If any venue seemed made for an artist, it would have been the high-panelled walls and dense acoustics of The Helix, complimenting Bridges’ ethereal vocals. And if any opener were tailored to a main act, it would have been Kirby, whose powerful and jazzed setlist laid some groovy groundwork for the evening.

She was a dazzling one-woman force. Veering her way through amped-up hip hop tracks like ‘Boyz II Men’ one minute, sitting on a stool the next for her rendition of Kanye and Rihanna’s ‘FourFiveSeconds.’ Correction – the original, given that Kirby wrote the mega famous 2015 hit. It didn’t take long for the realisation to set in that this singer-songwriter’s not new to the scene. I didn’t know it, but I’ve been a Kirby fan for quite some time.

Kirby supporting Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

“Straight out from Georgia,” the singer’s crisp, raw vocals felt soul-deep, even as she danced her way through her black girl anthem, ‘Coconut Oil.’ But especially for ‘Superpower,’ full of powerful affirmations rooted in one prefacing statement. “We don’t fuck with racism,” shouted Kirby, “and we sure as hell don’t fuck with the government trying to tell women what to do with their bodies.”

Leon Bridges proved he could with the release of Gold-Diggers Sound in 2021, his third studio album. He proved he could follow two impeccable, soul-stirring records with music even more evocative. He proved he could continuously verge off the path and into unchartered, genre-bending territory, only to return with a soulful, sparkling product. He proved that he could challenge himself, levelling up as a recording artist and live performer when, if we’re honest, we didn’t think there was much room for moving up in the first place.

Cascading onstage to the otherworldly crescendo of his standout backing band, Bridges – donning a jazzy, monochrome costume and rectangular sunglasses – comes on strong with the ironically titled ‘Shy.’ If his vocals were liquid, we would have drowned.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

His voice was rich and warm, channelling the sound and energy of early ‘60s R&B, harkening back to Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles. It’s not just the music that moved us back in time – he moonwalked, popped and locked through the song’s percussive interlude, looking every bit the picture of funk.

His golden tone saturated ‘Brown Skin Girl,’ evoking a sonic taste with notes of sticky-sweet caramel. Under topaz lights, the singer was as lost in his music as his crowd: an overwhelming majority of which was made up by couples swaying back-to-back.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Bridges makes music for lovers and the hopelessly lovesick, unafraid to trifle with matters of the heart. It’s something which comes naturally to the singer, evident as he sang ‘Motorbike,’ a track which strayed away from the soul-stacked set list into sensual, electro-pop territory. His band took a step away from the horns and heavy drumwork, dazzling the auditorium with sultry synths.

Not to fear, his drummer had his moment (and a few more) on ‘Born Again,’ as thrashing electric guitars edged into a rhythmic solo. His backup vocalists called out to his voice like an echo, providing a lyrical shadow and hanging on Bridges’ every line.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

But the room fell silent for ‘Blue Mesas’ with its cello-tinged melody – a heavenly image to behold, as Bridges stood behind the cellist and stirred up a vocal harmony. Psychedelia met R&B on the outro, as the haunting strings spiralled into a gentle fadeout.

“Kind of in the mood for something funky tonight, right?” Bridges asked, turning to his bassist to improvise. Building up a syncopated bass solo before the drums crash in, an interlude became a full, enveloping entity, and Bridges gave himself away to the rhythmic wave.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

“If you’re feeling sexy, make some noise,” he laughed as the room responded in cheerful waves. His voice merged with the saccharine backup vocals on ‘Beyond,’ an obvious crowd favourite. Even when he picked up the mic to replace it on its stand, the singer’s movement was smooth.

A winding sax solo twisted the intimate ‘Sweeter’ into ‘Don’t Worry,’ with its deep grooves and immersive, important lyrics. “Keep on runnin’ it down,” he crooned, “the world that we ignored,” adding momentum to the beat with the addition of an echoey drumline mid-way through the track. The audience kept up with the backup vocalists, giving them a helping hand as fuzzy electric guitar notes capped it all off.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Bridges made sure to give notice, alerting the crowd of his last song. “Bad news, man,” he sighed, teasing the title track ‘Bad Bad News.’ “But at least I gave you a hint.” Delivering balanced vocals over intricately jazzy instrumentals, even Bridges forgetting the lyrics halfway through the track didn’t spoil it. The crowd caught him, working smoothly with the song’s call-and-response vocals. Striking horns and a funky guitar solo tie the performance up with a beautiful, satin bow.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The encore seemed entirely expected, but cheers of gratitude still rose up from the crowd when Bridges reappeared to finish the night properly. He saved the best for last – intentionally, of course. While his band stood in for Khruanghin’s spacey instrumentation on ‘Texas Sun,’ their execution of the smooth sonics was stellar.

Bridges once said that ‘River’ is about rebirth. If that’s true, then the singer is born again right before us, his voice transforming into a symbol of hope as it soared over the chorus. It’s a timeless, stripped-down lament of a song, carrying us away with its gentle cradle.

Leon Bridges at The Helix. Sunday 26th of June 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

It’s simple to connect a thread from retro soul figureheads to the modern, saturated soul of Leon Bridges. There’s a not-so-invisible string tying the Texas singer to a long-lost genre. But that’s precisely it – it’s not about comparisons and side-by-sides because replication is not riveting. And anyway, that’s not what Leon Bridges is doing.

What he is doing is saving a sound we all feared had been lost long ago and injecting it with modern elementals. He’s at the forefront of a soul revival. Leon Bridges is resurrecting rhythm and blues and it has never felt more alive.

Check out more photos from Bridges’ show at The Helix here. Listen to the artist’s 2021 record, Gold-Diggers Sound, on all platforms.