Gavin James made his highly anticipated return to Wexford to play one of his largest headline gig in the county to date at the Breakwater Festival. Wexford singer-songwriter Luke Jackson, who goes by the moniker @jaxsonsound provided support on the night. Jaxson, who had played support for Gavin James on tour in Japan last year, remarked how, if given the choice between playing in Japan and Wexford, he’d choose the latter any day. Jaxson’s setlist was sculpted in a format I rarely see, where he performed a mix of originals released under his own name such as ‘Epiphany’ and ‘The Dreamer’ and songs he had written for other artists. ‘Umbrellas’ which he had written for an American Idol contestant was particularly poignant. It also turned out that one of the artists Jaxson had written a song for was in the audience this night, which made for a great reaction from the crowd, when it was included in the set. Overall, I was so impressed by Jaxson and his music, the balanced set of songs, and the variation between the usage of the keyboard and acoustic guitar provided an excellent warmup that I’d say would have highly appealed to fans of James’, given the similar styles of these musicians. This set the stage perfectly for the headline entrance.
The crowd had really started to pile into the Breakwater Tent as the lights dropped and the band assembled onstage. Gavin James entered the stage to deafening applause, threw his arms in the air encouraging them all to raise their voices even louder before settling himself behind the piano. He welcomed everyone to the gig and gave a shoutout to his family who were in attendance on the night, something that has been a recurring theme throughout his career to date.
James played a mix of some of his well-known tracks and also gave a performance of his most recently released track ‘Cherry Cola’ much to the delight of some younger fans at the barricade who wielded posters requesting James’ include this song on the night. Cherry Cola features on Gavin James’ fifth studio album ‘Goldrush’ which is set to be released in September 2025. Gavin James moved seamlessly between songs, with a chatty interlude in between each track, something he is known for, and does particularly well. He had great interactions with his fans at the front, giving a shoutout to the young fan with the cherry cola poster. It is very clear why James has garnered such support over his career, it’s no surprise to say he has an incredible vocal range and great song writing ability, but his stage presence and his live performance really is something to behold. Fans I spoke to at the barricade had come from all over the country, with this breakwater festival appearance marking their 3rd or even fourth time seeing James live. Overall, this was a very enjoyable gig, and would recommend anyone get a ticket to see this man live, you’d be in for a night of musical performances that surpass the recorded tracks and would leave feeling refreshed.
Jaxson photos:
Gavin James photos:
