Jacob Collier — downtowndurham.com

Beloved by audiences, musicians and critics the world over, and heralded as one of the most groundbreaking artists of the 21st century, singer-songwriter, producer, arranger & multi-instrumentalist and world-builder Jacob Collier has taken the music industry by storm. With a depth and imaginatory infinity that is beyond question, Jacob plays, writes and communicates with a human warmth, openness and drastic inclusivity that melts hearts, explodes minds, and inspires millions.
Jacob’s radically joyous and genre-bridging discography has led to seven GRAMMY wins and 16 GRAMMY nominations, making him the first British artist in history to win at least one Grammy for each of his first 5 studio albums. His fearless approach to music has attracted a plethora of 100+ collaborators, including Coldplay, SZA, Shawn Mendes, John Mayer, Stormzy, Kirk Franklin, Tori Kelly, Anoushka Shankar, Quincy Jones, Oumou Sangaré, Hans Zimmer and Joni Mitchell.
2025’s The Light For Days – Collier’s latest album – finds him at his most present and immediate, and centered around a single instrument: the guitar. During a brief trip home to London, sitting in the same music room where his career began, he chose to explore his 5-string and 10-string signature Taylor acoustic guitars more fully than he ever had before. Through alternate tunings (“DAEAD”) and techniques, he trades scale for intimacy.