Soul and R&B singer Jalen Ngonda plays the O2 Academy Brixton on his Doctrine of Love Tour 2026.
Jalen Ngonda plays O2 Academy Brixton on Wednesday 28 October, as part of his Doctrine of Love tour. It's a London date for the soul and R&B songwriter, who's been building a name for himself over the last few years.
The set will centre on his second album, Doctrine of Love, which he describes as channeling the Motown and '60s and '70s soul he grew up with. He's spoken about writing it on the road, and in interviews he's cited Bob Dylan and street protesters as the true agents of change, while he sees himself as a songwriter and entertainer. Alongside the new material, he'll be drawing from the songs that first put him on the map: the 2023 debut Come Around and Love Me, which established him as one of modern soul's most talked-about new voices after a breakthrough set at Glastonbury, and the 2024 singles 'Illusions' and 'Here To Stay'.
Ngonda's path to London was a long one. Born in Maryland on the outskirts of Washington D.C., his interest in music started as a child watching the TV series Roots and discovering the Temptations, Mary Wells and Smokey Robinson. He studied at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts before moving to London, where he released the 2018 EP Talking About Mary and toured supporting Laura Mvula, Martha Reeves and Lauryn Hill at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He's signed to Daptone Records, the Brooklyn soul label known for its deep, analog sound.
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The gig is at O2 Academy Brixton, 211 Stockwell Road, London SW9 9SL, on Wednesday 28 October, with the show starting at 19:00.
