Jessie J – Birmingham Symphony Hall – 07 April 2026

Walking into the Symphony Hall tonight, it was obvious there was something different looking at the stage. Two acoustic guitars, no drum, and keyboard – and that was only the start.

Realising this was going to be a stripped-down affair, making my way down to the front aisle, ready to shoot Jessie as there’s no pit in the Symphony Hall, when the lights went down, with her band already on stage. Where’s Jessie? Then she appears, not on stage but from a rear entrance, everyone turns to see her, she very slowly makes her way down, singing in a slow jazz style. Everyone’s phone pointed at her, eventually reaching me, and she says, “Hello”, followed by a fist bump – nice. This set the tone for the night as this wasn’t going to be a normal Jessie J gig.

The majority of tonight’s set is based on her new very good independent album, ‘Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time’, but in a jazz influenced style. Even the hit singles, ‘Do It Like A Dude’ and ‘Price Tag’. In between there was interaction with the audience, some very funny, to be honest, she has a witty side to her. But there were times when it was very emotional and at one point she went to the front of the stage and gave a lady whom had come from the back her a massive hug. The lady was the mother to a terminal nine-year old she came across years ago who she befriended and even had her hair shaved off for and became very close. Jessie read a card that the mother had sent, leaving her in floods of tears. How she carried on goodness knows, but she performed, while the tears were rolling, a very emotional song, ‘Comes In Waves’ – wow.

But it wasn’t all tears, like the unusual version of her latest single, ‘California’, substituted with Birmingham, and giving a fan a memory for life by singing a duet with her, ‘Big White Room’. And a similar style version of ‘H.A.P.P.Y’, which even Jessie said didn’t quite work, but was fun, and toward to the end brought out ‘Domino’, which did work.

All in all, it was a very emotional, funny, unusual concert, and you have to take your hat off to Jessie for doing something a little different. One thing is undeniable; Jessie J has one extraordinary voice and is in our opinion one of the best British singers out there. Nice one Jessie.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe