After a buzzed about debut at Coachella and the surprise release of her first proper solo EP, The Color of You, both back in the spring, up and coming pop/alt r&b singer Alina Baraz is definitely having a huge year, including the culmination of a run which started with internet hype, a Galimatias collaboration EP, singles with Khalid, and increasingly high-profile live dates. Set to play Nashville for the first time ever tonight, Sept. 29 at Cannery Ballroom with buzzy producer turned sonic kindred spirit JMSN, Alina is a singer you should be paying close attention to, and while she’s already experienced plenty of well-deserved success, she’s only just getting started, with a debut full-length currently in the works. This is a cool chance to say you say Baraz back when, and tickets are still available right here. Read on for more about the show!
ALINA BARAZ
Born to Russian immigrant parents in Cleveland, Ohio, rising pop/electro/alt r&b singer Alina Baraz forged her career, as many young twenty-somethings do nowadays, through the internet. After making the decision to seriously pursue singing, Baraz, still secretive about her passion at the time, convinced her mom to uproot to the LA area shortly after high school, but it was her fortuitous online connection with Danish electronic producer Galimatias, spawning collaborations and eventually a well-received joint EP, Urban Flora, in 2015, that brought Alina widespread attention and acclaim throughout the blogosphere. Inking a deal with Mom + Pop and beginning to tour, within a few short years Baraz had shed the secretive concealment of her identity she’d adopted early on, amassing enough buzz to land dates with Coldplay, collab with fellow rising star Khalid, and earn a spot on this year’s Coachella. Directly before the fest, Baraz pulled a move many established singers have adopted, but few up and comers have successfully managed for their debut solo effort: she dropped her first EP, The Color of You, by surprise to great effect, shifting towards a more alternative r&b sound and showcasing her powerful voice, through earnest songs of relationship complications and heartbreak. Though she’s still just getting started, Alina Baraz, now 24, is one of pop’s coolest and most fascinating recent fixtures, propelled by hard work and raw talent to a well-deserved position of one of the most essential new singers to watch. The sky’s the limit, and her Nashville debut is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
JMSN
The solo vehicle and latest project from singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Christian Berishaj, JMSN (pronounced “Jameson”) formally launched in 2012 with buzzy debut album Priscilla. Hardly new to the scene, Berishaj spent nearly a decade prior performing in pop rock bands, inking deals with major labels, touring the world, and eventually honing his production chops with an electric bent, at times presenting as a solo artist, but reinventing himself with a more alternative r&b sound by the time he launched JMSN. With a sort of moody, layered, contemporary, and genre-bending sound, JMSN has been earning accolades and drawing comparisons to big name acts like The Weeknd, proceeding to experiment and push the limits of his style with a prolific string of releases, most recently last year’s Whatever Makes U Happy. Perfectly suited to compliment Alina Baraz, JMSN is definitely a singer worth showing up early for!
Alina Baraz and JMSN will perform tonight, Sept. 29 at Cannery Ballroom. The show is 18+, begins at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.), and tickets are available to purchase for $32.