Jorja Smith
All Together Now
★★★★☆
Having exploded into the mainstream at just 21 with the release of her debut album, Lost & Found, in 2018, Jorja Smith was forced to grow up fast in a notoriously tough business. Catapulted to fame by the deeply personal Grammy-nominated record, Smith moved to London and later collaborated with music heavyweights such as Drake and Burna Boy.
In the past few years the UK soul star has decided to forge her own path, moving back to Walsall, in the English midlands, and working with close friends on unique artistic endeavours. One result has been Falling or Flying, her 2023 album, which the jaw-dropping vocal talent makes the majority of her magnetic headline set at All Together Now on Friday night.
At 10.45pm on the dot the 27-year-old floats onstage, armed with vibrant backing singers and a technically gifted band. Her platinum-blond hair glowing under the red lights, Smith appears relaxed as she opens her first festival show of the summer. Though she has played in Ireland before, at the Longitude Festival in 2017, and will perform at Ulster Hall, in Belfast, on Saturday, her headline gigs in the Irish capital are few and far between. “It’s my first time in Waterford,” she says with a smile, enjoying the crowd’s buoyant energy. “I’m so happy to be here.”
Starting off with a powerful audio clip from Falling or Flying before launching into her hits Try Me and her 2018 breakout smash, Blue Lights – which addresses injustice at the hands of the police in the UK – the audience bask in soulful vocals worthy of the “generational talent” label.
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Smith gets the crowd moving through the temperature drop with her infectious J Hus collaboration Feelings before effortlessly gliding into the vulnerable R&B tune She Feels and the self-love anthem Greatest Gift. She gracefully tackles the insecurities of an ex on Broken Is the Man, from her latest record, gliding back and forth on stage to connect with fans as her brilliant backing vocalists harmonise on gorgeous gospel melodies.
“You guys look so beautiful,” the powerhouse murmurs to fans in the front row during On Your Own. The final 25 minutes of Smith’s set is arguably the most fun, as she delivers belters and dance-floor heaters produced by the rising duo DameDame*. The hometown pals of Jorja herself worked heavily on Falling or Flying, with Try Me and the funk-driven chart hit Little Things injecting addictive creative energy into her set list. “I feel like I’m at a party,” Smith says, laughing, as she watches the crowd move to her beats.
The 2017 Preditah dance favourite On My Mind is an uncompromising drum’n’bass groover that nearly rivals Little Things, but the latter is the perfect finale to a mesmerising performance.
One of the biggest names to come out of UK soul and R&B has enough pop melodies and spine-tingling vocal tone to headline any festival, but we’re glad the two-time Brit Award winner has finally returned to Ireland’s stages after far too long an absence.
