BRY came to Deaf Institute in Manchester on Sunday, Quays News entertainment reporter Shannon Smillie went along…

Bry is an Irish singer/songwriter who began his career on YouTube six years ago. He started his YouTube channel off by posting videos of him completing things he wanted to do before he died. He also set up a charity called CutCakeNotWrists to help those dealing with self-harm and depression. He later started posting covers and original songs on his channel.

Bry’s online followers are growing and he has currently over 380,000 subscribers on his channel. Due to the growth in followers he saw the opportunity to take his music from videos online to sell-out tours in Australia, Ireland and the UK in 2013/2014.

Bry’s Manchester show took place in The Deaf Institute which is a relaxed and intimate setting. The room was packed with fans dressed in black and white striped t-shirts (Bry’s signature look) and to the side of the room, Bry’s wife – Candice was selling merchandise. It showed that his fans had respect for him and his wife as they didn’t rush over to the merch table to get a selfie. The general atmosphere was very relaxed, it was as if Bry was the audience’s friend and this was their living room.

There was an underlying Irish theme throughout the show. The support act – Orla Gartland is also an Irish singer/songwriter who has over 100,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel. She started her set off with upbeat songs, then moved to slower ones and then covers which she described as ‘songs I didn’t write, but I wish I did’. By ending her set with covers it helped the audience loosen up as they where familiar with the music.

Orla GartlandBry’s wife (Candice) came on stage to talk about Bry’s new music video which was just released that day, before it was played. She welcomed Bry on stage and the audience cheered and then erupted into laughter as Bry hit his head off the roof due to how tall he is.

Bry really interacted with the audience the whole way through by throwing Irish flags into the crowd and crowd surfing. Whilst he was singing he was very serious about his music but in between songs he had fun with the audience and had everyone laughing. At one point he played the keyboard and stated that whilst he played the keyboard, he was Bre – not Bry, which resulted in the crowd chanting ‘Bre, Bre, Bre’ when the show was over.

Bry

Later on in the set he sang his new song ‘Don’t Go Alone’ and stated that this was the third time he had performed it live, which made the audience feel special as they where amongst the first to hear it live.

He ended the show by singing his most popular song ‘Adventure Time’. Towards the end of the song he jumped off the stage and stood in the middle of the room singing with his fans surrounding him in a circle. No one tried to touch him or get a selfie with him which showed again how much respect his fans have for him. By ending the show with everyone singing with him, it was a real heartwarming end as the audience felt part of something special.

Bry

After Bry disappeared backstage, he came back into the room through the side door to talk to his fans and take pictures with them. This really made him stand out amongst other performers as he was taking the time to meet the people who looked up to him.

By Shannon Smillie
@shannonsmillie

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