Fans wait outside one of the newest venues in the city of Boston to experience Gregory Alan Isakov’s winter tour. The South African-born singer-songwriter brings his contemporary folk sound and all the hits that have shaped his career to fourteen cities in America.
Gregory Alan Isakov immigrated with his parents to the United States in the year 1986, as his father had started a business in the city of Philadelphia. The singer started his music journey when he was only sixteen. At this early age, Gregory Alan already had experience playing different instruments and was part of a band. He toured with this band until he relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where he started building his career as a solo artist.
The show is set to start at eight pm and by seven thirty there is hardly any space left to stand inside the venue. Gregory Alan Isakov is playing a sold-out show tonight. The singer joins the stage accompanied by his band, he says hello to the fans and almost immediately begins to play the first song in his set, “Southern Star”. During the whole night, he plays the guitar as his band complement him by playing instruments like drums, piano, violin, and the cello. Gregory Alan’s band is an act of their own. All musicians on stage are capable of playing more than one instrument and they support the artist with vocals as well. The singer spent a period of his life working with the Colorado Symphony, experience that I believe translates and can be perceived in the composition of his performance and instrument arrangements.
Before singing his song “San Luis”, the artist jokes about how the next song will be the only happy song during the whole show. “Let’s get it out of the way”, he expresses in the same joking manner. The night continues as he plays songs like “This Empty Northern Hemisphere”, “Amsterdam” and “Caves”.
As a lot of artists do during tour, Gregory Alan Isakov surprises us with an encore when the show is coming to an end. He comes back to the stage along with his band and they all surround a single microphone at the front of the stage to perform “Dandelion Wine” and “Saint Valentine”. There is always high energy during the encore on any show. In this case, the high energy is met by a sense of camaraderie, despite the fact we are all in a room surrounded by approximately three thousand people, it feels as if you were invited to an intimate rehearsal session. Gregory Alan Isakov says good bye to the crowd and he walks off stage. The room is silent for a couple of seconds and suddenly the crowd starts screaming louder than ever before during the show. The artist comes back on the stage to perform one last song, “All Shades of Blue”. He then says his goodbyes, for real this time.
This show is a great experience for those who are fans of great storytelling and a classic folky tune. Gregory Alan Isakov brings us a heartwarming show along with his lifelong friends in music. The artist’s work presents us with a very special point of view of the world, and it allows the listeners to reflect about the simple things that life gifts us so often. There are four more shows left on this winter tour. The last show will be held in Omaha, Nebraska.
PHOTO GALLERY BY María José Torre
