

Kat: How did you find the show tonight?

JGrrey: Honestly, it was gorgeous. It was really calm. I felt a sense of oneness in the room, which was really nice. I felt like everyone was definitely there together. [It was a] really good time. Everyone else had a good time. I just got to smoke some spliffs with some of my fans, so that was a good time. Did you have fun? 

Kat: I did! It was really nice watching you interact with your fans. What’s your favourite song to perform live and why?

JGrrey: Probably ‘Down About It’, just because it’s a builder. So I feel like I can start quite gentle and slow and then it builds and it’s a really heavy, gnarly, bass-y, guitar-y song, so that’s always fun. It’s quite versatile as a song.

Kat: What do you do to get yourself amped up to perform?

JGrrey: I don’t. I think if I was amped up to perform, I wouldn’t be able to perform. I keep it very f**king chill. I hang out with my peopledem, get my hair done.

Kat: Do you have any pre-show rituals?

JGrrey: Be around people I love.

Kat: How did you come up with the vision tonight and execute it?

JGrrey: When I saw this venue, I really liked the height of the ceiling and I think that’s what drew me in. Then I reached out to Shania, who I’ve worked with before on set design and she got the assignment. She made it look gorgeous with loads of flowers and loads of plants and she was up at like four o’clock in the morning just so I could give the plants away to people. 

Kat: And my last question was what’s in the pipeline for you?

JGrrey: I think people want me to write an album, and so I’m toying with the idea. That’s where I’m at.

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