Isaac Gracie’s debut Dublin show was on Tuesday night in The Grand Social Dublin with support from Wildes. We are big fans of Gracie so naturally there we were to see the magic happen in the flesh.

Wildes which is the performance name of Ella Walker walks timidly on stage picks up her guitar and begins to sing. The crowd swiftly stop their chatting and absorb this deeply touching performance. Her stance is simple as she delicately stands with just her guitar overwhelming us with the power, depth and rich emotion in her vocals. Beautiful melodies drowned in melancholic emotions run throughout her performance while her vocals express the rawness in such a crisp clear yet haunting manner. There is such silence during her set you could hear a pin drop as the audience are captivate by her voice and moving lyrics. She gingerly introduces her songs with a hint of nervousness that appears to disappear when she begins to sing. ‘Bare’ displays a sorrowful heart-breaking quality to her vocals. Walkers performance is an enchanting display of vulnerability and vocal fortitude. She dips into her lower register while the sweet guitar accompaniment dolefully mourns along. Her tracks display a sense of refinement and elegance with gorgeous melodies and a sway like wistfulness. Walker tells the crowd about her family from Waterford and her sister who went to Trinity bridging any gap between herself and the crowd. After each track the audience whoop and clap enjoying the sweet toned breath of fresh air her tracks tend to bring. She takes to the keyboard for the celestial ‘Illuminate’ “I always feel a bit sassy when I do this” she giggles before beginning an enthralling pure version of her track. Evoking a peaceful silence and longing throughout the room, it’s hair raising and captivating. She closes her set with the chilling and haunting ‘Ghost’ after trying to convince us she didn’t nick the name Wilds from Oscar Wild.

Isaac Gracie and his band take to the stage with a sweet shy little “hello” he thanks the audience for turning up to his first headline show in Dublin. ‘All In My Mind’ kicks off his set, the addition of a bassist and drummer add a bit of punch to his live set. One thing that becomes apparent is Gracie is fantastic live, his voice so clear with a sublime depth and maturity beyond his years. If you enjoy his tracks then live he will just blow you away. His drummer Alex is probably the most enthusiastic drummer I’ve seen in a long time from his facial expressions to every bounce and bop he oozes energy. Bassist Jamie is Gracie’s “guardian angel” running about the stage plugging in Gracie’s guitar and giving him little tips like talking through the tune up. Gracie’s musical poise is simple he lets his heart wrenching tunes speak for themselves his eyes drift into the meaning of the track and that is where the magic in the performance happens. It’s all in the emotion and melodies. One audience member is so taken with his set he shouts, “I Love You” Gracie reply’s “I love you too.. I hope you said I love you, I can’t really hear properly if you didn’t it’s ok I still love you” before the most beautiful rendition of ‘Silhouettes Of You’. The spellbound audience sway dumbfounded by the passion exuding from this shy young chap. The sorrow and despair flooding through every note and hitting you bang smack in the middle of your chest. It’s heart breaking and graceful. It’s my favourite track on the New EP and it was as tear jerking and tender if not more so than I expected. It’s the second show performing with his band and it’s a working progress as they stumble over blunders with the audience barely noticing. With a show like this all the hiccups and bashfulness makes it special it’s raw and fresh. ‘Running on Empty’ takes a different heavier persona with the band. Personally, I prefer the solitary version it’s more striking and personal however, with the band it takes on a danceable wiggle vibe. Gracie’s vocals still shine and the lyrics still pierce but it’s just a little more fun and less heart breaking. “The second guitar solo of my life” Gracie announces at the end of the track it feels like we’ve experienced a pillar moment for Gracie. Struggling to open his bear bottle he introduces the agonising ‘Terrified’. The band retire from the stage for the encore leaving just Gracie and his guitar for the affectionate ‘Last Words’. The maturely written tender track that made him an artist to watch. The audience sway and sing the lyrics along with Gracie, everyone’s heart breaking in that beautiful moment, his eyes closed, his brow creased with deep sorrow, we feel every emotion and painful quiver. The perfect way to end his set.

Gracie is like an unpolished diamond in the rough. The “Padwan rockstar’s” undeniable talent sparkles and glimmers as each and every track touches the soul of every person in the room creating a unique beautiful experience each time. The small flashes of goofiness and bashfulness just makes the show all the sweeter. His songs alone are refined and passionate he blends soft tender soundscapes with heavier reverb laden soundscapes seamlessly. With smokey delicate poetic lyrics and beautiful melodies simply portrayed it’s a magnificent experience. Go see him live you won’t regret it. And he is actually a nice guy, we met him after the show and he took a picture with our logo, sound chap.