Jacob Lusk was an American Idol contestant who had never found his true musical identity. Now, his astounding voice powers a trio who are steeped in the richness of Black musical history
Jacob Lusk is getting a kick out of being the singer in Gabriels, the soulful, cinematic trio whose scant handful of London club shows this autumn were the buzziest gigs of the season. “This is the most authentic myself I’ve ever been,” he says down the phone from his home in California. “I can do whatever I wanna do, wear whatever I wanna wear, be who I actually am. I’m embracing me, more than I ever have before.”
He is being embraced in return. At those shows, Gabriels were greeted with a fervour befitting Lusk’s own roots in spiritual music. It felt like watching a first kiss, but between a band and an audience. “That’s not a bad analogy. To be honest, it seemed more communal than anything. The audience gave us quite a bit of energy as well, so it felt more like a love fest than a show. ‘Hey, we’re all here together, let’s have this moment together,’ more than us presenting our wares.”