In the Round

22 – 31 January 2019

An eclectic mix of artists in a rare, intimate setting

Ana Moura, Fatima, Gruff Rhys, Patti Smith, The Hot Sardines, Ronnie Spector, Sam Palladio, Jim James, This Is The Kit and Shirley Collins

Now in its fourth year, the Roundhouse presents In the Round 2019, a series of shows devoted to intimate performances set in the venue’s iconic main space, staged in a rarely seen fully-seated concert set up. Since its inception in 2016, In the Round has become known for its special sets from an eclectic mix of artists. Its bold and adventurous programming has made it a fixture on the musical calendar and an exciting start to the year.

Tuesday 22 January  Ana Moura

Wednesday 23 January  Fatima

Thursday 24 January  Gruff Rhys

Friday 25 January  An Evening of Words and Music with Patti Smith

Saturday 26 January The Hot Sardines

Sunday 27 January  Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes

Monday 28 January  Sam Palladio

Tuesday 29 January  Jim James            

Wednesday 30 January This Is The Kit

Thursday 31 January  Shirley Collins

As part of the Roundhouse’s commitment to developing emerging talent, each night young artists who use the Roundhouse’s Paul Hamlyn Roundhouse Studios will perform as support acts for the headline artist.

Tuesday 22 January

ANA MOURA + support

Often referred to as the Portuguese blues and sparked by a remarkable generation of young singers, fado has emerged over the past decade or so as a major force on the world music scene. One of its brightest lights, with a voice like no other, is that of award-winning and chart-topping Ana Moura. With a singular gift for inhabiting the lyrics, she captures the soul of the iconic fadista, while at the same time embodying fado’s contemporary spirit.Ana grew up steeped in fado and its traditions, and although she experimented with pop and rock music during adolescence, her commitment to fado never waned and she became a regular in the local fado culture, releasing her first album to critical acclaim in 2003. She captured the attention of Caetano Veloso, Mick Jagger, and Prince, which brought about inspired crossover collaborations and performances.Ana released her fifth full-length album, Desfado, in 2013, which is still in the Portuguese charts and was certified six times platinum, and her most recent release, Moura, is already certified three times platinum.

“Sublime.” The Times

Watch Desfado (Ao Vivo) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZurR7xGk4c

Doors 7pm / Tickets £15-£35

Wednesday 23 January

FATIMA+ support

Stockholm-born, London-based singer-songwriter, Fatima, is one of the UK’s most respected vocalists adored by the city’s tastemakers. While her flawless, old-school soul vocals, spellbinding acapella, and memorable, hooky tunes underscores her compelling performances, it’s her offbeat take on contemporary soul that sees her experimenting with sounds, styles and moods that rubber-stamps her distinct identity.  Choosing to work with a who’s who list of producers (including Floating Points, Purist and J.D Reid), she produces a palette of twisted RnB and complex soul that encompasses disco, neo-soul, jazz ballads and even a waltz, all wrapped up in modern electronica and a sound that is uniquely her own. Fatima’s 2014 breakthrough album, Yellow Memories, earned her the Album of the Year accolade from Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards.

For her debut headline Roundhouse appearance, Fatima performs music from her new recording,  And Yet It’s All Love, released on London label Eglo (Sept 2018). An emotional trip through the full cycle of a romantic relationship, expect sultry, smoky vocals, soulful, edgy beats and moving, memorable songs.

Watch Somebody Else https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMfIG0_anQE

Doors  / Tickets £12-£20

Thursday 24 January

GRUFF RHYS + support

Gruff Rhys is best known for his work with Super Furry Animals who forged their own path in the 90’s, creating music that had indie-rock at its centre with elements of folk, psychedelia and electronica. That said, he has since carved out a successful solo career with five solo albums under his belt. Always one to do things his own way, he has marked himself out as one of pop’s most playfully creative and unpredictable songsmiths. His first solo album, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth (2005), an all-Welsh language album, was followed by Candylion (2007), Hotel Shampoo (2011), for which he won the Welsh Music Prize, and in 2014 American Interior and the soundtrack to the Dylan Thomas biopic, Set Fire To The Stars. He also formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon, whose album Stainless Style (2008) was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. His most recent release, Babelsberg, is a collection of songs with an orchestral backdrop and was recorded with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Despite being written over two years ago the songs have proved deeply prescient, sharply highlighting the times in which we currently live.

“Rhys is the musical equivalent of one those actors who are always worth watching, in anything at all.” the Quietus

Watch Frontier Man https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y6VLjIKwqQ

Friday 25 January

AN EVENING OF WORDS AND MUSIC WITH PATTI SMITH

Often described as ‘the punk poet Laureate’, singer-songwriter, poet, visual artist and activist, Patti Smith is a true rock icon.  Rising as a poet in the heady days of early 70s New York, she became an influential component of the city’s punk movement with her 1975 debut, Horses; a raw, daring combination of poetry, yearning chants and rock ‘n’ roll attitude.  What is perhaps Smith’s best known song, Because the Night, co-written with Bruce Springsteen, followed three years later, propelling her to mainstream success.  Formidable, charismatic, boundary pushing, outspoken and controversial, Smith’s four-decade career has seen her release 11 studio albums and a best-selling memoir, Just Kids– referred to as one of the greatest-ever rock memoirs – alongside receiving a plethora of awards, honours and accolades.

An Evening of Words and Music combines spoken word interwoven with music from Smith’s beloved catalogue of songs.  

 Doors 7pm / Tickets £30-£50

Saturday 26 January

THE HOT SARDINES + support

Fuelled by the belief that classic jazz feeds the heart and soul, The Hot Sardines are on a mission to make old sounds new again and prove that joyful music can bring people together in a disconnected world. At the core of the band are bandleader and pianist Evan Palazzo and lead singer Elizabeth Bougerol, who met in 2007 after they both answered a Craigslist ad about a jazz jam session above a Manhattan noodle shop.Drawing influence from some of the greats including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, The Hot Sardines’ music is steeped in 1920s and 30s swing and blues. The group has enjoyed immense success with sell out shows across the globe, and their self-titled debut album, named by iTunes as one of the best jazz albums of 2014, spent more than a year on the Billboard Jazz Chart, debuting in the top 10 alongside Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. Their biggest hits include Wake Up in Paris and an Ella Fitzgerald cover of When I Get Low I Get High featuring Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, Cabaret).

“Simply phenomenal.”  The Times

Watch Running Wild  https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=19&v=J2Jce0PdMUA

Doors 7pm / Tickets £20-£35

Sunday 27 January

RONNIE SPECTOR & THE RONETTES + support

With her powerful trademark vocals, her gutsy attitude and innocent but knowing sexuality, Ronnie Spector became the embodiment of female rock ‘n’ roll passion in the 1960s, yet her style, look, and sound continues to serve as an inspiration and role model for generations. She formed the Ronettes while in her teens, releasing a catalogue of hits from the early to mid 60s including Walking in the Rain, Do I Love You, Baby I Love You, (The Best Part of) Breaking Up, and the international Number One smash Be My Baby. In January 1964, the Ronettes left Spanish Harlem and arrived in London to make their first British appearances, winning them lifelong love from their adoring British fans.

Their In the Round performance will be a special celebratory concert to mark 55 years since their very first UK tour. The ultimate ‘girl group’ will perform all their hits alongside cult classics and a multimedia presentation of rare and unseen photos and videos of the group.

 “With her extraordinary stories and even more extraordinary voice, Spector has the audience hanging on every word.”  The Guardian

Watch Be My Baby (Later with Jools 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCEUSt77AkY

Doors 7pm / Tickets £15-£35

Monday 28 January

SAM PALLADIO+ support

Although raised in Cornwall, it was in Nashville, Tennessee that singer-songwriter-actor Sam Palladio got his big break.  In 2012, he first appeared in the role of soulful, country songwriter Gunnar Scott in the long-running, multi-award winning hit TV drama, ‘Nashville’.  For Palladio, combining his talent as a musician and love of acting was a dream comes true.  Palladio immersed himself in the musical worlds of Americana, folk and country, making music with some of the finest musicians and songwriters of the genre. Most recently, he opened for one of his favourite pop/rock bands Biffy Clyro on their European tour, demonstrating the breadth of his style. All these musical experiences have informed his own blend of modern Americana, in turn, influenced by the folk and rock sounds of the 1960s and ‘70’s and classic storytellers such as James Taylor and Paul Simon.

