From first seeing Australian singer songwriter Ruel in 2018 as a support act for Uk artist Mabel, I’ve been personally following his career very closely. Fast forward to today and the superstar in the making had his biggest UK tour to date penned in, headlining the very same venue I first saw him perform at. It was poetic and it was incredible. Ruel released his EP ‘Free Time’ in 2019 which featured the hit track “Painkiller” and in 2020 he gifted his fans with the ‘Bright lights, red eyes’ EP. In November 2021 he released the single, “Growing up is ____” and swiftly announced this killer UK tour to accompany the record. Support from the night came from fellow rising star Gracey.
As Gracey took to the stage at the Manchester O2 Ritz you wouldn’t have been wrong to assume she was headlining the night as the near sold-out crowd were absolutely loving her performance from the start to the end, and rightly so! The Brighton born singer songwriter had her breakthrough in 2020 as her song “Dont need love”, a collaboration with 220 Kid, was nominated for a Brit award and flew into the UK charts peaking at number 9. She was on another level as she performed to the adoring crowd and it was a delight to see her making the night her own and providing the fans with a great time as they desperately awaited Ruel’s arrival. It certainly won’t be long before Gracey is selling out venues like this on her own behalf and she’s definitely a name to keep your eye on.
After Gracey had fired the crowd up it was finally time for Ruel to take the stage. As the lights went dark in the Manchester venue it felt like the roof was about to blow off due to the sheer sound of screams that erupted. The 19 year-old bounced onto the stage and kicked off the night with Real Thing/Dazed. Ruel’s love for his adoring fanbase was so apparent throughout the night as he constantly thanked everyone in attendance and this love was showered back onto the artist long into the night. He would go on to play fan favourites such as “Younger” and “Hard sometimes” and he even performed his 2022 single “LET THE GRASS GROW”. A major highlight of the night however was when he brought Gracey back to the stage and the pair performed their track “Empty Love” together, it’s a great collaboration and it was so incredible to see it performed live from the both of them! Ruel would end the night with an emotional performance of “Painkiller” and even after such a monumental night I was still left wanting more, and I for one can’t wait to see what this young talent will do in the future.
RUEL
GRACEY
Photos by Lewis Roberts | Exclusively for @Music,Why Not!