15 Minute Live Performances: Jordan Hawkins

In June, rising R&B singer-songwriter Jordan Hawkins gave us a glimpse into what a typical day in his life is like. The North Carolina native’s experience isn’t like your usual artist. Before diving into the deep end of pursuing music, Hawkins worked in finance with the goal of becoming an investment banker.

But, like all good plans, life sometimes gets in the way. Hawkins, who first started singing as a kid in his church choir, is inspired by a number of multi-faceted guitar-slaying artists, including Prince, Jimi Hendrix, and John Mayer. Having left North Carolina behind, Hawkins now resides in Los Angeles and recently released his debut EP, Heart Won’t Stop, which is a strong sign of things to come from this rising artist.

Accompanied by Stari on bass, Charles Nutrivore on keys, and Hawkins handling guitar and vocals, the trio, collectively known as NAIVE, performed an intimate three-song set. In it, they showed off the chemistry that will have people talking about them in the not-too-distant future.

Here’s the setlist:

Risky
We Have
Untitled (D’Angelo cover)

Jordan Hawkins and company are the latest artists to perform as part of our ongoing 15 Minute Live Performance series. In the last episode, we had rising singer-songwriter Erin Rae perform. Other artists who have dazzled during our 15-minute sets include Robert Finley, Neal Francis, UPSAHL, John R. Miller, Cedric Burnside and the Grammy-nominated ensemble Cha Wa. You can watch all of the previous episodes here.