Jessie Ware at The Great Hall

Jessie Ware could have played a bigger room. Over the course of a five-year career and with the success of and attention brought on by her 2010 debut, Devotion, Ware’s earned herself a devoted following in Toronto. With the buzz surrounding the release of sophomore album Tough Love, you’d assume the 30-year-old would come in guns blazing. But instead of cramming in fans and giving scalpers a nice chunk of change to line their denim vest pockets, the English pop star opted for a different route for her third Toronto show. 

It was a choice that delighted a lot of die-hards but also caused a serious case of envy among the empty handed. Opting for a lottery of sorts, Ware made it so that fans had to sign up for a contest to win the opportunity to buy non-transferable tickets for the show – one of only four North American stops and billed, as it were, as a “live listening” party for Tough Love. The result? A smaller show at The Great Hall, but one made up of hugely devoted and very excited fans.

Ware seemed delighted to be there, engaging on multiple occasions with the crowd. She laughed at dance moves, called out someone from Twitter named EBOLA XCX, yelled at a heckler asking for a “f*cking selfie”, and joked about how long it took for her husband to pop the question. She’s also clearly still in that “excited to have this new material to share with you” phase of the album cycle – practically giddy to see such a warm reception to the new material.

As an album, it packs plenty of soul – the influences of co-writers such as Miguel and Dev Hynes more than apparent. Ware handled it all well, convincing in her delivery of songs steeped in emotions. It’s also material that already seems familiar, with her second song of the night, “Champagne Kisses”, sounding like a classic catalogue cut. 

Ware played the entirety of her new album while also throwing in a handful from her first. There was pop bounce and 80’s throwbacks to be heard on tracks such as Devotion’s “Sweet Talk” and Tough Love’s “Want Your Feeling”, while “Wildest Moments” (another from her debut) played exceptionally well – filling up the intimate venue and ending with Ware thanking the crowd for their enthusiasm.

Ending her 15-song set with the Ed Sheeran co-written track “Say You Love Me” – a number that sounds like it belongs as a rousing call-to-romance on a Disney soundtrack – the night was a well-packaged reminder of Ware’s star power. 

As far as previews go, it was enough to convince people of her abilities as a vocalist and as a live performer. Of course none of her fans at The Great Hall needed the reassurance… But it’s nice to know Ware’s capable of providing proof that Tough Love is worth picking up.