The Fray

The Fray play Manchester Academy, Oxford Road, Manchester, on 19 November 2026. Formed in the early 2000s in Denver by singer-pianist Isaac Slade and guitarist Joe King, the band shaped a piano-led alternative rock sound at the crossroads of pop rock and melodic ballads. Clean guitar lines, close harmonies and lyrics that circle relationships and questions of faith define their writing, brought to a wide audience by Over My Head (Cable Car) and How to Save a Life, often heard in US TV series. Across four albums — How to Save a Life (2005), The Fray (2009), Scars & Stories (2012) and Helios (2014) — they folded in brighter pop influences and more atmospheric textures without losing that core, song-first approach.

On stage, the group moves from intimate piano motifs to fuller builds, with space for the vocals to carry and the guitars to anchor the melody. The set draws across their catalogue and the years that followed, including the 2016 compilation Through the Years: The Best of The Fray, which closed a first chapter before a period of individual projects. A focused return to the essentials: piano, voice, and songs that take their time to land.