James Bay is a musician’s musician: the UK singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer upholds traditions of timeless songcraft while confidently challenging himself and popular music in equal measure. He spikes a tried-and-true style with clever lyricism, honest confessions, and instrumental proficiency. 

Bay garnered GRAMMY® nods in the categories of “Best New Artist,” “Best Rock Album,”and “Best Rock Song” for the gold-selling single “Hold Back The River.” Meanwhile, “Let It Go” went triple-platinum. Nominated for dozens of awards, he took home two BRIT Awards, two Q Awards, and top honors at the Ivor Novello Awards and ECHO Awards.

Tallying nearly 9 billion streams to date, he has notably dueted with numerous musical icons including Alicia Keys on The Voice, was asked to join Mick Jagger while supporting The Rolling Stones at Twickenham Stadium in London, and joined Sheryl Crow on stage after performing his own set at Eric Clapton’s 2019 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, TX. He also notably opened for Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park in 2023.

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with James Bay at the o2 Academy Glasgow.

All photography by K Gilfilan (@kgshoots_)