On the Road with UK Jazz Guitarist & Singer Oscar Jerome

It's a party in the U.S.A.

Musical virtuosos are hard to come by in the age of autotune and 808s, but UK musician Oscar Jerome is truly a diamond in the monotonous musical rut. Influenced by jazz, hip-hop, and soul music, Jerome's debut self-titled EP dropped in 2016, followed by another dubbed Where Are Your Branches? and the follow-up single "Do You Really." His latest hit dropped today, however. "Misty Head / Sunny Street" features his inimitably smooth vocals floating atop each eclectic beat and groovy instrumentals sure to take you to a funky, faraway place.

Jerome is preparing to embark on a short European tour in February, which kicks off on the 20th at London's EartH, and come March, he'll be performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Below he shares some of his personal behind-the-scenes moments while touring the States, from hitting up rehearsals and taking nature walks to sampling some of the USA's finest Mexican cuisine.

Up in the Air

Mentally preparing myself for a long ass flight to LA. Why is it on planes if you get the vegetarian option they give you fruit salad for every desert!? The one with meat had a brownie, there’s no meat in cakes!

First Thing's First

Touch down in LA and first things first gotta get me an axe. Luckily the good people at Gibson got me. (I didn’t choose the Flying V but it’s pretty sexy right?)

Nice to Meet You

One of the best things about traveling is the people you meet and one of the best things about playing music is you have things in common with people all over the world. Avila Santo joined us for the west coast shows on drums and killed it. Was a pleasure to play with him and hopefully the first of many.

Practice Makes Perfect

Getting the rehearsals in...Another great thing about playing your music with different people is they always bring their own flavor to it. There is always an element of improvisation in my live shows and working with new people always brings a different fire and excitement to the music.

Showtime

It’s an amazing feeling when people come out to see your show in a place you have never visited before. There are always highs and lows in touring but this is what makes you remember why you do it