ABN ABN Verified This entertainer is a registered Australian business or sole trader. Nishla Smith
Nishla Smith
Nishla Smith
Nishla Smith
Sydney, NSW
Jazz Singer

Nishla Smith

Entertainer
Jazz Singer
Brisbane, QLD
Expand all
Cover Original
2 Performers 3 Performers 4 Performers 5 Performers 6 Performers
Stage Workshop/Class/Training
100% Live Performance (All instruments played live, no backing tracks) Ambient/Background (A performance that enhances the atmosphere without being the main focus) Cabaret Style Performance Main Focus Performance (Performer is the headline act) Acoustic Performance (With Amplification - Power Required) Full Band Sound Performance Story-Driven Performance (Narrative-focused performance)
Cabaret Folk Latin Pop Jazz
Aged Care Events Art and Cultural Events Charity Events Concert Events Corporate Events Community Events Cruise Ship Events Educational Events Festival Events Funerals and Celebration of Life Private Events Venues (Hotels, Pubs, Café, Restaurant, Nightclub, RSL, Sporting Club) Wedding Events Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony (Interludes) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony Entrance (Processional) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony Exit (Recessionals) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Guest Departure from Ceremony (Postlude) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Pre-Ceremony (Prelude) Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Cocktail Hour Wedding Reception - Entertainment for First Dance and Other Special Dances Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Grand Entrance into Reception Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Last Dance Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Reception Party Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Wedding Dinner Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Wedding Send-Off from Reception
1920 Gatsby Great Gatsby Roaring Twenties Speakeasy/Prohibition Flappers 1930 Great Depression Swing Band Swing Era Vintage Glam 1940 Art Deco Big Band Film Noir Hollywood Glamour Post-War Boom Swing Era Jazz Age
Arranging Music Composing Music Lyric Writing Script Reading Ability (Interprets and performs written scripts) Sight-Reading Ability (Music) (Reads and performs music notation at first sight) Sings Multilingual (Sings in multiple languages English, Italian, French etc) Vocal Techniques (Scat, Beatboxing etc)
Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Piano Keyboard Double Bass Trumpet Saxophone Singer - Vocalist
Lead Singer Session Singer Topliner
Female
Authentic Captivating Elegant Relaxed Sophisticated Intimate Engaging
English
Green Room Requires green room or private changing area Performance Environment Suitable for Intimate Venues Suitable for Large Venues Versatile Indoor/Outdoor Performer
Accepts Song or Performance Requests Can Dedicate Songs To Guests Can Tailor Dress Code To Event Offers Drum-Free Option (For Noise Limits) Offers Flexible Performance Duration Provides Custom Song Composition Willing To Learn Songs Not In Current Repertoire
Power Standard 240V power outlet(s)

About

Nishla Smith is an award-winning composer-performer whose work is shaped by the language of jazz and a deep commitment to storytelling. An internationally touring artist, she has performed across the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia, with 2025 marking an especially active year on the road.

Nishla is a Peter Whittingham Jazz Award winner, an International Songwriting Competition award recipient, and an alumna of London Jazz Festival’s prestigious Take Five programme. Her debut album, 'Friends With Monsters', was released on Whirlwind Recordings to critical acclaim, with DownBeat USA describing her singing as “an entrancing beauty,” and praising her lyrics and melodies as the album’s “true trump cards.” In January 2025, she released a surprise live album of jazz standards with long-term collaborator Tom Harris, recorded over a two-night residency at Manchester’s Low Four Studios. The album received a four-star review in Jazzwise magazine, which noted that “Smith invests everything she sings with insight and beauty of tone.”

Alongside her music career, Nishla is an established theatre-maker and performer. She won a UK
Theatre Award for her performance as the titular bird in Atri Banerjee’s acclaimed UK touring production of Kes, and originated the role of ‘The Jazz Singer’ in Emma Baggott’s A Taste of Honey at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

As a composer and director, she has been commissioned by Opera North, Manchester Collective, Manchester Jazz Festival, Leeds Playhouse and many others. Her original musical stage show What Happened to Agnes toured the UK and was reprised at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2025, Nishla’s new musical Super was selected for Antipodes Theatre’s Winter Lab in Melbourne, Australia and named the recipient of the Stephen Oliver Award for New Musical Theatre in London, supporting its development in 2026.

Nishla’s second studio album, it’s getting late you’d better go home was released in Spring 2026 on Whirlwind Recordings and launched at London’s Ronnie Scott’s. She toured the album through Asia in August 2026, making her debut at Blue Note Beijing.

