Andra Day, Lianne LaHavas, Corinne Bailey Rae & More Bring The Soul To Night 2 of Roots Jam Session 2016 In L.A.

Photos by Victoria Ford for Sneakshot and Okayplayer.

Night two of the Roots Jam Session 2016 kicked off last night in Los Angeles as a proper warm up for this year’s Grammy awards with a proper soulful welcome from Grammy-nominated songstress, Andra Day. Decked out in a brocade coat with fur-trimmed collar, Ms. Day wowed the crowd with her throwback-tinged “Only Love” and unique rendition of “No Make-Up” by Kendrick Lamar. Her shout-out to Lamar brought some suspicion that he may be indeed in the building, but *spoiler alert*, he was not. Maybe he will show for night three?

Comedian and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon-writer Seth Herzog held down the hosting duties for the second year in a row, cracking jokes with the steamy crowd that was at full capacity. He introduced The Roots set, joined by Jeremy Ellis. Running through their hits like “Game Theory” and “Push Up Ya Lighter”, the band gave the audience a proper mash-up of “I Know You Got Soul”, with Black Thought leading vocals for both the James Brown original, and Rakim version.

The new ladies of soul crushed night two. Lianne La Havas brought her soothing vocals to a vacation-ready arrangement of Drake’s “Hotline Bling”, immediately followed up by Tinashe performing a sexy cover of Sade’s “Sweetest Taboo” with a quick vibe change to her dance-ready hit, “2 On”. Jazmine Sullivan’s performance of “Need U Bad” was an incredible moment where you were unsure if you should dance, or cry a little singing along.

Moses Sumney, whose cool rendition of Floetry’s “Say Yes” brought chills to the audience, presented one of the most captivating cover songs of the night. His vocal capabilities and range floated over the track in an angelic fashion. Solid. Alessia Cara’s power vocals during her performance of her hit “Here” impressed the crowd. There was a lot of chatter in the audience realizing before their eyes that the 19-year old Toronto native with a baby face was the woman behind the soulful, yet melancholy track.

Super surprise of the evening went to Corinne Bailey Rae. Backed by The Roots, it was a true jam out session for the pairing. Hopefully we get a new album from the songbird soon! Freddie “Gangsta” Gibbs quickly switched up the vibe with lyrical heat, and went toe to toe with Black Thought.

The dapper Leon Bridges, clad in mustard suit and contrasting red patterned tie, smoothed things back out with his rendition of “God Bless The Child”. The night closed with jam session mainstay Bilal, who with The Roots, got the crowd going to end their nights off proper. He crooned, “will I make it to the other side?”, feeding off the energy of Captain Kirk’s guitar. Friday night’s super-filled room sweated out hair, got hips moving, and had the people singing along to every word. Click through the gallery for all the highlights, and stay tuned for more musical surprises on our final night three!

Words by Andrea K. Castillo.