Live music is one of my passions and nothing makes me happier than discovering new artists. Singer-songwriter Adam Hender has just turned 21 and will shortly release his debut album: where better to showcase it than West London’s gorgeous Bush Hall?

Hender was as impressed by his surroundings as we were: “Wow, this is amazing: thank you so much! We played Manchester last night and it was great – although not as great as you lot, obviously. This is my first-ever show in London.”

An ardent Motown fan, Adam prides himself on writing “both slow and upbeat songs” – and rattled through them at pace, beginning with fan favourite ‘One Chance’, which got everyone singing along straightaway. Young he may be, but he’s full of charisma and the audience quickly warmed to him, singing along to the more up-tempo ‘Gone’, ‘What is Love’ and ‘I Told You So’.

Interestingly, Hender’s fan base ranges from teenage to the elderly, all of whom watched him adoringly as he introduced his new single, ‘I Don’t Mind’. I really like it; it shows off Hender’s vocal range and: “You guys are the first to hear it live!”

Excellent vocalist he may be, but Hender also knows what to do with a guitar, as was evident on ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’, which took us “…right back to the start. This was the first song I released after I got signed – and I didn’t realise what it would come to mean to me, personally.”

This, Hender followed up with the “more upbeat” ‘Losing My Mind’ – and then ‘Say You Care’: “Only the second time I’ve performed this song live.” I loved it – just as I loved Hender’s encore, and best-known, song ‘Burn’ (100,000 Spotify streams and counting). What a way to end the night: I feel certain we will be seeing much, much more of Adam Hender.