Nishla is based between the UK and Australia and can perform in a duo format or with a full band.

Selected Press Quotes

"Intimate, cinematic, and richly immersive, this is an album that grows with every listen and confirms Smith as a singular storytelling voice." ★★★★ Jazzwise

“In an era of relentless brightness, Smith has made a record that trusts shadows.” The National Post

“Her voice is exquisite, a symbol of unreachable beauty.” The Guardian

“She creates a darkly gorgeous interior sonic world” DownBeat USA

“Nishla’s original ballads sound like standards. Maudlin moments shoulder ecstatic reveries.”
London Jazz News

Set List

Medium swing

A blossom fell F
A fine romance F
Aint misbehaving F
Almost like being in love Db
All of me F
But not for me Ab
But not for me Eb
Bye bye blackbird Db
Cant we be friends Bb
Come fly with me F
Comes love C-
Dont get around much anymore Eb
Dream a little dream of me Db
Every time we say goodbye Bb
Everything happens to me Eb
Fly me to the moon G
Heres that rainy day C
I fall in love too easily Ab
I get a kick out of you Bb
I get along without you very well Eb
I didnt know what time it was D-
I should care F
I wanna sit right down and write myself a letter F
I wish I knew Db
Im confessing that I love you Ab
Im old fashioned Db
Ive got my love to keep me warm Ab
Ive never been in love before Eb
It could happen to you Bb
It could happen to you Db
Its de-lovely C
Its easy to blame the weather Bb
I remember you Eb
I remember you Eb
Jim Db
Just in time G
Just squeeze me Ab
Lets call the whole thing off Bb
Like someone in love Gb
Mean to me C-
Night and day Ab
On the sunny side of the street E
Our love is here to stay Bb
Shiny stockings C
Surrey with a fringe D-
Tea for two Db ideally verse
The partys over Bb
They say its spring G
There will never be another you Ab
Youre the top Eb

Up

A tisket a tasket Gb
All the things you are Eb
All the way A
Anything goes Eb
Blue skies Bb
But not for me Ab
Bye bye blackbird Db
Deed I do G
Devil may care B-
Dont fence me in Bb
Everything Ive got belongs to you Ab
Hello dolly F
I cant give you anything but love Db
Im beginning to see the light Db
Im putting all my eggs in one basket Db
I wont dance G
If I should lose you Eb
Just one of those things Bb
Mountain greenery G
Social call Ab
Thou swell Eb
What are you doing New Years Eve Db

Bossa Latin

Corcovado C A-
Girl from Ipanema Db
How insensitive C A-
So nice Summer Samba C
St Thomas C

Standards I like to do bossa

All or nothing at all E-
Autumn leaves A-
It might as well be spring Db
I wish you love Bb ideally verse
Youd be so nice to come home to D-

True Ballads

Dont explain Bb-
It never entered my mind Db
Nature boy Bb-
Skylark Gb
Some other time F
You dont know what love is Bb-

Ballads with movement

Autumn in New York F
Bewitched Eb
Blame it on my youth Ab
Body and soul F
Cant help loving that man Gb
Cry me a river Ab
Dont know why
Embraceable you Eb
For all we know Ab
Gee baby aint I good to you G
How deep is the ocean Ab
I love Paris A-
Ill be seeing you Bb
If I loved you Eb
Misty Bb
Solitude F
Stardust F
Tenderly Ab
The things we did last summer Db
These foolish things Ab
Time after time Gb

In three

Alice in Wonderland C
Hello young lovers Ab
Moon river F

Pricing

Piano or guitar & vocal
Piano/ guitar, double bass + vocal
Piano/guitar, double bass, drums + vocal
Piano/guitar, double bass, drums, vocals + trumpet or sax

