RAYE Dazzles at Radio City Music Hall: A Theatrical Triumph
Grammy-nominated RAYE delivers a stunning performance at Radio City Music Hall, showcasing her transcendent 'This Music May Contain Hope' LP.
Few artists are having a year quite like RAYE. Fresh off her Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Grammy Award for "Ice Cream Man," the London pop sensation is riding high on the success of her sophomore LP, This Music May Contain Hope, which earned her a U.K. No. 1 album and a career-best No. 11 peak on the Billboard 200. Not to mention the global success of her single “Where Is My Husband!” and her upcoming support slot on Bruno Mars’ Romantic Tour. This summer, the seven-time Brit Award winner will also receive the Hal David Starlight Award at the 55th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner.
On Wednesday night, Rachel Keen, known professionally as RAYE, played the first of two sold-out shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on her This Tour May Contain New Music trek. Honoring the venue's iconic history, RAYE delivered what was arguably the most outstanding pop show of 2026 so far.
From campy set changes to cheeky onstage banter, RAYE understands the assignment: bring her technicolor album to life through theater. Opening with “Intro: Girl Under the Grey Cloud” and “I Will Overcome,” draped in fur beneath a storm cloud prop, she prepared the audience for a vaudevillian show full of intimacy and intensity. Before her set, her two younger sisters took the stage: London-based singer-songwriter Amma and enigmatic “experimental pop” artist Absolutely.
Amma performed standout cuts like “If You Don’t Love Me” and “Man Oh Man,” from her debut album, Middle Child. Absolutely, who recently caught up with Billboard about her new Paracosm LP, followed with a whimsical set including her viral hit “I Just Don’t Know You Yet” and a cover of ABBA’s “I Have a Dream.” Both sisters joined RAYE to close the show with This Music May Contain Hope highlight “Joy,” but not before the 28-year-old led fans through an emotional odyssey, stopping at a jazz club, rave, church service, and orchestra performance along the way.
Flanked by top-notch musicians and production that reimagined the function of the theater, RAYE’s robust voice filled every corner of Radio City Music Hall. Her honesty and commitment to hope shone through, creating a space for listeners to share their testimonies. This tour didn’t just contain new music; it created a space for like-minded listeners to share their testimonies, whether through words, dancing or repeating the resounding declaration that anchors “Life Boat”: “I’m not giving up.”
Here are the seven best moments of RAYE’s This Tour May Contain New Music.
Billboard VIP Pass
All RAYE Needs Is One Mic
Yes, there were costume changes, set changes, an elaborate storyline, and even choreography, but RAYE could’ve cracked jokes for two hours and still lit the venue on fire. Radio City Music Hall isn’t an arena or stadium, so the production is smaller, and there’s less of a veil between the audience and backstage. To compensate, RAYE bantered with the audience, held up signs with QR codes for her album, and introduced almost every song with a sprawling backstory.
Someone tell Merriam-Webster to add a picture of RAYE under their definition of “charisma.”
Set Design Smartly Blends Practical & Digital Elements
While This Tour May Contain New Music boasted practical set pieces like the floating storm cloud and a makeshift jazz club, RAYE’s trek also used the venue’s massive screens.
She used the background screen to project images of a digital orchestra that bled into the real-life backing band during “Click Clack Symphony,” which earned a feverish response from the crowd. During “Winter Woman,” she balanced the drama of a single spotlight and Beyoncé-esque fans with a video montage of the song’s lyrics unfurling in time with the music through minimalist typography. And then, of course, the lighting design, courtesy of Dan Crowther and Guy Knox-Holmes, infused Radio City with rave energy near the end of the show, making for one of the night’s more subversive moments.
Music Direction Impresses
There may not be an album better equipped for live performances than This Music May Contain Hope, and music director Pete Clements absolutely rose to the occasion.
From the breezy “Fly Me to the Moon” arrangement during the jazz club section to the thrilling “Where Is My Husband!” intro, the music direction features some of the most ambitious and eclectic arrangements to grace modern pop shows. It’s not easy to retain the simultaneous earnestness and cheeky humor that grounds “Beware… The South London Lover Boy,” but they found a way. RAYE’s combines everything from big band jazz and rock to hip-hop and R&B, and she and Clements made sure to highlight each element through their arrangements.
RAYE, Amma & Absolutely Head to Church
There was a period in the ’90s and early ’00s when virtually every R&B artist would end their album with some kind of gospel song or dedication. RAYE leaned into that tradition with “Joy,” the penultimate track from This Music May Contain Hope, on which she joins forces with her sisters Amma and Absolutely.
From candid conversations about sexual violence and suicide to the impossibly heavy load of true heartbreak, RAYE traverses ample emotional ground throughout her show. But by closing with “Joy,” she ultimately surrenders to the belief that brighter days aren’t just ahead, they are promised to her despite the tears that streak her nights. Assisted by her entire backing band, RAYE’s closer didn’t just provide an emotional moment for the audience, it also smartly honored the throughline of gospel that grounds both her vocal performance and lyrical ethos.
From RAYE to RAVE
Some of RAYE’s earliest commercial hits were as a featured artist on dance-pop songs. Although her solo albums have skewed more towards her jazz inclinations, she harnessed the specific healing power of dance music during the mini rave section.
Before RAYE launched into a glitchy medley of “Secrets,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Black Mascara” and “Prada,” a giant sign spelling her name descended from the ceiling, with the letter “Y” eventually being replaced with the letter “V.” As the strobe lights transformed the venues proscenium arch into a proper rave, RAYE encouraged the crowd to let go of whatever baggage they carried with them into the show. From the trance-driven “Life Boat” to the half-time breakdown of “Prada” and subsequent double-time climax, RAYE ran the full gauntlet of dance music – a much-needed reprieve after she ripped everyone’s hearts open with the preceding ballad section.
‘Escapism’ Encore
“Escapism” is the song that cemented RAYE’s current status as a defining pop star for the indie era, so it’s no shocker that she held the global hit for her encore. After tearing through a truly mind-boggling headlining set, RAYE returned to the stage for a final time, wailing her way through a rock-infused rendition of “Escapism” that reverberated throughout the theater.
“Escapism” no longer sounded like a melancholy party anthem of survival and distraction. Instead, it landed as a celebration of a landmark moment for RAYE’s career, one that made it possible for her to mount such a strikingly singular show at one of the world’s most iconic performance venues.
Ballad Section Blows the Roof Off
Everyone is aware that RAYE knows her way around a good power ballad, but the one-two-three punch of “Nightingale Lane,” “Ice Cream Man” and “I Know You’re Hurting” was the single most devastating sequence of the night.
After delivering a heartfelt rendition of “Nightingale Lane,” which she preceded with some context around the real-life ex who inspired the track, RAYE got tearfully candid as she explained how difficult it was to sing the lyrics to “Ice Cream Man,” a harrowing, landmark single recounting her experiences of sexual violence at the hands of music industry gatekeepers. At times, her voice barely fluttered above a whisper, carefully dancing around the edges of a crack before delving into her chest voice to pull off the incredibly resonant belts that make up “I Know You’re Hurting.” Pristine vocals are simply a part of the deal with RAYE, yet it truly cannot be overstated just how ambitious some of her choices were through this section — and she nailed every single one.
Though she also preceded “Hurting” with a speech acknowledging those who suffer from suicidal ideation, RAYE didn’t let the show get heavy for no reason; this was an artist who has walked the depths of emotional turmoil, letting those with similar struggles feel seen and heard for what could very well be the first time.
Related Articles
Listen to RAYE on Foxsoundi. Click here to listen!
Comments (0)
Login to comment