CONCERT REVIEW: COLIN HAY AT THE CHEVALIER THEATRE IN MEDFORD, MA

Joanna Gleason
1 day ago
3 min read

A "one-man show" is how I describe Colin Hay's solo show at the Chevalier Theatre on Thursday November 6, 2025. The performance was marvelous. It was a combination of Colin's tunes and his stories which were really fun.

"Reborn as a one-man show, Hay found that when he told audiences about his life, "People leaned in a bit closer."

A Scottish Australian musician, Colin is best known for acting as the lead singer of the band Men at Work. During the 2000s, his music was used a lot by director and actor Zach Braff, which helped him renew his relations with the public. In addition, he is known for performing alongside Rigo Starr in the latter's group, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

Outside the music, Hay has appeared in television shows like "The Larry Sanders Show", "JAG", "The Mick Molloy Show", "A Million Little Things", "Scrubs", "What About Brian", "The Black Donnellys", "Cane", and "Casualty". In addition, Ha has also appeared in films like "Cosi".

At the Chevalier Theatre in Medford, Ma, Colin James Hay played a list of his iconic songs from his rich repertoire such as Down under, Waiting for My Real Life to Begin, Good Night Romero, Beautiful World, etc. it was an exceptional night of music.

The audience, most of them from the Baby Boomers and Generation X was clearly delighted with the performance. They were applauding, singing, remembering the good times of their young age.

About

Colin Hay's musical career has been a long history rich with anecdotes. The Scottish-born musician went from an unknown musician playing folk clubs in Melbourne, Australia, to performing in the early 80s as the lead singer of Men at Work. He found a retreat in Los Angeles after his solo record deal fell through.

Hay regrouped and released solo albums for Columbia Records (1987's Looking for Jack) and MCA Records (1990's Wayfaring sons). Disappointing sales caused MCA records to drop hay, leaving him without a record label, a manager or a booking agent. "No one was really interested in anything that I was doing," he said during an interview.

Following his departure from MCA, Hay started touring as a solo artist without a record label or agents. The single "Into My Life" was originally released on the MCA album and became a big hit in Brazil.

In a zoom conversation from California, Hay spoke about being now a solo artist:

"They're just very different. I have a particular love of solo touring because when I was dropped, I think it was 1991, by MCA records, I didn't really know what to do. There were no labels or agents or anything like that, so I just went out on the road and played shows and just developed this touring life, which was quite under the radar so to speak and just building so that's really what the solo thing is and people just come along, and they tell other people. It's not based on any kind of high degree or anything really except people just come along to the show, so it has its own rewards in that sense, and it's quite nourishing..."