LIVE REVEW + PHOTOS: Colin Hay in Medford, MA (11.06.25)
Last night was a chilly night at the Chevrolet Theatre, but Colin Hay made the room feel like a living room hangout with an old friend. The former Men at Work frontman has been out touring his solo material, and just a couple months after catching him with the band in New Hampshire, I found myself lucky enough to see him again this time, flying solo.
This show leaned more into Hay’s solo catalog than the Men at Work hits, though he gave the crowd just enough of those classics to keep the nostalgia burning. Between songs, he turned into a storyteller, filled with jokes, memories, and that dry Scottish-Australian humor that’s become his signature. Sometimes the stories ran longer than the songs themselves, but no one was complaining.
At one point, he shared a story about meeting Jack Nicholson, telling him he was a fan only to have Jack walk up later and tell him the same thing. That led right into his tune “Jack,” which landed with a wink and a grin. Later, Hay had the audience cracking up with tales of mistaken identity, someone in an elevator thought he sang “Y.M.C.A.,” and another time someone pegged him as the “Safety Dance” guy. He seems endlessly amused by how often people confuse him with anyone but Colin Hay.
The stage setup was simple, just Hay, four acoustic guitars. Every few songs, someone in the audience would shout out their love or welcome him back to town. He returned the affection with a smile, kicking things off earlier in the night with a deadpan joke about a bank robbery in Medford in the 1800s. His solo songs came across raw, warm, reflective, and quietly powerful. I’ll admit I hadn’t spent much time with his solo records before this. Hay seemed completely at ease, like he was just talking with friends who happened to be listening to his stories set to music.
Photos – Colin Hay at Chevalier Theatre in Medford, MA on November 6th:
