When Joan Armatrading last took to the road in 2015 it was to be her last big world tour.
235 dates later that was it, done and dusted. No more endless long haul flights, no more torturous routing. (For one gig on that tour she actually had to pass through seven different countries to get there.)
So this summer sees Joan embark on a much more comfortable option. She plays 33 dates across the UK from September 10th through to the end of October - and she kicks things off with a two-night stay in Milton Keynes.
Joan says “I was never going to quit live work completely, and I’ll certainly never retire. But I won’t be doing a two year tour again!”
As before, though, this will be very much a solo venture. It will be Joan by herself (no band) talking, playing and taking her audience on a musical journey through her catalogue old and new. Her dynamic guitar work – she was the first UK female artist ever to go straight to the top of the Billboard Blues Charts – and her distinctive vocals will be very much to the fore.
All the big hits will be there including “Love And Affection”, the song that first made her famous around the world 42 years ago.
“I always play that song. Why wouldn’t I?” she says. “My fans want to hear it and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am today so, of course, it’ll always be in my set. I’m very grateful to them. But I’m on stage for a good while so I’ll be playing some of the other hits as well, along with material from the recent albums.”
Her latest album, her 21st, has just been released. Titled “Not Too Far Away” it’s out on BMG. Already a chart success, it features 10 tracks in total including the new single “Loving What You Hate”. Available in CD, vinyl and digital formats, the album’s catchy hooks, direct lyrics and inventive melodies illustrate perfectly Joan’s innate ability to take the personal and make it universal.
Joan will play The Stables on September 10 & 11.
To book tickets click here
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