Words by Nico
- Intimate show upstairs in a vintage shop
- Stand out track – ‘Holler (When You Call My Name)‘
- American-born, Liverpool student.
- For fans of: anything Motown
Jalen N’Gonda blew me away last Wednesday night. As thirty or so people piled into the tiny venue that is Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney, it’s safe to say that he had everyone in the palm of his hand. From every strum of his Epiphone semi-acoustic guitar, the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts student who was raised in Maryland, USA, oozed confidence with his jazz-pop melodies and soulful vocals.
Stand out track ‘Holler (When You Call My Name)‘ really was the cheery on the cake. Jalen is under the radar and extremely underrated – all that is needed is one or two tunes to fire him into the mainstream stratosphere.