James Keogh, or Vance Joy to his fans, has performed 83 shows all over the world in the past eight months, and to round it out, he's on his way to Berry's Fairgrounds Festival.
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He's played huge stadiums like Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, but prefers the "loose, good vibes" of a smaller festival.
“I think everyone is united in wanting to have fun, maybe have a few drinks, which really relaxes things," he said.
“Festival crowds are committed to having a good time and there’s really no escaping that kind of feeling.”
Made famous by his song Riptide, which has been streamed more than a billion times, Keogh said his first real “pinch me" moment came when he was playing Splendour in the Grass in 2013.
“I was playing to a full tent of I don’t know, about 8000 people, and they knew every single word, just screaming every word," he said.
“It was a shock to the system, you’re so green back then so you’ve got nothing to compare it to, I was just catching the wave.”
Since then, he’s released two albums, Dream Your Life Away in 2014 and Nation of Two in 2018, which shows a progression into a more lyrically distinguished side of Vance Joy.
Keogh said he learnt a lot from his first album to the second, noting he became more autobiographical the second time around.
“I learnt a lot from that first experience and there’s a level of wisdom you take from that," he said.
“There are similar things in that both albums are acoustic and stripped down, but with Nation of Two I tried new rhythms and I worked on some co-writing as well.
“I thought that might dilute what I wanted to say but when someone takes you contributions they add something new.”
Having done hundreds of shows by this point, including touring with Taylor Swift, Keogh said it can font be very easy to slip into autopilot mode on stage.
“When everything is kind of perfect, your sound feels good, the crowd isn't getting too loose, you've got to find ways to escape that auto pilot mode," he said.
And the best way to do that is often through a mistake, he reckons.
“I was singing I’m With You once and I was really going for those high notes," he said. "My voice was just skidding all over the place and I drew attention to the fact I messed it up. The crowd started cheering louder than if I had of gotten it right.”
It's those things that you can’t control which make for the best shows. And he hopes Fairgrounds Festival emits that same strong energy.
“"You play better when you can feel that electricity,” Keogh said.
"It’s the best feeling."
Tickets are still available for Berry Fairgrounds Festival on November 30 and December 1.
For tickets and info visit http://fairgrounds.com.au/.