The James Blunt Concert
The long-awaited night for many Georgians finally arrived, and although the weather wasn’t particularly in the mood to play along at the May 26th James Blunt concert, the show was a huge success.
Fans arrived at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi ready with their umbrellas and rain jackets in anticipation of the concert featuring a stellar line-up of local (LOUDSpeakers, Young Georgian Lolitaz) and international (The Parlotones) talent, with the main event being James Blunt’s performance.
Pre-Concert: James Blunt Meets the Press
The pre-concert press conference last Saturday started off with organizers Black Pearl Live praising the partnership they have with Georgia and stating their pride to be organizing such an event.
The first question put to James Blunt was regarding his recent album.
The music sounds a bit more personal, what do you think has changed with your song writing, what is the motivation?
“I’m just a little bit older, simple as that,” Mr Blunt answered. “People think the songs are romantic but that’s a bit of confusion: I just write songs about what it is to be human and what it is like being alive and having toured the world so many times.”
“I guess I just wanted this album to be more relevant to people no matter where they come from,” he adds. “What music does is it brings people together and this album is a bit more open in that way.”
How important do you think it is for artists of your stature and scale to bring issues like the Syrian conflict and political divide between people to the fore?
“I don’t think it’s important for singers or musicians in particular: I think it’s important for all of us. I think information given to us by our politicians is more there to divide us. We see this strongly in America and all across Europe, where they tell us we should be afraid of people who are different from us. What I know from touring the world is that in the audience, the color of your skin might change but you still connect to the song emotionally just like anyone else.”
The concert
The concert kicked off with Georgian rock band LOUDspeakers. Fans found shelter from the rain under the eaves, remaining quite subdued until the group played World in my Eyes, at which point the audience went wild, all cheering loudly and running out into the rain to dance and sing along to the hypnotic melody.
Next up was the Young Georgian Lolitaz who represented Georgia at the 2016 Eurovision contest with their song Midnight Gold, met in the stadium by eager fans now not even aware of the soaking they were getting.
South African rock band The Parlotones also received a very warm welcome, with lead-singer Khan addressing the crowds, saying: “When life gives you rain, you got to dance.”
Despite the rain, they gave an energetic performance and played many of their older hits, including Colorful and Giant Mistake. The golden circle in front of the stage was getting packed as the Blunt fans began to arrive. What really set the crowds going was The Parlotones' hit song I’ll Be There, confirming they were well-received despite being relatively unknown in Georgia.
The crowning moment, of course, was when English singer-songwriter James Blunt came on stage, with crowds cheering after he greeted them in Georgian with ‘Gamarjoba’. With lots of energy and excitement, they clapped along when he performed Bonfire Heart, and all chimed in and lovingly sang along to the classic You’re Beautiful. Blunt was very active on stage, alternating between playing keyboard and guitar, and of course, dancing while performing.
The concert was part of James Blunt’s Afterlove world tour and promotion of his 5th studio album. The event was organized by Black Pearl Live, International Promotional Company whose aim is to introduce more international performers to Georgia.
By Shawn Wayne