After releasing their sophomore GIRL album last year, we caught Girl Ray at The Fleece in Bristol after playing two sold out shows in Manchester and Nottingham. Having recently opened for METRONOMY, they are currently mid way through their UK section of their tour. 

The show was opened up by VANITY FAIRY, a weird, mythical singer who is supporting Girl Ray throughout the tour. Vanity Fairy entered the stage dressed in a turquoise dress that flowed beautifully every time she moved. The best way to describe Vanity Fairy is if you had mixed Kate Bush and Grimes together. Her voice entranced the whole audience and was met with a huge reception after each song.

What made Vanity Fairy so interesting was the way she incorporated the stage into her . At one point, she started a song off stood behind a speaker and slowly moved up like she was in an elevator. The most memorable moment for me though was when she almost stepped on me as she climbed onto the railing to hug the pillar. Vanity Fairy is one of the most interesting and fun artists to watch and I strongly urge you to check her out.

It wasn’t long until the main act GIRL RAY took to the stage. Made up of guitarist and lead singer Poppy Hankin, bassist Sophie Moss and drummer Iris McConnell, the band ran on stage all wearing matching white outfits. They opened up with ‘Girl’, the title track of their latest album which created a really happy energy with the whole crowd. Each member of the band had huge smiles on their faces as they bopped around the stage.

You could tell that everyone in the band is so close by the way they interacted with each other. One funny moment of the show was after they finished ‘Show Me More’ and Poppy started laughing saying that this was where they were meant to walk off stage but they didn’t want to do that. So the whole band, including their backing guitarist and keyboard player, turned around and went to the back of the stage. You could tell they felt silly as they all burst out laughing. It made the whole band appear really down to earth which is sometimes a rare moment achieved with bands. They finished the evening with their most popular song ‘Trouble’ from their first album EARL GREY Girl Ray was really fun to watch.

There was a general feeling of calm throughout the whole show which made me feel really relaxed and at ease. It was nice to watch the band get along, clearly enjoying every second on stage with each other and play some utterly spellbindingly great music.

Words and Pictures by Megan Barnett

To see all photographs from the show, click HERE