Back Row Reviews

Last Saturday saw Jessie Reyez bring her Paid in Memories tour to Manchester Academy — and she brought 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆.

The 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 was incredible, with an LED screen behind her showing live audience footage, BTS clips, and more.

Rather than playing full versions of every track, she delivered a 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗵-𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗹𝗯𝘂𝗺 — keeping the whole show 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝘆, 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲, and impossible to take your eyes off. She made sure to give fans the full versions of beloved hits like “𝗖𝘂𝗱𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝗠𝗲”, “𝗦𝗵𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱”, and “𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱.”

In one brilliant moment, fans threw their bras on stage in solidarity — which Jessie fully embraced.🔥

She had brilliant 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 and spoke openly about 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 — a very grounded, intelligent soul. ✨

The 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 was strong overall, but at times her 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 could have carried better over the high-quality, high-impact drums, guitar, and keys.

The support act, 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮, had an 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 that deserves far more recognition. I had to dig just to find her name — a reminder that talent like hers needs and deserves 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

On 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁, I caught Evan Honer Music at Manchester Academy.

While his recordings often lean solemn, live he brought a whole new energy — the kind that had the crowd screaming for more. Him and his band bounced around the stage, tearing through favourites like “𝗜𝗗𝗞 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘀” and “𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻’ 𝗢𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀”, before surprising everyone with an incredible cover of 𝗟𝗲𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿’𝘀 “𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴.” 🎶

The support act, 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶, are well worth a mention too. They brought a huge sound that perfectly set the tone for the night and they even returned to the stage to join Evan for “𝗝𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘆 𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀” . I wouldn’t be surprised to be seeing a lot more from this duo.

For such an intimate venue, the mix was impeccable — every track landed hard, pushing the gig firmly into my 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗴𝗶𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿.

If there was one weakness, it was the 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴 — but the sheer energy and musicianship more than made up for it.