BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Find Local//findlocal.community//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:d786b56f-d43c-4e58-8966-1d1b9d16b7ed@findlocal.community DTSTAMP:20261015T155825Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261118T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261118T210000 SUMMARY:JALEN NGONDA: Doctrine of Love Tour 2026 DESCRIPTION:JALEN NGONDA: Doctrine of Love Tour 2026 Soul R&B Retro-Soul Opener: Brooke Combe 7 PM 8 PM *See venue bag policy* 18+ Valid ID requi red for entry into venue Under 18 permitted with parent (Accepted forms of ID: State Issued ID or Driver's License\, Military ID\, Passport.) JA LEN NGONDA: Jalen Ngonda honours soul music's rich history while pushing it forward into new territory\, an artist who’s both archivist and expl orer\, a disciple of the greats actively shaping the future of music. Ha ving spent the last three years growing this new soul vision from small clubs to arenas and festivals across the world Ngonda stands poised to b ecome the new spokesman of authentic soul with the release of his second album Doctrine Of Love. Doctrine Of Love is an instant classic of an al bum\, a long player alive with a confidence and swagger that seals the y oung singer’s reputation as not only the spiritual heir of soul’s great leading men but a one-off songwriting talent stepping far out from the s hadows of his artistic ancestors. The title track ‘Doctrine Of Love’ set s both the emotional tone and musical template for the rest of the album \, “I wrote that track when I was trying to do anything to get out of th e studio” remembers Ngonda. “I was listening to a lot of James Brown at the time and that was an inspiration - Doctrine to me was a word no-one ever uses\, I took it to be like a certificate\, the ‘Certificate of Lov e’ - look\, I think maybe I meant ‘doctorate’\, but we wrote it and reco rded it and now it's a whole thing.” The Doctrine of Love is multi-facet ed of course - yes\, it can be a cool word that fits the song\, it can b e a code\, a philosophy\, words to live by\, words to love by\, words to write some classic music by. ““I just write the song\,” Ngonda enthuses \, “the listener can interpret it however they want.” The difference tha t makes Jalen Ngonda a pioneer rather than a disciple of this soul doctr ine is he lives it 100%. He has an insatiable vinyl digging habit\, sear ching for records wherever he goes in the world. His grandmother gave hi m “a shitload of Stax and Motown 45s” as a teenager and that gave him th e bug. “I listen almost exclusively to music from the '60s\," he enthuse s. “The ‘50s\, the ‘40s. Pretty much nothing past about 1972. Records do sound slightly better on an analogue system\, but it's more of a behavi oural thing with me.” This extends to his effortlessly classic style\, “ most of it is quite retro at the moment\,” he admits\, “that old skool t hing. Who knows\, soon I might be dressing in baggy jeans and sneakers\, I’ve kind of been feeling that\, then the month after I might be dressi ng from the 1940s. On stage I dress in 1950s clothing because I want to wear something slick when I’m singing a slick song.” The way he conducts himself on stage is an extension of this\, the model of gentlemanly cha rm and grace\, as if he’d had a crash course from the legendarily rigoro us Motown charm school. He’s a 21st century modern spirit questing for v intage authenticity and the walking embodiment of a classic soul gentlem an\, a Marvin Gaye for the Discogs era. Born and raised in Maryland in t he suburbs of Washington DC\, the young Jalen found an early calling to the sounds of soul. “It started when I was 11 years old and I heard the Temptations on the radio\,” he remembers. “It blew my mind. I was aware that it was old but to me I. Just thought "why does this sound so good?” One discovery led to another as he followed his passion down a vinyl st rewn path. “I thought this was from 1964\, so what else was released in 1964? So I’d listen to The Beatles\, The Animals\, Sonny & Cher. Didn’t care that it was old\, I just loved the way it sounded.” Self-taught on guitar\, drums and keyboards\, Jalen found his first musical break playi ng drums in his local church. The same church several years later raised funds to help send Jalen to study music at LIPA in 2014\, the Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts founded by Paul McCartney. Within a year h e was recording and performing his own music\, moving to London in 2018 and pursuing his musical career\, busking on the street before he was re cording\, clawing his way up\, refining his sound\, capturing the organi c funk and soul of the classic 60s Chicago and Detroit but with his indi vidual combination of natural charm\, swagger\, musicality and showstopp ing falsetto to grow into a soul icon that channels Marvin Gaye\, Jackie Wilson or David Ruffin for the 21st Century. In 2022 Ngonda signed with Daptone Records\, the New York-based home of Thee Sacred Souls\, Lee Fi elds\, the Dap Kings\, Charles Bradley and the Brooklyn studio that birt hed Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black. His debut album Come Around And Love Me followed in 2023\, with its breakout single and viral sensation "If Y ou Don’t