In case you were wondering, Vance Joy is no one-hit wonder. Sure, just his second single “Riptide” off his debut EP God Loves You When You’re Dancing garnered unprecedented success and astronomical feats, but the Aussie proved he’s much more than a flash in the pan.
Read more: 3 reasons to see Vance Joy live
Vance Joy nonchalantly strolled out to a near sold out audience cheering and shouting his name. The amphitheater was overflowing at the brim for the artist’s first ever headline show in Charlotte. With an acoustic guitar nestled underneath his right arm, he stepped out from behind the curtain to commence what was clearly a highly anticipated show.
Beams of white light created a silhouette out of the singer-songwriter as he stood behind his microphone with the cover art from his second record Nation of Two glowing above him. He crooned “Fire and the Flood” into the crowd and the bellowing applause from thousands grew louder as the stage’s front lights turned on and eliminated the shadows that hid him.
Photos by Jared Allen
Vance Joy does so much with so little. He’s traditional and his style isn’t overly elaborate, yet his classic finger-picking acoustic guitar melodies and soaring vocals are to die for. It doesn’t take long to grow infatuated with Vance Joy, as he follows his opening anthem with an ever bigger hit, “Mess Is Mine.” It’s a bit surprising to hear a song this popular played so early, as it could’ve easily been saved for the expected encore. However, Vance Joy’s arsenal is so deep even with only two albums that he can roll out the heavy artillery early on.
Touring on behalf of his sophomore album, Nation of Two, Vance Joy dives into a few newer fan favorites early. “Like Gold” and “I’m With You” showcase the contrast in his artistry. While the former has the audience lost in the moment - dancing back and forth, smiling and singing along - the latter, slower tune has the crowd in awe as Vance Joy sings into the night.
His band, who he introduces midway through the show, is on full display when he steps aside from the microphone to grab his ukulele. Brass and all, they add an authentic touch to the show that amplifies the already mesmerizing vibe. It’s so easy to get lost in Vance Joy’s passion and presence, that even when he begins “Saturday Sun” with the wrong tune, the audience hardly acknowledges his “whoopsie.”
He tells stories of how many of his songs came to be, and the artist leaves a lasting impression with the tale behind the track that set him off back in 2013. There’s as much energy in “Riptide” as you could imagine. The crowd sang along to every word and carried the tune when Vance Joy stepped away from the microphone, “I swear she’s destined for the screen / Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you’ve ever seen, oh.” Under the night sky on a warm, early summer night, Vance Joy was perfect.
