Tom Misch grooves at the Fox Theater

London’s incessantly evolving music scene has produced a new sound, incorporating mellow jazz, uplifting hip-hop, and classic soul and funk. Leading the way is 23-year-old artist and producer, Tom Misch. On October 17, he made a stop at the historic Fox Theater in Oakland to entertain a sold out crowd.

Misch seemed a bit bashful when he first hopped on stage, which he soon shared was due to the size of the crowd. “There are so many of you, I can’t believe it,” he said with a this-can’t-be-real smile. Accompanying Misch was a band he had grown comfortable with, letting the music settle him into the environment. Opening with “It Runs Through Me,” I could see and hear his iconic Tiny Desk performance coming to life in front of me.

There’s something about live strings that excites a crowd. When the rhythm guitarist swapped his D’Angelico for a fiddle, the crowd roared. What made the live orchestra more complete was when Misch called out a special guest: Braxton Cook on the saxophone. Saxophone riffs and violin runs had the crowd swaying. The setlist was tailored perfectly for a date-night: mostly chill bops with a handful of heartfelt love songs.

Mainly focusing on his debut studio album, Geography (2018), Misch proved to be more than a comforting deep voice — the man can play a face-melting, intricate funk guitar solo. Outside of his studio album, he played some hits from his beat tapes as well as covers like Outkast’s “Prototype.”

You know when you’re at a show, and everyone sings that one song, and you’re pretty sure that it actually sounds good? That happened a few times at this show, and everytime it did, Misch and his band’s faces lit up, beaming smiles at the crowd as we sang along with them. They seemed overjoyed to be performing for us, a feeling that we reciprocated by belting out lyrics and guitar riffs and sax solos and violin runs for the whole city of Oakland to hear.

Misch was as stunned as we were elated after his enthusiastic, celebratory show: “This is a bit crazy. Thank you. Thank you.” With that, he shook his head in disbelief, took a picture with the crowd, and headed off for the next stop on his groovy, uplifting tour.