How to Save a Setlist: The Fray Proves Their Songs Never Fade
Photographer: Kili Goodrich
Igniting the desert even further, The Fray brought warmth to the stage of Arizona Financial Theatre. The band ignited the stage with performances off of their latest album, A Light That Waits, while also bringing warmth to those beloved songs from earlier in their career.
The Fray
.𖥔 ݁ ˖
The Fray .𖥔 ݁ ˖
Songs often make their way under your skin. They make a home inside of you. Songs that never leave you. The Fray has written plenty of those songs. For nearly two decades, their music has found its way into breakups, road trips, weddings, and quiet nights. Walking into Arizona Financial Theatre, it was clear those songs still meant just as much to the people filling every seat.
Dashboard Confessional opened the night with the emotional honesty they've always carried, followed by Colony House, whose upbeat set kept the room buzzing before the lights finally dropped for The Fray.
Blue haze drifted across the stage as the band eased into “A Light That Waits." It was a quiet beginning, letting the audience settle in before everything opened up. Then the mood shifted. Frontman, Joe King appeared from the back of the stage. After a gentle ebb and flow in the haze, sprinted forward, jumping into the air as “Hurricane" burst to life. The crowd answered immediately.
King has comfortably settled into leading the band. He never tried to overpower the songs. Instead, he let them breathe, giving fans plenty of room to sing. Around him, Dave Welsh, Ben Wysocki, and Dan Battenhouse kept everything locked together.
The lighting matched each chapter of the set. Warm reds soaked the stage during “Heartbeat," giving the song an extra pulse. Later, “Look After You" slowed everything down. King stood alone with his guitar while his silhouette stretched across the stage floor behind him. The theatre grew quiet except for thousands of voices softly singing every word.
That feeling stayed with the show all night. The older songs belonged to the audience. You could see it on people's faces before the first lyrics even arrived. “Over My Head (Cable Car)," “All at Once," “Never Say Never," and “You Found Me" were welcomed like old friends.
The newer songs held their own, too. “Tasted Glory," “Closer to Me," and “Wherever You Reach for Me" fit naturally into the set instead of feeling separated from the band's earlier work.
One of the night's most genuine moments came when King stepped off the stage and into the crowd. As he moved between rows, he sang directly to fans with tears running down their faces. Some reached for his hand. Others smiled through the emotion. It was just the music and the people who had carried it with them for years.
A beautiful cover of Mazzy Star's “Fade Into You" added another quiet moment before the band built back toward the end of the set with '“Syndicate," “Love Don't Die," and a powerful “You Found Me."
The band closed with The Beatles' “With a Little Help From My Friends," ending the night on a lighter note without losing the sense of togetherness that had carried through the evening.
The Fray isn't a band people listen to because they miss the past. Their muse weaved into many memories, and still thread into the present, and future.
Article by: Kili Goodrich
Plug In. Tune Out.
The Fray emerged in the early 2000s with piano-driven rock that paired soaring melodies with deeply personal songwriting. Known for timeless anthems about love, loss, and hope, the band's emotional sound has earned a lasting place in pop rock, with songs that continue to resonate long after their release.
