My Dearest Friend, 

Thank you so much for joining me for this magical evening in this historic venue. I’m so elated that you would spend your Saturday here with me and can’t wait to share this show with you!

When I was first approached to do a show at Dazzle I was a bit baffled! What would a lil pop/R&B girlie like myself be doing playing at Denver’s premier jazz club?! But the more I thought about it the more it seemed like actually the perfect place to do my first headlining show. 

To me Dazzle is a venue in love with and in exploration with all of the rich history and the great paradoxes that make up our city and country—from our deep love of jazz and the mecca of music, Black American culture, and resilience that is Five Points to the sting of gentrification and the heaviness of grief that comes with changes all around us. It, to me, feels in many ways like a suspension bridge steadily holding ground between the legacy of the old and the uncertain possibility of the new. 

Which resonates deeply with me cause I often feel like a bridge - suspended in the space between my love of the old and the wonder of the new,  at the intersections of pop star, artist and academic, Black and woman, sacred and secular, of what was and what is to come etc. So when I think of it that way- again it becomes the perfect place for me to share my story and weave together my love of music and whimsy, of history & old lady things and my love of service, advocacy, and faith all into one! 

I’m so excited that tonight’s show won’t be my typical popstar show (although we’ll do a little bit of that cause I can’t help it) but in the spirit of my love for old cabaret specials (and Beyonce’s Live at Roseland DVD) it will be an intimate walk through my story (well parts of it haha we only have so much time) sharing a little bit of the back drop of what influences and inspires and motivates me to create! 

Thank you to my team of family, friends, and band who have helped me put this together. Thank you to Dazzle for allowing me to add my little light to the flame of its legacy.  Thank you God for always showing up for me in ways beyond what I can imagine. To all the guests tonight, I hope this evening leaves you feeling inspired and it brings you as much joy and reflection as it did for me while creating it!

Welcome to the show! 

With Love, 

Jaiel