Jewel OwusuLast Friday night (12 June), Filipino-Ghanaian musician Jewel Owusu took to the foyer stage at the glorious Palais Theatre in St Kilda, as part of the venue and Live Nation’s Next On series.
Recognised as an artist to watch, Owusu is performing hot off the back of her second EP/mixtape, the end of everything, and is gearing up for a huge 2026. Mixing elements of pop, indie, house, UK garage and more, she’s brilliant and not to be underestimated.
The foyer stage at the Palais was adapted for a more intimate feel, with seating under the chandelier, surrounded by Art Deco architecture and bathed in soft, colourful lighting. Punters ranged from close friends and fans to industry people, all of whom were passionate and excited.
Supporting Jewell was Aotearoa artist Toy Shaw. Sporting a banjo and backed by a cello and violin, Shaw brought a new sense of depth and colour to folktronica. Mainly performing tracks from her recent album Trinkets, Shaw’s wide range of influences was on full display in moments of contrasting energy.
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Songs like Christine had a true country calling while Touching Glass felt like a dreamy trip into something spacier - a delicate balance between the worlds of acoustic and electronic has been masterfully captured within her sound. Closer Birthplace (The Same Way) just about tore the roof off, bringing the house down in a high-energy finale.
Taking to the stage for her short but sweet set, Jewel Owusu opened with slip away from her recent mixtape - a tight blend of indie rock and pop. The solid riff made for a rocking opening number. Following up with slower track bed, Owusu further introduced her brand of yearning indie-pop. Two-steppy tune, thin, came next - a collaboration with Sydney musician Aria Wood, an artist whose style fits so closely with Owusu - a match made in heaven.
Unreleased track small heart teased audiences, before Owusu blessed listeners with her fantastic remix of MGMT’s Kids - a high-energy, UK garage cover of the late 2000s nostalgic classic. Outside of single blurryeyed, the rest of the set covered remaining songs from her recent EP - and these ended up being the favourites of the night.
Anthemic mixtape opener, this is the end, showed just how much can be built with nothing but vocals, drums, guitar and some light backing tracks. A true barn-burner, Owusu’s vocal and lyrical skills were only rivalled by her back-to-back following tracks: don’t let me go and spark. The pre-chorus on don’t let me go is some of the best pop music I’ve heard in years.
A fantastic night for emerging talents, both Toy Shaw and Jewel Owusu are immensely talented musicians and performers - multi-talented artists with captivating perspectives and visions for their genres.
