This year, The House That Soul Built has reviewed events all over London across intimate jazz clubs, theatres, concert halls, and large stadiums.
Read below for our top ten best soul gigs of the year.
10. At Last: The Etta James Story
When: 22nd October
Where: Cadogan Hall, South Kensington
This Australian production has toured in the UK for the past few years. Led by Vika Bull, and equipped with a strong rhythm section, The Etta James Story takes the audience through the catalogue of the eponymous soul and blues legend. The event shone for Bull’s meaty, earthy voice and her fiery delivery.
Standout moment: Bull’s rendition of ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’, delivered with a heart-wrenching climax.
9. Natalie Williams’ Soul Family
When: 10th June
Where: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Soho
Led by jazz-soul chanteuse Natalie Williams, Soul Family is Ronnie Scott’s longest residency. The setlist is split between original material from Williams, Soul Family as a group, and its individual members, as well as soul and Motown covers. The range of voices is superb and Williams oozes charisma as a host.
Standout moment: Vanessa Haynes’ performance of her original song ‘Strangers’.
8. Judith Hill
When: 18th June
Where: Pizza Express High Holborn
Judith Hill, a protégé of his Purple Highness Prince, has delivered backing vocals for industry legends including Michael Jackson, George Benson, and Stevie Wonder. Last summer she brought an irrepressibly funky set to Pizza Express Live, High Holborn – an incestuous mix of synth-pop, funk, gospel, hard rock, and vintage soul. Excellent backing vocals too from Myra Washington and Ashley Minnieweather.
Standout moment: Hill’s performance of old-school soul/blues song ‘Cry, Cry, Cry’.
7. Some Kinda Wonderful
When: 14th June
Where: The Other Palace, Victoria
Produced by JBGB Events, this Stevie Wonder tribute, staged in the very intimate studio of The Other Palace, combined the buttery and powerful vocals of Noel McCalla with Derek Nash’s sublime command of the saxophone.
Standout moment: A performance of ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, with a scintillating sax solo from Nash.
6. Beverley Knight Sings Stevie Wonder
When: 22nd November
Where: The London Palladium
Another Stevie tribute, this time performed by one of Britain’s finest, most consistent soul singers. Backed by a 24-piece orchestra, Beverley Knight tore through Wonder’s rich catalogue with impeccable control and blistering energy. Recorded for BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night, Knight’s performance will air in February 2019.
Standout moment: Knight’s rendition of ‘Lately’, a song about the creeping midnight terrors of a crumbling relationship.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1__WoyxNBog
5. Tawiah
When: 19th October
Where: The Albany, Deptford
Alternative neo-soul artist Tawiah took to The Albany in South-East London after somewhat of a hiatus. In addition to her introspective singing, what made this concert stand out was its inventive structure. With pre-recorded segments of Tawiah’s narration, shaped around her live performances, she walked the audience through her career trajectory – covering her early recordings and new, unreleased material.
Standout moment: Tawiah’s spirited performance of her Bill Withers’ style jam ‘Borders’.
4. Janette Mason’s D’Ranged
When: 13th July
Where: Pizza Express Live, High Holborn
Janette Mason, the musical director at Hideaway, has forged a reputation for her imaginative re-arrangements. Earlier this year, she performed shows dedicated to Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Prince, David Bowie, George Michael, and the Bond themes respectively. Her Aretha or Bond show could certainly justify a place on this list, but for variety I’ve judiciously selected only one Mason event. In July, she brought her D’Ranged show – which premiered at Hideaway a few years ago – to Pizza Express High Holborn. D’Ranged, also the name of Mason’s sophomore album, is a compilation of all her radical rearrangements. Joined by David McAlmont (a theatrical performer with a marvellous falsetto) and Natasha Watts (a soul singer with a warm and engaging voice), the night featured eclectic, thrilling musicianship.
Standout moment: Natasha Watts lending her gorgeously smooth vocals to Mason’s slowed down, funky, and beguiling rendition of ‘Got To Be Real’.
3. Thabo
When: 24th November
Where: Hideaway, South London
The gritty soul singer, originally from Zimbabwe, had the audience in the palm of his hand at his debut performance at the Hideaway. With a brilliant band, including producer and pianist Aron Kyne, Thabo curated an experience and journey for his audience with an acoustic first set and a heavy, electrified second set. Comprised entirely of his original material (‘lyrically conscious, future focused soul music‘ as he puts it), Thabo sang with finesse and abandon.
Standout moment: Thabo’s performance of ‘Blue Murder’, a hooky rock/hip-hop fusion about the vapid nature of contemporary music.
2. Avery Sunshine
When: 6th May
Where: Hideaway, South London
Gospel-drenched vocal delivery, hilarious audience bantering, and self-penned neo-soul crooners – Avery Sunshine‘s sell-out residency at Hideaway was both liberating and exhausting. With her husband by her side (producer and guitarist Dana Johnson), Sunshine stomped on her keys. She phrases songs with tenderness and wit.
Standout moment: Sunshine’s performance of moving ballad ‘Jump’.
1. Black Voices
When: 1st March
Where: The Elgar Room, Royal Albert Hall
The Black Voices, an acapella quintet championing the black oral tradition, may not be household names. But they have performed all over the world and have opened for the likes of Ray Charles and Nina Simone. Their first set at the Elgar Room, an ancillary space of the Royal Albert Hall, saw the quintet rendering folk, jazz, and reggae songs a cappella. For the second set, they were joined by a full band and ensemble for a triumphant tribute to Nina Simone – featuring songs of heartbreak (‘Plain Gold Ring’), empowerment (‘Young Gifted and Black’), and religiosity (‘Take Me to the Water’).
Standout moment: Kevin Mark Trail’s ‘sequel’ to ‘Strange Fruit’, a harrowing song about American racism.
