Jacob Whitesides performing at Slims in San Francisco, CA on June 17th, 2016. Photo: Jared Stossel for Shameless Promotions & Media.

We all know what a typical pop star looks like: almost always very young, they've got dance moves, thousands of screaming teen girls, and people who generally write their songs for them (and I'm not knocking the artists that have songwriters; some people are better performers of material than they are of writing). This was a different type of show though; Jacob Whitesides is clearly a songwriter. He's armed with a guitar in hand nearly 90 percent of the show, and he can play and interact with the crowd in a way that most pop performers really can't. It didn't seem "faked", it seemed like a genuine (and I'd say successful) attempt from a young performer to reach out and connect with an audience through pop-driven singer-songwriter material. He's a little awkward at times when giving stage banter, but that makes his performance and the effect of his songs that much more charming to the audience.

Whitesides performed to a packed house at the San Francisco venue Slims on June 17th. His setlist was filled with fan favorites from the number of EPs he's released over the past couple of years, and some material from his upcoming debut album, which may be seeing the light of day this year (he alluded to it during the show before playing one of the new songs). Not every track had high amounts of energy, but the fans that were packed against the barricade still knew and screamed every single word, holding onto every moment. The calmer moments of the set were nice and gave listeners a chance to listen a little more closely to the words without getting caught up in the craziness of the crowd during higher energy moments.

After this tour, is clear that people will be eagerly awaiting to hear what Jacob Whitesides' album will sound like. Will it stray from the path of his usual tracks to create something entirely new, or is it possible that his sound will retain more of the elements that fans have become used to? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we have the new single, Lovesick, to hold us over until that day.