Stage set in Providence for London native



Isabella Kensington sings a song she wrote while strumming the guitar at the recreation center during auditions for the talent show in 2019. The London native and summer Jamestown resident will perform Friday in Providence.

Isabella Kensington sings a song she wrote while strumming the guitar at the recreation center during auditions for the talent show in 2019. The London native and summer Jamestown resident will perform Friday in Providence.

A singer-songwriter from London who has starred locally at six consecutive talent shows is set to perform at the grand opening of a Providence landmark Friday.

Isabella Kensington, a summer resident of Jamestown, will play a set of original material and cover songs Aug. 6 at the Narragansett Beer Brewery, 271 Tockwotten St. She will perform in the afternoon on the second day of the brewery’s three-day grand-opening event.

“I’m looking forward to performing again,” Kensington said about being on stage for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to perform in front of an audience. I’m just excited to be in an environment where people want to listen to music again. We’ve all missed it.”

Taylor-made inspiration

Kensington, 18, grew up in England but her father originally is from Warwick. Her family always has summered in Rhode Island, first in Newport and then in Jamestown. She has been singing since childhood, and took part in theater programs as part of her interest in the performing arts.

“Performing and singing was always kind of a part of who I was and a part of something I was genuinely interested in,” she said. “It was just something that I loved to do.”

When she was 9, her parents took her to a Taylor Swift concert, and she was inspired by that show to start writing her own songs. Kensington counts Swift, who has a home in Westerly, as one of her biggest influences.

“I fell in love with her songwriting and the way she performed her songs, and decided the day after that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” she said. “I wrote a song the day after, and have been writing songs almost every day ever since.”

Her songwriting process varies depending on the song. Sometimes she will have the lyrics written before the music, and other times she will have the melody completed and later will write the lyrics. When she is co-writing with a collaborator, she will adapt to their songwriting style. Her lyrics typically touch upon her personal experiences, relationships, friendships and feelings. Aside from Swift, Kensington said her influences include Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo and Halsey.

In addition to songwriting, Kensington has played guitar since she was 10. She only took two lessons, but then stopped practicing for a few months before she came back and taught herself how to play. Her favorite aspect of performing live is connecting and interacting with the audience.

“Being able to speak to people afterwards, and to be able to reach people in a different way than recorded music does, performing live brings a completely different atmosphere in the room,” she said.

During the course of the past year, Kensington has used social media, especially TikTok, to connect with her fans when concerts and other live events were not possible.

“It’s a different way of interacting with fans and people I would not have been able to reach without social media,” she said. “I’ve had that, which has been really wonderful and has been my project this year aside from recording an album.”

Small-town start

For six consecutive years, from 2014-19, Kensington has honed her performance skills at the talent show sponsored by the Jamestown Community Chorus. She first performed when she was 12. She said the environment at the recreation center “is so wonderful” during the annual show.

“It’s really unlike any other performances I’ve done,” she said. “There’s not a community quite as supportive as Jamestown.”

Starting when she was 14, Kensington switched from performing covers at the talent show to her own original compositions. She credits the chorus’ director, B.J. Whitehouse, for encouraging her to perform original songs at the show.

The opportunity for Kensington to perform at the brewery was arranged by Jim Crooks, the brewery’s vice president of sales and marketing, who is a friend of her father’s.

“We have an emerging star in our midst here in Rhode Island,” Crooks said. “I’ve been amazed at hearing her perform.”

The opening is the final step in the long-gestating plan to return the Narragansett Beer brand to production in Rhode Island, where it began in 1890. The company had been purchased by a local group of investors in 2005, and plans to construct a new brewery in Providence were announced in 2019. Aside from Kensington, other performers include the Hollow Turtle Band and Sharks Come Cruisin.

At the event, Kensington will play for 90 minutes. One of Kensington’s favorite original songs she will perform at the event is “What We Had,” which she co-wrote with a friend.

“It’s a song that’s gotten a lot of feedback on social media lately,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written. I’m hoping for it to be one of my first singles.”

After performing in Providence, Kensington hopes to release new music later this year, and currently is speaking with record labels and managers to either release an EP or short album of her original material.

“I’m really excited to get my music out there,” she said.

Kensington said she enjoys summering in Jamestown because of its small-town atmosphere compared to the big-city surroundings of London.

“It’s such an amazing contrast,” she said. “I love the people. I love the friends we made. I love being so close to the water. It’s such a stark difference from the city. I really enjoy spending my time here.”