Palladio has appeared on many of the world’s most iconic stages as part of several Nashville tours, but his In the Round performance marks his return to London as a solo artist, performing brand new music from his upcoming debut release.

 Doors 7pm / Tickets £15-£25

Tuesday 29 January

JIM JAMES + Support

 Jim James is best known as the lead singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist of one of the worlds most acclaimed rock bands, My Morning Jacket. He has also lent his voice to albums by the likes of the Roots, David Lynch and John Fogerty and produced works by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Ray Lamontagne to name a few.  He is listed by Rolling Stone among their ‘20 New Guitar Gods’ and has toured with such heavyweights as Neil Young, Pearl Jam, and Bob Dylan. He has also released four highly praised solo albums.  Each showcases his talent as a multi-instrumentalist, as well as a writer and producer, establishing his trademark sound of eccentric transcendent songs, mixing acoustic balladry, funk, atmospheric electronics and beats. In 2018 he released Uniform Distortion, a powerful response to troubled times; an intense blast of distorted guitars and discordant harmonies.  It was followed, four months later, by a companion release Uniform Clarity comprising acoustic renditions of the songs in a more stripped down and honest response to what went before.

James’ In the Round appearance is a career-spanning solo-acoustic show – his first in this style – exploring songs stripped down, just voice and guitar.

Doors 7pm / Tickets £15 – £20

Wednesday 30January

THIS IS THE KIT+ support ODETTA HARTMAN

At the heart of This Is the Kit is Kate Stables whose rare, unaffected voice and innovative musical style has made her one of the most exciting talents in contemporary folk. Ten years and four albums in, and hermagnificent band of Rozi Plain (bass / vocals), Neil Smith (guitar), and Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums) have won many admirers from Guy Garvey to The National and Sharon van Etten. After making a long-awaited breakthrough with 2015’s Bashed Out– which featured PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish and The National’s Aaron Dessner – 2017’s Moonshine Freeze (her Rough Trade debut) was lauded as her most accomplished and compelling album to date with songs ranging from just her and a banjo to layers of trumpet, clubbier grooves and psychedelic folk. Known for her often dark and poetically profound lyrical themes, her live shows are as endearing as they are enthralling.

“…the rising star of contemporary folk.”  The Guardian

Watch Moonshine Freeze https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=435SDzZYz0E

Support comes from American artist, Odetta Hartman, cited by the Guardian as ‘One to Watch’. With a penchant for banjo, Hartman combines the musical traditions of the past – folk, bluegrass and Americana – with 21stcentury beats; a perfect backdrop to her intimate, timeless voice.  She performs music from this year’s release Old Rockhounds Never Die.

Doors 7pm / Tickets £12-£18

Thursday 31 January

SHIRLEY COLLINS+ support

A legendary singer, folklorist, and music historian, Shirley Collins has been an integral figure in the English folk music scene for more than 60 years. In 2016, she made a triumphant return to the UK music scene after a 38-year absence with the album Lodestar. Arguably her strongest ever work, Lodestar was extolled by critics and nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, as well as featuring in the top five albums of the year in both the Quietus and Wire Magazine. Sussex-born Collins’ story is itself straight from a ballad and has been well documented – after a painful break up from her then husband, she lost her voice on stage in the late 70s and was diagnosed with dysphonia, a condition often associated with psychological trauma. Before this, she had enjoyed a prolific career spanning over 20 years, from a formative period travelling across America on a field-trip collecting songs with Alan Lomax in 1959, to a lengthy tenure as one of the most significant singers at the forefront of the English folk revival. Performing solo, as well as in a duo with her late sister Dolly, she also worked with Davy Graham and as a key member of the Albion Country Band.

“…Lodestar is a triumph of storytelling and sound.” Music OMH

WatchDeath And The Lady https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKTWxI_DJOE

Doors 7pm / Tickets £15-£30