Pioneering singer, songwriter and guitarist John Smith has been at the forefront of British folk and roots music for twenty years. He has amassed over 125 million Spotify streams and played his songs all over the world. He cut his teeth opening for the late, great John Martyn, and has since worked with a host of artists including Sarah Jarosz, the Milk Carton Kids, Patty Griffin, Joan Baez, David Gray, Tom Jones and Jackson Browne.
As he marks his 20th anniversary in music this October, John’s new release Gatherings celebrates, revisits, and reimagines songs from his first three albums, with brand new interpretations of his own and audience favourites from over 2,000 live shows.
Reflecting on these treasured compositions, John said: “I’ve learnt as time goes on that the songwriter isn’t necessarily in charge of the songs. Sometimes it feels as if it’s the other way round, that a song will reveal itself fully when it’s ready to be sung.”
Gatherings features guest appearances from Lisa Hannigan, The Staves, Siobhan Miller, and Dan Mangan (all on vocals), Adam Levy (guitar) and Nick Pini (bass). It was produced by John and mixed by Ryan Freeland (Bonnie Raitt, Aimee Mann, Joe Henry, Ray LaMontagne).
First single “Salty and Sweet” (featuring Lisa Hannigan) is out now, about which John shared: “One morning in 2010, I woke up with this song in my head, sung in Lisa’s voice. The thing is, I didn’t yet know Lisa. I met her a little while after and told her about it. She told me that I should sing it myself, but she’d be happy to duet. This song is the one people always shout out for, it gets the biggest singalong at the end of a show. I wanted to record a version with just Lisa and I in the studio, no frills, as if we were sharing a mic in a room full of people.”
On the heels of his new album release, John will take to the road for an extensive, 20 date UK tour including Totnes.
This event is a mix of standing and seated.
