When The Fray first burst onto the scene in the early aughts, the Colorado-bred band introduced the world to a profoundly life-affirming form of alt-rock: timeless but inventive, arena-sized in scope but firmly rooted in raw emotion. Over the coming years, their soul-searching songwriting and high-powered sound led to earning four Grammy Award nominations, scoring a multitude of Billboard top 10 hits, and amassing a passionately devoted worldwide fanbase. Their single “How To Save A Life” spent a staggering 58 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the “unofficial theme song” for Grey’s Anatomy. Rolling Stone praised their "stick-in-your-head hooks and eloquent narratives," while the LA Times called their music “melodically rich.” The Fray’s debut album How To Save A Life (2005) is certified 4x platinum in the US and has been declared one of the best-selling digital debuts of all time.
I saw The Fray live at the BottleRock music festival in Napa Valley earlier this year, and they were the best act the whole weekend.
With their new album Helios having been released this year, this is the perfect time to go see The Fray in person and see what all the fuss is about for yourself.
It was a hot, sunny, sweaty day, but, reinvigorated upon hearing The Fray, everybody still got into it and moved with the music. The crowd basically lost their collective minds the instant the opening notes to How to Save a Life were played, and the enthusiasm and energy carried over throughout the whole set.
The music was great, with all of the radio classics that everybody sang along with (How to Save a Life, Never Say Never, Over My Head) and their lesser-known songs all being played perfectly and with tons of passion. It was a nice change of pace from the rest of the music at the festival, since the piano helps give it all a really chill vibe even though everybody’s going crazy enjoying the show.
The lyrics to all of their songs have some real meaning too and keep you thinking long after the adrenaline from the show has come and gone.
Imagine going to see a band you've never heard of and yet the moment that the lead singer starts you know THIS is the music you didn't know you needed. They started their set singing "Babylon" and it had not been released yet and I was transported to a place of peace and contentment. I was hooked, almost instantly. They have these harmonies that are unmatched by anyone I've ever heard of. These brothers, Brady, Beau, Jack and Dalton, who might as well be a real brother tho sadly hes not. They just mesh together so amazingly well, whether it be meeting fans or on stage, they have always shown such dignity and respect for each other. You can feel the love these guys have for each other.
We live in Grand Rapids, while talking with Brady and Jack it came to light that we actually live across the street from their old rental. It's hard to explain the pure energy that they seem to harness and share it all with us. After seeing a few shows in Grand Rapids Michigan, my personal observations are that Brady definitely wears his heart on his sleeve and his lyrics prove that. Jack is always smiling and laughing and he loves a good joke. Beau, he seemed to be the quiet one, not much to say but when he does it's real. And I've yet to meet Dalton.
My son, Eli and I had went to their show not having a clue who they were or what to expect. See, it was Elis very first ever concert. Whatever they are doing is working great. Eli is 12, and he loves their stage energy as well as afterwards when we met up with them. They always make time for fans. Yea I'm rambling but they are worth this long winded chicks review.
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