I’ve been a fan of this lady for a while now, and had high hopes for her UK debut… well believe me she didn’t disappoint!

Never having been to Ruby-Lo before I wasn’t really sure what to expect… I was pleasantly surprised. A small, softly lit intimate venue full of likeminded music lovers, there to enjoy the music rather than check out what people were wearing! Classy, yet homely, full of comfortable sofa seats- an ideal place for this one off acoustic performance. Stripping back her usual 6 piece band she was accompanied only by British acoustic guitarist Ciarin Fahay and electric guitarist Zak Akhimien, allowing us to really hear THAT voice.

With no huge introduction and seemingly nervous she thanked everyone for making the effort to come down and support her, which flowed nicely in to the first track of the evening and incidentally the first track from the album ‘Thank you’. I, like most people who have listen to the album, already thought her voice was pretty outstanding, but hearing her live is a completely different experience I assure you.

Now it’s all too easy to listen to an album, learn the words and sing along yet not really pay any attention to the meaning behind those lyrics. What made the night just that bit more special for me was that before each track Choklate took the time to explain the meaning and significance of each song to her personally, allowing the audience to relate, and understand the song in a way they may never have done before. Take ‘Gettin’ is Good’ for an example, written at a time when she realised growing up, gaining more responsibility… and of course paying the bills (lot’s of groans and agreement from crowd when bills were mentioned) is inevitable, and that by paying our “five British pounds” to see her that night she would be able to pay her rent when she returned home to the other side of the pond.

Dressed casually in jeans and a jumper she could have easily passed off as one of the crowd… American accent omitted!
Everything about Choklate is ‘real’ and unlike a lot of artists it seems she believes in herself completely, yet manages to stay very grounded and down to earth with it, which makes me like her even more.

Choklate had soon built up a good rapport with the audience, made up from an eclectic mix of people. Plenty of crowd participation, particularly on tracks such as ‘Incredible’ with lots of the audience wanting to sing the entire way through instead of being restricted to just the “incredible’s”. I’m not sure there’s a greater compliment in the music world than the entire crowd knowing the melody and all the lyrics to your song.

The evening continued with other tracks from the album including "Bigger", "Long way", "Waitin'", "Heavy", "Now What" and possibly the highlight of my evening "Never Change". Perhaps the best know of all the tracks from her self titled album, I think anyone who was present at this gig would agree that it was almost impossible not to want to get up and groove
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For me this felt like more than just a performance, understanding the personal meaning behind each of the tracks she performed has put an entirely new dimension on the album for me, and probably most of the people in the room. Watching her sing is an absolute pleasure; effortless is probably the only way in which I am able to describe it, with a power in her voice only a live performance could really show, I only wish she had time to squeeze in a few more!
Taking the time to meet anyone who wanted to take a photo, get their CD signed, or even just come and say Hi. Something not a lot of artists would trouble themselves with. She really is a humble lady who appreciates both her fans and their time.

Choklate has most certainly landed in the UK; although I think she already had a long time ago… it’s just taken her a while to actually get here! If you ever get the opportunity to see this lady live, do it! If you love good music you’ll love Choklate.