Like floating in a cloudscape, Gregory Alan Isakov’s Saturday night show at The Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane was otherworldly, an invitation to the audience to wander into a starkly-beautiful musical dream.
It was actually difficult to find words to capture this stripped-back acoustic performance (14 February). Somehow in the dark, quiet ballroom, Isakov created a portal to another realm, where the notes played echoed in the chambers of your heart and found a home.
The stage was sparse – a grand piano for his musical guests (his brother Ilan and Steve Varney aka Kid Reverie), a seat and mic stand for Gregory – and incredibly moody ambience.
Mist morphed onstage into billowing clouds, creating a feeling of being enveloped in the sky. Add in the backdrop of a faded mountain outline and streams of light mimicking sun beams, and it truly felt as though the crowd had been teleported into an undiscovered place up in the ranges, alone but for a man and his guitars.
As always, Isakov can be relied upon to stir something in yourself: a longing, a whispering, a remembering of who you are. His lyrics were soul-baring and slid gently into the cells of your body, swirling through your veins, creating a gentle hum of knowing about what is important in life.
Image © Jarred Seng
However, as hauntingly poignant as his music is, the man himself was comfortable and chatty onstage, sharing stories and snippets of conversations he’s had, memories from past performances and moments from his life in Boulder, Colorado, where he owns and runs Starling Farm.
His set list was filled with old favourites and newer tracks from his latest album 2023’s ‘Appaloosa Bones’. He also included tracks from ‘Evening Machines’ (2018), ‘The Weatherman’ (2013), ‘This Empty Northern Hemisphere’ (2009), and ‘That Sea, The Gambler’ (2007).
The music on this tour has been arranged differently, his walls of layered sound replaced with simple lines of melody and guitar strums. Isakov sang songs, flipping between sitting solo onstage to being flanked by his brother or his friend Kid Reverie, which were a balm for a hurting world.
Image © Jarred Seng
If you are ever in need of a road back home to yourself, listen to his songs, sit in the crowd at his shows and let his gentle wisdom seep slowly into your soul.
In forgoing complexity, Isakov has found a secret door into serenity via sound. He might look like a singer, but perhaps he is simply masquerading as that because he seems like so much more.
A poet, a healer, a philosopher, a therapist, a comedian, a truth teller and an example of the power you have by holding firm to your truth and following your path.