Live Review: Jeremy Loops - O2 Academy Brixton, London 23/11/2019

Building his career through his live shows, Jeremy Loops has kept on climbing through London's venues. From twenty-five people in the Slaughtered Lamb to almost five thousand at O2 Academy Brixton, he is proof that making it big doesn't have to be with a big label and lots of radio play.

The set opened with Loops' signature harmonica over beatbox beats leading into fan-favourite 'Sinner', which was met with tumultuous applause. Jeremy Loops has always had a way of making the crowds go wild with dancing and singing. Playing a few of his older tracks, getting the crowd going was no difficult task.   Tracks, Skinny Blues and My Shoes from his earlier album were met with the same ecstasy. If the people in the front row were anything to go by, there was a lot of excitement buzzing around in the room. It was half and half between people who had seen the artist before and those who were new to his unique craft, with a staggering amount of people having travelled from outside of UK to get to the show.

Jeremy expressed his unending gratitude, which he addressed several times throughout the night, to the fans for being able to play this prestigious venue. Living up to the Loops name, the crowds were looped in on the chorus of Running Away. Motheo Moleko appeared on stage for his rapping verses and did not let the crowd down with his hypeman-like energy. Like many other artists, London holds a special place in his heart as the first place they played outside of South Africa. 

Sitting down to play a slowed and acoustic version of Down South, the crowd showed their gratitude to Jeremy with huge rounds of applause as if it was an encore. From start to finish, the show was a high-energy party with huge drum beats coupled with ecstatic saxophone playing from Jamie Faull. 

Towards the end of the show, the artist announced that he would be going quiet for a while in order to record a new album. He also thanked his whole crew, including drummer Devin Jones and  Mr Sakitumi, and took the time to say "before I go, I just wanted to say, well done in the rugby". A round of boo's ensued. 

New singles are expected to drop after January 2020, but we're not sure when we'll see Jeremy Loops in London again, and neither is he.

Words and Photography by Max Herridge