Hailing from Australia came our beloved Vance Joy at SOMA San Diego! March 16th was the day I had been waiting for for months. I wasn’t even expecting to go to the show, let alone be able to take pictures but it all worked out and I was ecstatic! As the opening act, Jack Botts opened with his band and his sound is listed as “surf folk” on his Spotify bio which I totally love. I was thoroughly impressed with Jack Botts’ energy on stage as the crowd seemed to enjoy his music too. His soft vocals were dreamy and I immediately got hooked to his set. Jack had cute interactions with his band on stage and made sure to hype them up as well which was nice to observe. Jack Botts and Vance Joy are certainly killer on guitar with their fingerpicking skills and that is one thing that is super similar between the two. I’m a sucker for guitar riffs. No wonder Vance Joy wanted Jack Botts to come along on the tour. 

On his tour, “In Our Own Sweet Time 2023,” Vance Joy swept the audience off their feet with his wonderful vocals. I was reminded in person that he has such a wide range and is a naturally amazing singer. He opened up his set with two songs off of his debut album, “Dream Your Life Away.” As these songs were familiar, like “Mess is Mine” and “From Afar,” the crowd was in awe and singing right along with Vance Joy as he strummed in beat with his trusty guitar.

Accompanied by trumpet (Kelly O’Donohue), Saxaphone (Will Morrissey), Drums (Trent Bower), and a few more musicians who I didn’t get the names of, Vance Joy and the band carried the night flawlessly. Kelly O’Donohue and Will Morrissey even had their own solo parts within a few songs and the crowd was juiced. They were amazing and such a great addition to the performance all together. Of course the crowd was eager to hear the most popular “Riptide” (also off his debut album). Everyone sang along and Vance Joy added in certain extra tweaks to the song that isn’t in the recorded version as he sang. I had a great time and was super happy to be there. While mixing up his setlist, I heard a few songs off of his newest album, “In Our Own Sweet Time”. One song particularly had lots of energy and had the crowd called, “Clarity”. It was my first time hearing this song but I feel that it being live was the perfect time to hear it. Another song I want to note that was beautiful is, “Alone with Me” off of his 2018 album “Nation of Two”. Anyways, I was eager to hear “Georgia” performed as it is my favorite of his songs and of course Vance Joy delivered. The sweet mellow song brought the night together for me and clarified to me that Vance Joy is perfect to see live. 

I’m always down to feel like I’m about to go on a road-trip along the West Coast and Vance Joy makes sure to provide the coastal folk energy. The deep connection with fans is evident and the show was special in every way.