Jesse Clegg

Jesse Clegg is a South African Singer-Songwriter whose three studio albums - “When I Wake Up”, his follow-up “Life On Mars”, and his 2016 release “Things Unseen” - have made the young artist a platinum-selling success in his home country.

After the widespread acclaim of his first album, Jesse’s music caught the attention of 3-time Grammy-winning Canadian producer David Bottrill (Muse, Tool, Placebo). Jesse subsequently moved to Toronto for 4 months to work with Bottrill who produced his second album, Life on Mars.

In 2014, Jesse toured extensively throughout South Africa as well as a date in the UK where he performed on the main stage at Isle of Wight Festival. Upon return, he began writing new material for his 3rd studio release, entitled Things Unseen.

The first single from the album, “Use Me”, was released in July 2015, and immediately started charting on national radio, reaching the No. 1 spot on several stations. It remained in the iTunes Top 40 for 3 months.

The album was launched in June 2016 at a sold out event in Johannesburg and debuted in the iTunes Top 10 albums chart. The next single, “Breathing” featuring Shekhinah, was another No. 1 hit on multiple stations.

In 2017, Jesse performed at SXSW and played several shows in Austin, TX, as well as LA. A collaboration with South African DJ duo Kentphonik entitled “I’ll Follow You” was also released this year; the song was met with critical acclaim and was the most played song in South Africa during its release. Jesse also performed with his father, Johnny Clegg, for the first time ever, playing a sold-out International tour, which broke several sales records.

In 2018, Jesse released “I’ve Been Looking”, his first ever recorded collaboration with his father. He also served as executive producer on his father’s final album, “King of Time”, which was released in April 2018. From August, Jesse spent time working in LA on new music with prominent US producers, returning to SA in October to tour with US pop star Daughtry as main support on his national arena tour. Jesse’s most recent single “Let It Burn” was produced by Tim Pagnotta (Walk The Moon, Neon Trees) and was released in August 2019. It charted nationally in South Africa for 5 consecutive months and hit number 1 on multiple SA radio stations.

For much of 2020, Jesse has been recording and writing in both LA and SA for his new album. To commemorate the 1 year anniversary of his father’s passing, Jesse hosted an online tribute concert featuring a diverse line-up of local and international artists. The event sold several thousand tickets and was one of the biggest streaming events in SA music history.

Throughout his career Jesse has released eight Top 10 singles and has been nominated for five South African Mu- sic Awards. As an official ambassador for the Nelson Mandela 46664 foundation, Jesse was invited to play at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the annual Mandela Day Concert.