By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Jesuton, the soulful British singer who has been living in Rio de Janeiro since 2012, will be performing at Teatro Rival in Centro on Thursday, July 7th. The show is called Voz & Violão (Voice & Guitar), with the vocals by Jesuton and the guitar by Isaac Negrene, from the group Banda Black Rio.
Originally from London, Jesuton was born Rachel Jesuton Olaolu Amosu in 1985, and goes by her middle name which was given to her by her Nigerian father. She arrived in Rio in March 2012, after traveling around Latin America in Argentina, Ecuador, Chile and Peru, where she lived for two years.
She found herself singing on the streets of Rio and explained in an earlier interview, “I was walking along the street in Ipanema and I saw a guy, his name was Alfredo Buendia, he had an amazing setup. I heard his voice before I saw him.”
It was Buendia who encouraged Jesuton and told her the equipment she’d need to perform on the street. “I started and I really really loved it. There’s so much freedom in it.” said Jesuton.
Shortly after she was discovered, and soon her remake of Dione Warwick’s “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” was playing almost nightly in the Globo novela (prime-time soap opera) “Salve Jorge”. She soon after was booked to perform at Rock in Rio 2013, and in 2014 released an album “Show Me Your Soul”.
Next Thursday the free performance will include the strong sounds of soul music, especially from the legendary Motown label with icons like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder among others. The evening will also include new songs, previously unreleased by Jesuton.
What: Jesuton – Voz & Violão at Teatro Rival
When: Thursday, July 7 – doors open at 7PM, show starts at 9PM.
Where: Teatro Rival – Cinelandia – Rua Alvaro Alvim, 33/37 – Centro, RJ
Entrance: FREE, More information: (21) 2240-4469