Selling out the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco is no easy task. Up-and-coming UK R&B powerhouse Jorja Smith managed to do so without even having a full-length commercial LP under her belt yet. Smith has been creating quite the buzz for herself in the R&B world over the past few years, to the point where she has been recruited for high-profile collaborative efforts like Drake’s More Life (2017) and Top Dawg Entertainment’s soundtrack for Black Panther (2018). Whether she’s lending her vocals to other artists or singing on her own tracks, Smith always makes her presence felt with her beautifully smooth, Amy Winehouse-esque alto. On Tuesday night, she had no qualms translating her recorded vocal perfection to a live setting when she stopped in the Bay Area for the U.S. leg of her current tour.

Her performances on melancholy ballads like “Let Me Down” and some songs from her new album, on which her voice was allowed to dominate more so than anywhere else, were potent enough to send eyeliner running and chills through my body. Smith herself looked to be on the verge of passionate tears a few times. For the record, along with her vocals being on par with her studio product, she is indeed as gorgeous in person as her online image suggests; being ten feet away from Jorja Smith while she’s smiling at you was enough to nearly make my (or anyone’s) heart explode. Seriously though, it’s rare you ever see a 20-year-old that looks that good, and the crowd made sure she knew that, constantly screaming out compliments aimed at her appearance–as well as her performance.

The audience of about a thousand and a half were extremely receptive of her most popular songs, like “Teenage Fantasy” and “On My Mind”, the latter of which was the ideal way to conclude her two-song encore as fans finally got to party to the song they had been anticipating all along. As a Frank Ocean stan, I heavily appreciated Smith’s take of “Lost” — though I’m not quite sure why that’s the one FO song that everyone seems to cover. I think employing a band was definitely the right decision for her and her sound, as even though she’s not the most energetic performer, the instrumentation complimented her voice well. As previously mentioned, Smith also gave us a taste of some new material from her upcoming debut album, Lost and Found (2018), one that I’m anticipating will launch her further into the public eye. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was glad to catch Jorja Smith before she inevitably blows up.

The show did have a hidden gem in the form of the opener Ama Lou, a relatively underground 19-year-old UK singer/songwriter who I’d been unfortunate enough to have never heard of prior to the occasion. Draped in patented Chinese pajamas from the ’60s along with unreleased Nike high-tops from the ’80s, she brought a really unique energy, to her set; despite her lack of a large following thus far — and the fact that not many in the audience knew her songs — she possessed all the confidence needed to win the crowd over, as the line full of impressed faces eager to meet her after the show suggested. The power behind her voice was certainly commendable, and she’s definitely a rising star I’ll be looking out for.

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the energy out in San Fransisco is always wonderful

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Written and Photos by Anthony Vega

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