Location & Travel

Departing from Sydney, NSW
Travel up to 100km
Expand all
Cover Original
2 Performers 3 Performers 4 Performers 5 Performers 6 Performers
Stage Workshop/Class/Training
100% Live Performance (All instruments played live, no backing tracks) Ambient/Background (A performance that enhances the atmosphere without being the main focus) Cabaret Style Performance Main Focus Performance (Performer is the headline act) Acoustic Performance (With Amplification - Power Required) Full Band Sound Performance Story-Driven Performance (Narrative-focused performance)
Cabaret Folk Latin Pop Jazz
Aged Care Events Art and Cultural Events Charity Events Concert Events Corporate Events Community Events Cruise Ship Events Educational Events Festival Events Funerals and Celebration of Life Private Events Venues (Hotels, Pubs, Café, Restaurant, Nightclub, RSL, Sporting Club) Wedding Events Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony (Interludes) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony Entrance (Processional) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony Exit (Recessionals) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Guest Departure from Ceremony (Postlude) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Pre-Ceremony (Prelude) Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Cocktail Hour Wedding Reception - Entertainment for First Dance and Other Special Dances Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Grand Entrance into Reception Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Last Dance Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Reception Party Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Wedding Dinner Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Wedding Send-Off from Reception
1920 Gatsby Great Gatsby Roaring Twenties Speakeasy/Prohibition Flappers 1930 Great Depression Swing Band Swing Era Vintage Glam 1940 Art Deco Big Band Film Noir Hollywood Glamour Post-War Boom Swing Era Jazz Age
Arranging Music Composing Music Lyric Writing Script Reading Ability (Interprets and performs written scripts) Sight-Reading Ability (Music) (Reads and performs music notation at first sight) Sings Multilingual (Sings in multiple languages English, Italian, French etc) Vocal Techniques (Scat, Beatboxing etc)
Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Piano Keyboard Double Bass Trumpet Saxophone Singer - Vocalist
Lead Singer Session Singer Topliner
Female
Authentic Captivating Elegant Relaxed Sophisticated Intimate Engaging
English
Green Room Requires green room or private changing area Performance Environment Suitable for Intimate Venues Suitable for Large Venues Versatile Indoor/Outdoor Performer
Accepts Song or Performance Requests Can Dedicate Songs To Guests Can Tailor Dress Code To Event Offers Drum-Free Option (For Noise Limits) Offers Flexible Performance Duration Provides Custom Song Composition Willing To Learn Songs Not In Current Repertoire
Power Standard 240V power outlet(s)

Nishla Smith

Entertainer
Jazz Singer
Sydney, NSW
Expand all
Cover Original
2 Performers 3 Performers 4 Performers 5 Performers 6 Performers
Stage Workshop/Class/Training
100% Live Performance (All instruments played live, no backing tracks) Ambient/Background (A performance that enhances the atmosphere without being the main focus) Cabaret Style Performance Main Focus Performance (Performer is the headline act) Acoustic Performance (With Amplification - Power Required) Full Band Sound Performance Story-Driven Performance (Narrative-focused performance)
Cabaret Folk Latin Pop Jazz
Aged Care Events Art and Cultural Events Charity Events Concert Events Corporate Events Community Events Cruise Ship Events Educational Events Festival Events Funerals and Celebration of Life Private Events Venues (Hotels, Pubs, Café, Restaurant, Nightclub, RSL, Sporting Club) Wedding Events Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony (Interludes) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony Entrance (Processional) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Ceremony Exit (Recessionals) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Guest Departure from Ceremony (Postlude) Wedding Ceremony - Entertainment for Pre-Ceremony (Prelude) Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Cocktail Hour Wedding Reception - Entertainment for First Dance and Other Special Dances Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Grand Entrance into Reception Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Last Dance Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Reception Party Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Wedding Dinner Wedding Reception - Entertainment for Wedding Send-Off from Reception
1920 Gatsby Great Gatsby Roaring Twenties Speakeasy/Prohibition Flappers 1930 Great Depression Swing Band Swing Era Vintage Glam 1940 Art Deco Big Band Film Noir Hollywood Glamour Post-War Boom Swing Era Jazz Age
Arranging Music Composing Music Lyric Writing Script Reading Ability (Interprets and performs written scripts) Sight-Reading Ability (Music) (Reads and performs music notation at first sight) Sings Multilingual (Sings in multiple languages English, Italian, French etc) Vocal Techniques (Scat, Beatboxing etc)
Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Piano Keyboard Double Bass Trumpet Saxophone Singer - Vocalist
Lead Singer Session Singer Topliner
Female
Authentic Captivating Elegant Relaxed Sophisticated Intimate Engaging
English
Green Room Requires green room or private changing area Performance Environment Suitable for Intimate Venues Suitable for Large Venues Versatile Indoor/Outdoor Performer
Accepts Song or Performance Requests Can Dedicate Songs To Guests Can Tailor Dress Code To Event Offers Drum-Free Option (For Noise Limits) Offers Flexible Performance Duration Provides Custom Song Composition Willing To Learn Songs Not In Current Repertoire
Power Standard 240V power outlet(s)