Jake Xerxes Fussell + Naima Bock | Brighton
Jake Xerxes Fussell Brighton
Jake Xerxes Fussell live in Brighton at Concorde 2 on 13th October! Get tickets above, or from SeeTickets.
Reared in Georgia and now settled in North Carolina, Jake Xerxes Fussell has established himself as a devoted listener and contemplative interpreter of a vast array of so-called folk songs, lovingly sourced from a personal store of favorites. He has released five studio albums to-date, beginning with his self-titled debut album, released by Paradise of Bachelors in 2015.
His most recent studio album When I’m Called was produced by James Elkington and features the playing of Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), Joe Westerlund (Bon Iver, Califone), and others. Blake Mills contributes guitars on several tracks. Joan Shelley and Robin Holcomb provide backing vocals. In their review of the record, Pitchfork wrote: “No other American singer is repurposing our old folk scripts with so much authority or ingenuity.”
More recently, Fussell and Elkington collaborated on the music for Rebuilding – a feature film directed by Max Walker-Silverman and starring Josh O’Connor. A soundtrack of the same name was released on Fat Possum Records in November 2025.
“Critics love to call things unclassifiable, which can sometimes feel like a subtle admission of defeat. But Jake Xerxes Fussell’s music, which draws heavily from nineteenth- and twentieth-century vernacular folk songs and archival field recordings, is idiomatic, and entirely his own…he is a folksinger in the truest sense, collecting ideas and melodies and lyrics from distant and disparate traditions, looking for the things that unite us in our humanity.” – The New Yorker
“(Fussell) is one of the great magpies of American song, collecting forgotten, tarnished gems with a folklorist’s zeal…” – The Guardian
“…maybe the leading interpreter of American folk music right now.” – Ann Powers, NPR
https://jakexerxesfussell.bandcamp.com/music
+ Naima Bock: The roots of Naima Bock’s music are deep and far reaching. Born in Glastonbury to a Brazilian father and a Greek mother, Naima spent her early childhood in Brazil before eventually returning to England, bouncing around various homes in South-East London. This muddled heritage combines with more recent pursuits in Naima’s music; from the Brazilian standards (Baden Powell, Chico Buarque, Geraldo Vandre, Cartola, etc.) that the family used to listen to driving to the beach, to the European folk traditions she tapped into on her own, and the pursuits that interest her today – studies in archaeology, work as a gardener, and walking the world’s great trails – Naima’s music draws from family, the earth and the handing down of music through generations.
The creation of Naima’s debut album Giant Palm began in her move back to the UK, though the music is undoubtedly infused with the Brazilian music of her youth and regular family visits – she found inspiration in, “the percussion, the melodies, chords – and particularly the poetic juxtaposition of tragedy and beauty held within the lyrics”. By the age of 15 Naima was embedded in the music scene of South-East London, going to gigs at The Windmill in Brixton, slotting into a group of like-minded friends writing and playing music. This led to the creation of Goat Girl, the band she toured the world with playing bass and singing alongside her school friends. After six years, with a desire to try something new, Naima decided to leave Goat Girl. In the intervening years she set up a gardening company and started a degree at UCL in archaeology because, as she jokes, “I liked being near the ground”. During this time, she was still writing music, playing guitar, and learning violin. In this time, she was introduced to producer and arranger Joel Burton through Josh Cohen and his label, Memorials of Distinction. Joel was becoming frustrated with his band Viewfinder, and was keen to expand his musical limits. Over the time he and Naima worked together, Joel’s burgeoning interest in Western Classical music, global folk music, experience in large scale arrangement and orchestration informed the collaborative process that eventually culminated in Giant Palm.
Upcoming Love Thy Neighbour shows:
07052026 – LYR. Komedia
10052026 – Sean Rowe. Green Door Store
10052026 – Lucrecia Dalt. Chalk
19052026 – Charlie Parr. Green Door Store
02062026 – Real Farmer. The Prince Albert
02062026 – The Bug Club. Concorde 2
04072026 – My Precious Bunny. Revenge
12072026 – The Sleeves. The Rose Hill
24082026 – Michael Cera Palin. Green Door Store
29082026 – Weird Nightmare. Alphabet
10092026 – Ohtis. The Prince Albert
16092026 – Bratakus. The Prince Albert
19092026 – Immersion. Alphabet
01102026 – The Tubs. Chalk
06102026 – Skating Polly. The Hope & Ruin
08102026 – Dateline. Prince Albert
10102026 – A Certain Ratio. Lewes Constitutional Club
13102026 – Jake Xerxes Fussell. Concorde 2
17102026 – John Craigie. Alphabet
18102026 – Kacy & Clayton. Prince Albert
21102026 – Martha Tilston. Lewes Constitutional Club
22102026 – Kristin Hersh. The Old Market
22102026 – Mr Bruce. Patterns
30102026 – Hollow Hand. Alphabet
01112026 – Stu Larsen. The Prince Albert
08112026 – Kiwi Jr. The Hope & Ruin
13112026 – The Boo Radleys. Lewes Constitutional Club
25112026 – Ozric Tentacles. Lewes Constitutional Club
26112026 – Chris Wood. Lewes Constitutional Club
27112026 – Dave McCabe (The Zutons). Lewes Constitutional Club
05122026 – John Otway. Lewes Constitutional Club
06022027 – Jim Moray. Komedia Brighton
Accessibility: Fully accessible to wheelchairs, all on one level. Gendered toilets. If you require a carer at the venue, please contact us at info@lovethyneighbourmusic.co.uk for guestlist, with evidence such as a blue badge or access card. If strobe lighting is an issue or if standing for long periods of time is an issue, please contact us in advance. More information: https://www.concorde2.co.uk/faq
Jake Xerxes Fussell Brighton
Jake Xerxes Fussell Brighton