Fresh off of a romping album release show last night in LA at Lodge Room, DMV-born Jalen Ngonda releases his sophomore album Doctrine of Love via Daptone Records. Jalen’s new album arrives on the heels of a nonstop tour run which included a stint opening for GRAMMY Award-winner Olivia Dean’s sold out European arena tour, as well as headlining European live dates of his own. Earlier this week, Jalen shared a music video for standout album cut “Burning Temptation”, directed by Giordano Maestrelli.

 

 

From its opening notes, Doctrine of Love is a contemporary conduit for the essence of 60s and 70s soul music, devoid of clichés and rooted in Jalen’s scholarship for that era of music and its legacy. Renowned for his once-in-a-generation voice, Jalen bears an uncanny resemblance to Motown greats, but breathes new life into those sounds through continued exploration and experimenting with elements of contemporary pop and R&B.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that every day of my life I wish I would wake up in 1964 in Detroit recording with the Funk Brothers,” Jalen says, speaking to the balance he strikes between his affinity for the 60s and 70s era of music and expressing himself as a contemporary artist in 2026. “But that’s not my life. So what I can do is express my thoughts and my fascination with that sound and period and just be an artist.”

Working alongside close collaborators Vince Chiarito and Michael Buckley once again, the new album brims with a proven level of poise and confidence following the success of his critically-acclaimed debut album Come Around and Love Me. His debut in 2023 triggered a staggering rise, with Jalen making his US TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and appearances on Graham Norton and Later with Jools Holland. His viral hit single “If You Don’t Want My Love” has racked up over 253 million streams to date and he achieved A-list rotation on BBC 2, BBC 6 Music and Jazz FM across multiple singles. Jalen has also collaborated with the likes of Jordan Rakei and Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz, who tapped Jalen to be featured on their newly-released album The Mountain.

Continuing his run of lauded live shows, Jalen will be coming to New York City on June 8th to play an album release show at Gramercy Theatre, an early North American live show ahead of a full US tour announcement coming soon. This Summer, Jalen will also play a number of festivals across Europe including Love Supreme (UK), North Sea Jazz (Rotterdam) and Mad Cool (Madrid), before taking his album on the road for the Doctrine of Love European tour, beginning October 2nd in Amsterdam.

Embrace the Doctrine of Love above, see below for all of Jalen’s upcoming live dates and stay tuned for news on Jalen’s North American tour coming soon.

Upcoming Live Dates:

*= w/ Olivia Dean

6/8 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
6/14 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome*
6/26 – St. Gallen, CH @ OpenAir St. Gallen
6/28 – Milton Keynes, UK @ SMK Live Festival
7/4 – Glynde, UK @ Love Supreme Festival
7/10 – Rotterdam, NL @ North Sea Jazz
7/11 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival
7/12 – Birmingham, UK @ Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul
7/17 – Pori, FI @ KIRJURINLUOTO
7/24 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
8/1 – Notodden, NO @ Notodden Blues Festival
8/5 – Rome, IT @ Casa Del Jazz
8/7 – Locorotondo, IT @ Masseria Ferragnano
8/9 – Buftea, RO @ Summer Well Festival
8/11 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
8/13 – Oslo, NO @ Øyafestivalen
8/14 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West
8/21 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Festival
8/22 – Trondheim, NO @ Pstereo Festival
8/27 – Belfast, NIR @ Limelight
8/28 – Dublin, IE @ National Stadium
8/30 – Portsmouth, UK @ Victorious Festival
10/2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/3 – Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort
10/5 – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria
10/6 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/8 – Paris, FR @ L’Olympia
10/9 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef
10/11 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
10/12 – Zurich, CH @ X-Tra
10/14 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
10/15 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freiheit 36
10/24 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
10/25 – Cardiff, WLS @ Great Hall
10/27 – Bournemouth, UK @ O2 Academy
10/28 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
11/1 – Leeds, UK @ Project House
11/2 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
11/3 – Manchester, UK @ Academy