Silk, Soul & Intimacy Jenevieve Shines at The Jazz Café
- Desh Kapur
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The Jazz Cafe, Camden, London - 22nd March 2026
WORDS DAVE BROOME & CARMEN BROOME
We arrive at The Jazz Café, Camden around 7:30pm to find a queue snaking its way
up Parkway. There is a buzz around town for this sold-out Jenevieve show – her first
headlining gig in London. There was barely any space on the ground floor, so we
end up standing on some benches at the back of the room. The Jazz café is a
stunning venue that offers a fairly curious concert experience as there are dining
tables dotted around the mezzanine level. So, you can enjoy your favourite artist as
you tuck into your rib-eye steak.
The vibe tonight is somewhere between a club night and a traditional gig. By the
time we get in, the support act has started. She is DJ Rae Sada who is doing a
great job of slowly but surely warming up the crowd and building the atmosphere.
Tucked away at the side of the stage she looks every bit the uber cool DJ and very
much at home in this environment. As for me, I’m a fish out of water. My Sunday
nights are usually a sedate affair that involve a comfy sofa, a Netflix boxset and a
tube of Texas BBQ Pringles.
At 9pm the DJ duties switch to the main stage. Jenevieve’s DJ takes a fifteen-minute
slot to ramp up the mood further and musically set the scene for the main act’s
arrival on stage. Jenevieve kicks off with the title track of her album, “Chrysalis”. The
song reflects her musical style perfectly, modern R&B with a soulful core. Her silky vocals and reflective storytelling are already on show. I was hoping for a live band,
but the on-stage DJ is providing the backing track. My disappointment is soon
dispelled as the whole presentation; both the vocals and the music are slick and
smooth. Unsurprising the vocals are on point; she is known as “The soulful voice of
her generation” for a reason.
The set is a showcase of newer tracks from the album and some older ones that
were put out as EPs prior to the album’s release. “Resume” is well received, as too
is “Love Quotes” where she encourages a full-on arm waving session across the
audience (me included). From the newer tracks, “Damage Control” and “Haiku” are
already fan favourites. During “Haiku” she engages with a member of the audience
and cracks up laughing. I don’t know what was said but she couldn’t stop laughing.
It was a sweet, relaxed moment in an otherwise suave and polished performance.
This setting is ideal for Jenevieve; she could move easily across the stage and was
close enough to the audience that she could effortlessly engage with the 500-
capacity crowd as if they were old friends. Her tracks, characterised by lush
melodies and minimalist rhythms, thrive in a venue like the Jazz Café where every
breath and vocal inflection feels magnified.
Her best-known track, “Baby Powder” is left for the encore and receives the best
reaction of the evening from the crowd. This has been a night of quality music and
outstanding value for money. An amazing DJ and an astonishing vocalist all for around the £20 mark. I leave completely and utterly satisfied but secretly hoping I
can still find time for an episode of something on Netflix and a cheeky Pringle before
bed.
SET LIST
1. Crysalis
2. Head Over Heels
3. Resume
4. Flight Risk
5. Medallion
6. Love Quotes
7. CaNdY LiEs
8. Iron Lung (Breathe In)
9. Damage Control
10. Haiku
11. Missing Persons
12. Partycrasher
13. Naive
14. Crybaby
15. Beam Me Up
16. Hvn High
17. Baby Powder
FOLLOW JENEVIEVE
Comments