The first time I saw Vanessa Haynes, performing at a Ronnie Scott’s Christmas show, she blew me away with a Gladys Knight cover. I remember being disarmed and thrilled by her vocal choices on ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’. From the rich molasses of her lower register to those clean, vaulting highs, Haynes has an astonishing voice.

And her vocal talents have not gone unnoticed. She has had backing vocal stints with the likes of Van Morrison and Chaka Khan. In 2008, Haynes joined acid jazz outfit Incognito and has been performing with the group ever since. Only now is she finding time to prepare her long-awaited sophomore record, due in spring 2026, previewing the EP at East London’s Soul Mama – a welcome new addition to the capital’s live music scene.

While her peers in Incognito have gone on to record music adjacent to the band’s sound, Haynes’ original songwriting owes more to blues, country rock, and Americana influences, though underpinned by her soul and gospel roots. She unveiled rousing midtempos in tracks like ‘It’s Too Late’, ‘Wild Balloons’, and ‘Strangers’, as well as ballads like the gorgeously yearning ‘Daisy Lane’. The material is strong; it should have been peppered throughout the set, not stacked upfront. Flashing back to songs from her 2006 debut, ‘Somewhere Under the Radar’ is an unusual but winning hybrid of indie pop-rock and soul. Each song was given further body and dimension by virtue of her voice.

An Aretha Franklin segment – nodding to the tribute show Haynes periodically tours – closed the show, and spotlighted her backing singers with a joyous rendition of ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’. And while Haynes is a vocalist first and foremost, it was refreshing to see her cut loose on stage during the climax of ‘Spirit in the Dark’.