Ledisi is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose powerful yet smooth voice makes her one of the most captivating voices of her generation in R&B, jazz and soul. With 15 Grammy nominations and one win, Ledisi continues to create music filled with emotion, lightness of heart and sparkling energy. This year, she closed Stockholm Jazz Festival with her band: Joseph Harley on keys, Ronald Alexander on bass, Joshua Foster on drums, Xavier Lynn on guitar and Sara Williams as a backup vocalist.
It took me some time to process the amazing ten days of the festival, and now, with a calmer state of mind, I can confidently say that Ledisi was a perfect closing act. In short, her performance felt like a meant-to-be sendoff for both newly converted jazz aficionados and seasoned jazz lovers on the last day of the festival.
Ledisi’s greatest quality, in my opinion, is her ability to send positive and reflective energy to every single member of the audience. When she took the stage, dancing around, the easy-going vibes were immaculate. Vibrant to the core, she achieved something rare – she made people smile. And not for a moment or two. Throughout the two-hour concert, I consistently checked on the audience and many people struggled to hide their smiles. Quite an extraordinary thing for the Swedish audience, isn’t it?
The concert was a journey through her repertoire over the years. She introduced her two albums released in 2025 – The Crown in April and For Dinah in October – making it a very prolific year. Jumping across her catalogue with songs like Pieces of Me, Anything For You and I Blame You, one could clearly see how she always stayed Ledisi: true to herself and her style. Moreover, she pays tribute to legends like Nina Simone and Dinah Washington through her albums.
Ambitious in sharing her optimism, Ledisi’s flow was contagious because she spoke from a place of lived experiences. “We laugh together, we cry alone” – she stated, going into another tune with a heartbreaking voice and soothing words. She shared beautiful memories about personal moments in a funny, almost stand-up manner, such as daydreaming about the morning after or sharing cosy memories about her mother showing some self-appreciation – it makes you laugh and it makes you relate.
On stage, Ledisi had a very maternal, caring presence. Like a mama duck guiding her ducklings across the road, she encouraged her band members: urging singer Sara Williams to take a few solos, jokingly calling out Xavier Lynn after his impressive guitar solos, “What a show-off!” to later push him towards the middle of the stage for a bow instead of hiding in the background.
If I learned anything from her concert, it’s her advice, “don’t lose the walk!” Under no circumstances, don’t lose it. Because if you do, the game is over.
After the classic walk-off, the audience begged for more and the band gave in. When a few of the band members had even started to pack their things and called it a night, the vibes were just too good to have the night end. Second time around, Ledisi playfully dragged Xavier Lynn off the stage by the shirt while he was unplugging his guitar on the go – you can’t make this stuff up.
In her last statement, she said that she wanted everything. With an accent on “i”, Ledisi wants everything, and Stockholm wants Ledisi.
Featured photo by: Ron Young
