The Fray Bring Flowers and Huge Choruses to a Triumphant Manchester Comeback
- Matt Oliver
- Nov 18
- 2 min read
Manchester Albert Hall – 17th November 2025
WORDS / IMAGES MATT OLIVER
Walking into Manchester’s Albert Hall on a cold, rainy Monday night felt like stepping into a time capsule. Before The Fray even appeared, support act Anna B Savage filled the beautiful old chapel-turned-venue with dreamy, intimate guitar work and those warm, soft vocals that hushed the room and perfectly set the tone for what was to come.
Then, after more than ten years away from English stages, The Fray returned as part of their How to Save a Life 20th Anniversary Tour – and the crowd was ready. It was a gorgeous mix: thirty- and fortysomethings who grew up with the album, right alongside a surprising number of twenty-somethings (and younger) who clearly discovered the songs through playlists or parents’ cars. The generational handover was real and heart-warming.
The band exploded onto the stage with Frontman Joe King (now firmly in the Isaac Slade role on lead vocals) owned every inch of the space, swinging his guitar above his head like it was part of his body, leaping, grinning, fully embracing the frontman mantle. They played the entire How to Save a Life album front-to-back – “Over My Head (Cable Car)”, “She Is”, “Look After You”, “Vienna”, the title track – every word sung back by a crowd that knew them by heart. Tears were visible, arms were around strangers, smiles everywhere.
After the album run-through they treated us to a brand-new song (tight, emotional, instantly familiar), before diving into fan favourite “Never Say Never”. The stage was dressed with huge floral arrangements; at one point Joe plucked roses from the displays, tucked them behind bandmates’ ears, into their mouths, and launched handfuls into the audience. Mid-set he vaulted the barrier, microphone in hand, and vanished into the crowd, singing shoulder-to-shoulder with fans who could not believe their luck.
It was pure, joy – the kind only a band this beloved, playing these songs after a decade away, can create. The Albert Hall’s gothic acoustics wrapped everything in warmth, the crowd was respectful and present and the emotional peaks – especially that soaring “How to Save a Life” singalong – was a beautiful moment to be apart of.
Let’s hope they don’t leave it another ten years. Last night felt like a genuine homecoming, and Manchester gave them the welcome they deserved. A beautiful, flower-filled night. Welcome back, The Fray
SET LIST
How to Save a Life (performed in full)
1. She Is
2. All at Once
3. Look After You
4. Fall Away
5. Little House
6. Dead Wrong
7. Trust Me
8. Heaven Forbid
9. Vienna
10. Over My Head (Cable Car)
11. How to Save a Life
Main set continued
12. My Heart’s a Crowded Room (Joe performed in the crowd)
13. Hurricane
14. Heartbeat
15. Dreams (The Cranberries cover)
16. You Found Me
Encore
17. Songs I’d Rather Not Sing (new song)
18. Never Say Never
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