Want My Love\,” produced by Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley. Re sident now in South London\, the last three years have taken Jalen Ngond a from the 300 capacity Moth Club in Hackney\, to the 5000 plus Hammersm ith Odeon\, with the last two summers seeing him graduating from festiva l opening spots to a headliner in his own right\, playing to huge crowds at Glastonbury and We Out Here festival\, collaborating with Gorillaz a nd Jordan Rakei and supporting artists including Thee Sacred Souls\, Fre ddie Gibbs and Olivia Dean. Doctrine Of Love takes the template establis hed with Come Around And Love Me\, and distills it further down\, a perf ect tight blend of vintage soul authenticity reinterpreted for a modern sensibility. Swinging drums\, soaring strings and scratching guitars lea d into Ngonda’s irresistible falsetto playing with call and response wit h the backing singers. Every track sounds like a new Northern soul disco very or a hidden and undeclared Wu Tang sample. The trick lies in making the album the sum of the parts of life steeped in every aspect of vinta ge soul music and studio production without sliding into pastiche and cl iche\, and its a test the album passes with bright shining colours. “The first album is more of an early 70s feel\, when I was listening to a to n of Marvin Gaye\, Curtis Mayfield and Delfonics. This album is set some where like 1968 so I’ve been listening to a lot of mid ’50s New Orleans records\, a lot of girl groups\, folk rock like the Byrds and The Beatle s.” Opening track and the first single “Anyone In Love” is like a lost B acharach & David number\, a beguiling mix of hypnotic strings and dreaml ike backing vocals that feels like a song you’ve lived with all your lif e rather than only just released. Title track ‘Doctrine Of Love’ is an i nstant dance floor soul classic\, building to a gospel-inspired crescend o with Ngonda testifying to step right up against a finger snapping rhyt hm. “Mr Train Conductor” keeps the uptempo vibes flowing\, winningly wor king the classic soul trope of looking to someone - postman\, switchboar d operator\, cab driver - to help the narrator find their way back to th eir love’s arms. Like its forbears\, it's a relatable joy. ‘Burning Temp tation’ is another out and out dancefloor stomper\, a build you up butte rcup of a song brimming with joy. The second half of the album is more i ntrospective\, downbeat and gives a chance for Ngonda’s qualities as a b alladeer to shine: “Love Is Gone” takes the tempo down to a floating end of night waltz shot through with heartbreak and catharsis. The plaintiv e “I Can’t Ever Leave You” has a much more Southern sensibility\, a thro ugh line to Stax\, Memphis and the heartbreak histrionics of James Brown and Al Green. “Hannah\, What's The Matter?” keeps the tempo restrained with its heartfelt plea for clarity from a lost girlfriend. “Good Good L ove” goes even further back for its inspiration\, feeling back to at lea st the 1950s if not further\, channeling blues\, gospel and doo wop for a street corner symphony of optimistic love and desire. “Hanging On The Shelf” brings more of a funk flavour\, a shuffling groove made for sampl ing leading into an emotional beat ballad. The album is rounded off by “ Taken Out Of The Picture\,” a final tale of lost love and groping toward s cautious understanding. “I’m always going to be writing mostly love so ngs\,” he explains\, “so I’ve got to keep mixing it up\, there's only so many times I can say ‘you hurt me baby’.” Live is the arena where Jalen Ngonda the musician\, the songwriter and the performer all align and co me most into focus\, switching between heartfelt screaming\, pleading vo cals\, guitar and more recently\, piano. “Being on stage\, playing guita r\, singing and having people have a great time\, it's a great feeling. The travelling\, the hotels\, the food\, not so much\, then once you get on stage it's amazing. It's kind of like a drug addict\, you’re living the worst life but once you have a hit of that rock it's amazing. I want to sing a high note\, I want a girl in the front to scream. That's a di fferent kind of feedback from being in the studio with the producer nodd ing his head and saying ‘thats cool’.” 2026 sees Jalen Ngonda fulfilling his live destiny\, with headlining appearances at festivals including L ove Supreme\, Mostly Jazz\, Roskilde\, Way Out West and Oya. A musical s ponge soaking up rock and folk influences as much as soul\, name checkin g the Byrds in other same Breath as Stax\, Ngonda remains a renaissance soul man at heart "It's no exaggeration to say that every day of my life I wish I would wake up in 1964 in Detroit recording with the Funk Broth ers. But that's not my life. So what I can do is express my thoughts and my fascination with that sound and period and just be an artist.”\n\nTi ckets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/jalen-ngonda-doctrine-of-love-tour-c harlotte-north-carolina-11-18-2026/event/2D0064C224098FFC\n\nhttps://fin dlocal.community/event/d786b56f-d43c-4e58-8966-1d1b9d16b7ed LOCATION:Neighborhood Theatre\, Charlotte\, NC URL:https://findlocal.community/event/d786b56f-d43c-4e58-8966-1d1b9d16b7e d STATUS:CONFIRMED SEQUENCE:0 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR