By Leah Simons
Many have christened London’s O2 Arena the most soulless venue there is. But the right artist can resurrect it. For Raye, it’s steeped in her legacy. It’s where she won a record-breaking six Brit Awards in one night. It’s a stone’s throw away from where she grew up. And it’s where, after six sold out nights there, she wraps up the ‘This Music May Contain Hope’ tour.
It’s taken a while to get here. In 2021, she left Polydor after seven years of musical hostage whereby she couldn’t release a full-length debut album. Almost a year later, her first single as an independent artist ‘Hard Out Here,’ acted as an audio autobiography and cemented her status as an artist not to be ignored. Her long-awaited debut My 21st Century Blues was released in February 2023 and found critical acclaim, even being shortlisted for a Mercury Prize.
When this tour was announced in September, Raye was chipping away at a second album. When it began in February, the story was practically identical. The only difference this time was that we had a release date set in stone. Here, Raye introduced fans to songs which would eventually arrive on her sophomore album This Music May Contain Hope, released on March 27th.
After 54 shows and the release of an album, Raye closed her tour with a sold out show at London’s O2 Arena. Click above for a review of that very concert.
Discussion: Are artists talking too much at concerts? With Music Journalists Leah Simons, Izzy Hurcum and Freya Hoare
