25 Sep 2023
It’s been an amazing week for up and coming St Albans music star Tali Jackson.
Not only did she launch her debut single ‘Hottest Rooftop in Town’ at a sell-out gig at The Camden Club, but she had the chance to meet her idol and inspiration Lily Allen – all while celebrating her 22nd birthday.
The tongue-in-cheek song pokes fun at those awkward first date encounters and celebrates the experience of having a spontaneous night out on a weekday.
Tali grew up in Newfield Way, in the Highfield Park area of St Albans, and attended various local drama groups including Rare.
She went to school at the Jewish Community Secondary School in Barnet and is now in her final year studying acting at university at Leeds Conservatoire.
Publicity from The Camden Club said: “Soulful, sassy vocalist Tali Jackson has a promising future ahead of her with plenty more songs currently in the works, all promising to contain her signature style of cheeky, relatable lyrics and upbeat instrumentals.”
Her dad David said: “As proud parents, Niki and I are pleased that all her hard work practising since she was little, have led to her being such an amazing performer. “It’s wonderful to see audiences enjoying her gigs so much, as well as to read the excellent feedback from those who have downloaded Hottest Rooftop Bar. But she’s still our Tali Penguin!”
Tali is signed to Private Regcords, a community for Leeds’ most original fresh talent established by electronic artist Private Reg. She is currently working on her first album.
She said she was elated to perform at such a prestigious venue: “It was truly a surreal experience and one that will for sure go down in the history books (at least in mine anyway!). I didn’t realise how easy it would actually turn out to be to organise the whole event – and that’s totally down to my amazing team over at Private Regcords (James Vardy, Evan Martin, Callum Smith, Henry Wright) as well as my amazing family and friends who helped with all the promotion in the run up to the release.
“All I was focused on while performing was making sure that I got to enjoy myself as much as everybody else was! For the most part, I’ve had lovely responses and loads of support coming from all angles – I’m surprised (and so grateful) that people are still listening and it’s been almost three weeks already since the release!”
She revealed the circumstances behind her meeting Lily Allen: “She’s been someone I’ve looked up to my whole life, I’ve loved her music since I can remember, and when I decided that I was finally going to start making my own music I knew my first song had to be an homage to her early stuff (‘Alright, Still’ and ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ in particular).
“Fast forward to after the song’s creation but before the release, I saw that she was performing alongside Steve Pemberton in Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Pillowman’ – I knew this was the perfect opportunity to go and thank her for the inspiration, as well as shaping me into the young woman/artist that I have become. I wrote her a letter and waited for her at the stage door. She came out eventually and posed so elegantly for photos with everyone! I gave her the letter, told her about the song and she said she would check it out.
“The cherry on top for me is that our hug was captured by some of the paparazzi – a normal thing for her, and a TOTAL pinch-me moment for myself! Needless to say, there was a lot of happy crying as soon as I left her to greet the rest of the crowd.
“It was a beautiful experience and I wouldn’t change it at all! She didn’t give me any career tips but when I was speaking to her she could tell I was getting emotional so she did tell me not to cry!”
Tali said the inspiration behind her music is to tell stories: “I’m an actor as well as a singer but I like to say I’m an entertainer/performer because realistically (hopefully) that is what I do!
“It sounds simple, but all I want is to keep creating songs where people love the lyrics on their own, and love the instrumental on their own, so that when combined and performed live gives the audience (and myself) the most elevated and sometimes immersive experience as possible.”
She’s hopeful that her fanbase will take Hottest Rooftop in Town to the next level “My favourite thing since releasing it is when people reference my own lyrics back to me. I think that’s just class! Let’s make it a meme, a trend on TikTok, I want this song reaching the far corners here!”
And when can we expect to hear her first album? “It will be out in a year if my current plan goes ahead. before this you can expect at least a few more singles as well as an EP that is currently in the works!
“I have just entered my final year studying Acting at The Leeds Conservatoire so the next time I’ll be performing (that I’m aware of) is in the actor musical : Vernon God Little at the Chroma Q theatre, Leeds from November 9! I’m very excited for this as I have also been given the privilege to be the assistant director on the show – directing is something I’ve also been passionate about for years alongside my training. In terms of music and upcoming gigs keep an eye out on all the socials!”
You can hear Hottest Rooftop Bar in Town on Spotify and Instagram by searching for @talijackson. Follow her on Twitter: @talidjackson and TikTok: @talijacksonmusic
Gig photos courtesy of Yakir Zur.
