Inside JACOTÉNE’s Invite-Only London Show

Words by Elektra Kaldeli

Photography by Sandra Titus

On a dimly lit stage tucked inside The Forge in the heart of London, Melbourne-born JACOTÉNE emerged quietly. There was no spectacle, no smoke or flashing lights. Just a microphone, a band, and a room full of people who were about to be completely caught off guard.

From the first note, her voice was undeniable. Rich and unexpectedly powerful for a 19-year-old, it carried an intensity that immediately held the room’s attention. Moving through tracks like Stronger, Stop Calling, and an unreleased song titled Why’d You Do That, she balanced raw emotion with control, shifting smoothly between softness and pure vocal ferocity.

The crowd may have been small, but the atmosphere was electric. Packed shoulder to shoulder, people exchanged wide-eyed looks and quiet reactions as her performance unfolded. The set felt intimate, almost private, like we were eavesdropping on something deeply personal, but being let in anyway.

JACOTÉNE carried herself with the poise of an artist used to being on stage, making eye contact and letting every lyric land. Between songs, though, she was disarmingly down-to-earth, cracking jokes, thanking the audience, and grinning with a sweetness that reminds you just how young she is, even if her voice suggests otherwise.

When the set closed, she left the stage as simply as she entered, calm and self-assured. No smoke machines necessary: just a voice and presence strong enough to make a small London room feel like the start of something much larger.