Victoria Port + JNR Williams, Hemai & Intimate Friends

Victoria Port

Her fanbase includes Gilles Peterson (BBC 6 Music / Worldwide FM) who has tipped her as “an exciting emerging new artist whose sound fits alongside current successful acts like Cleo Sol, Lynda Dawn and Yazmin Lacey.”

Victoria Port, a soulful singer and storyteller from Hertfordshire, creates a real connection with her listeners through her unique tone and heartfelt delivery. She previously released two albums as half of the electronic soul outfit Anushka, on Brownswood and Tru Thoughts respectively, with a third album from the duo scheduled for release on September 2025 on BBE.

Victoria’s successful solo debut release, ‘Did it Again’ on First Word Records (Children of Zeus, Yazmin Lacey), firmly placed her as an exciting new talent in the vibrant, eclectic UK R&B/soul scene. It has received extensive support from tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, Huw Stephens and Jamie Callum.

This headline show celebrates the launch of her forthcoming follow-up EP, ‘Barefoot in the Garden’. The Ep is defined by its beautiful string and horn arrangements as-well as genre pushing production from longterm friend and collaborator, Hemai but she is accompanied by a wealth of other talented artists in their own right, including frequent collaborator JNR Williams, the highly-acclaimed drummer Moses Boyd, and vocalists such as Lea Lea, to name just a few. Put together from sessions recorded at the world famous Abbey Road Studios in London, and Victoria’s home studio, this project exemplifies her talents as a singer-songwriter.

Victoria has been invited to perform live sessions for Tony Minvielle on Jazz FM and the prestigious House of KOKO. She was part of the hugely successful Global Soul events at both the Jazz Café and KOKO as and was part of Clash Magazine’s Ten Best Acts at The Great Escape Festival. She also performed at this years We Out Here Festival. This will be her second headline show this year following on from the success of her previous sold out show.

The sonic tapestry stitched together on on her music epitomises the quality of British soul music of modern times; a vintage symphonic feel approached with modern-day production techniques, encompassing the Ronson-era of the late great Amy Winehouse, to the pack leaders of nowadays such as SAULT and Jungle. It’s a logical progression considering Victoria’s lifelong influences of US luminaries like Minnie Riperton, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone and Dionne Warwick.

She has enjoyed support from a wide range of tastemakers, including Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, Huey Morgan, Somewhere Soul, Mo Ayoub (Selector Radio), Ronnie Herel (Mi-Soul Radio’s “One to Watch”), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM) and across platforms like Rinse FM, NTS, Soho Radio and Global Soul, whilst her work with Anushka also received airplay from Annie Mac, Jamz Supernova, Huw Stephens and BBC Radio 1.

JNR Williams

Born and raised in East London from Caribbean parents, JNR Williams grew up in a creative household Influenced by R&B and introduced to jazz by his grandmother, he found inspiration in legends like Louis Armstrong Diana Washington and Nina Simone along with contemporary artists such as Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, Nick Hakim, and James Blake. His musical style combines jazz, soul and experimental featuring gospel-layered vocals.

JNR Williams reworked Washington's jazz standard "What a Difference a Day Makes,"a rendition that garnered attention when it was played on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show Future Sounds leading to major label interest.

In 2017, JNR signed with Insanity Records, under which he released two EPs, "Where We Start" and "Withers On The Vine." He embarked on a European support tour and performed four sold-out headline shows. JNR's track "What A Difference" earned BBC Introducing Track of the Week and MistaJam's Jam Hot on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

JNR has also had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the most respected artists on the scene such as Celeste, Jungle,Theophilus London,Joy Crookes, MJ Cole, Loyle Carner, Kojey Radical, Swindle, Kay Young,Olivia Dean, Anais and Anushka. He has also featured on chart topping albums such as Loyle Carner's “Hugo",with the track Homerton Jungle's Volcano with the track Good at Breaking Hearts and on Swindle's "New World with the track Lost.

JNR is currently working on new music to be released later this year.

He recently performed at the Jazz Cafe at a Global Soul Showcase.

Hemai

Born 1999, Hemai is a London-based producer, artist & multi-instrumentalist originally from Birmingham, blending contemporary electronics with influences from downtempo, jazz, soul, broken-beat & IDM. He grew up around jazz culture, taking inspiration from an array of Japanese & Brazilian bands/artists.

He has released three projects so far—Eyes, Closed EP (2019, Independent), Strange Beauty LP (2021, signed to Tru Thoughts), & Leisure Trip EP (2022, signed to Well Overdue/College Music) which have amassed a total of 6+ million streams—followed by a multitude of singles, instrumental versions, official remixes & exclusive compilation tracks for artists like Anchorsong, Oscar Jerome, Sly5thAve, Quinn Oulton & many more. Anchored by his passion for production, his music moves between introspective solo work and various collaborations with his favourite artists and good friends.

- “Like Jazz from Mars” ‑ BBC Radio 1, Jack Saunders

- “Splashy synths and fretless bass, don’t mind if I do” ‑ BBC Radio 6, Lauren Laverne’s While You Were Sleeping feature

- “The Birmingham maestro has lit a fire in the UK jazz underground" – Clash

- “Hemai is a young artist from Birmingham with an immaculate slick approach" - The Evening Standard

Intimate Friends

Intimate Friends are a soulful trio based in London, described as having "their own brand of romantic neo-soul". Inspired by 70s greats such as Al Green and Curtis Mayfield through to contemporaries including Lianne La Havas and Corinne Bailey Rae, their sound features smooth vocals and rich harmonies driven by hip-hop, jazz, and funk infused beats. Currently releasing tracks from their debut EP ‘For the Love of Intimacy', come and hear the charming and eclectic mix of Intimate Friends’ sound.