Emily HopeA couple of weeks after releasing a surprise EP titled Oh My Messy Mind, James Bay is bringing his new music to the masses.
Tonight, he kicks off a stint as the opening act for Ed Sheeran’s European stadium tour. While James is no stranger to playing huge venues — he did it while opening for the Rolling Stones last year and for Taylor Swift in 2015 — he says he still puts pressure on himself to win over audiences.
“In a way there’s a little bit of, ‘It’s not my show,’ so the pressure’s off but then it’s not at the same time because there’s all these people there who I wanna try and give them the best performance and the music they can get before the guy who they paid for the ticket [to see],” James tells ABC Radio.
Ed just announced a brand-new album of collaborations, No. 6 Collaborations Project, coming this July. While it’s not yet known if James will be a part of it, he hopes there will be time for him and Ed to collaborate while on the road.
“Ed’s brilliant and easy to be in touch with but a super-busy dude,” James says. “I suppose, in terms of how much we’ll even get to hang out I’m just waiting to see…it would be nice to hang out. As far as writing goes, I have no idea.”
The first date of Ed’s European trek kicks off at Lyon Olympic Stadium in France tonight.
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