Contemporary R&B has been saturated with influences of EDM and its artists have been wrapped up with delivering overtly indulgent stage shows as well. For newcomer Daley, he’s managed to incorporate modern trends in his music without diminishing the soul of it. A native of Manchester, Daley has also taken a road less travelled, touring with nothing more than a band, his voice and his songs. After building an audience with a series of mixtapes and EPs over the last two years, he arrived at New York’s Highline Ballroom armed with material from his full length album debut, Days and Nights.

Daley’s glossy tenor oozed out of the speakers on the sensuous opener “Time Travel,” and had a dynamic push and pull of ballads like “Love and Affection” and “Be” and funky head nodders like “Good News” and “Blame the World.” He also threw in some covers for good measure, such as Rufus’ “Sweet Thing” and an artful medley of hits from Usher, Frank Ocean and Mint Condition; the Highline ate it up! His encore of the Pharrell Williams produced “Look Up” and his breakout duet with Marsha Ambrousios, “Alone Together” sent his fans home grinning ear to ear.

– Matthew Allen