It’s rare to witness a superstar in the making but that is exactly how it felt seeing Lola Young for the first time. Awkward, down to earth and slightly all over the place, these aren’t bad traits but what make Young so delightfully infectious.

Playing on Henry Weston’s Big Top at Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Sunday May 1st to an almost full crowd, Lola and her band began with her song After Midnight.

After the first song, Lola explained that her grandparents were in attendance and she would do her very best not to swear. Of course she slipped up once or twice but that’s part of her charm.

Straight into Pick Me Up next, the crowd were fully engaged by this point and new fans were certainly made. Young told the crowd that she was “feeling and sounding a bit rusty but if you had never seen her before, you wouldn’t know.”

Going solo with just her guitar for her song 3rd of Jan, Lola’s vocals shone particularly during this song with her raw, edgy, soulful tone which really take you on her journey of personal experiences.

The band came back to join her for Ruin My Make Up. This song showed a different side to her voice with rap styled verses which made the words painfully real and relatable. It’s astonishing the gift she has for songwriting and at such a young age, you can’t help but be in complete awe of her talent.

Lola has such a naturally comedic stage presence. It’s this, in large part which makes her so authentic and loveable. Talking constantly at a fast pace, it isn’t easy to understand her all the time but then again, that’s not always necessary. Only 21 years old, she is somewhat of an old soul musically as her lyrics are so experienced, relatable and mature. It’s within these terribly emotive lyrics that you truly hear the sadness she feels and has felt in her life. She tells us how the next song Pretty In Pink has turned into a meaningful song for her especially as she has a rare schizoaffective disorder.

Lola gifted us with an incredibly moving performance of Pretty In Pink. Crying on stage as she was singing, you couldn’t help but connect with her and fall a little bit in love with her.

“If you know me by now then you know that I make sad music for sad people” Lola explains and then plays Bad Tattoo.

A song that really stood out was Dopamine. A catchy number, it also has strong Jazz styled elements with a hip-hop twist.

Taking to the keyboards for None for You, Young showcased her talents as a musician as well as a singer/songwriter.

So Sorry was the penultimate song. Telling the crowd how she performed this on a special show (Graham Norton) the song was incredible live and really proved how there is a massive place in the market for her music and that she is likely to become a huge star in the not too distant future.

Closing with Fake, a song that gives Shirley Bassey vibes, the show was over too soon.

A multi-skilled band met with a multi-talented artist, Young will soon be playing to much larger audiences. Her music is unique, intriguing and easy to love.

Within time I know Lola will be more confident on the stage addresses the crowd but I hope she doesn’t lose her awkwardness completely because it really does make her very likeable.

Lola had us in tears of despair and joy from her powerfully emotive performance and unintentionally hilarious yet adorable personality. We cannot wait to see her again.