Thea Gilmore headlines at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music the day after releasing her latest album Small World Turning.
Small World Turning is her first new collection of songs since 2017’s The Counterweight became her 3rd successive top 40 album.
The album is set to see Thea Gilmore reinvigorated with a strong folk flavour after previous releases saw her switching her style up. Murphy’s Heart (2010) arrived with a buffed-up radio sheen, 2013’s Regardless was luscious chamber pop and The Counterweight (2017) brought electronica flavourings to the table.
This time acoustic guitars are pushed firmly to the fore and fiddles, whistles, mandolins, tenor banjos all feature. The 11-track album also features the likes of Cara Dillon, Seth Lakeman, Sam Lakeman, Katriona Gilmore, Jamie Roberts and BBC Radio 2’s Young Folk Award winner 2013 Ciaran Algar. The album features no traditional kit drums, rather a diverse Transatlantic rhythm section of Matt Owens (Noah And The Whale) and Michael Blair (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello).
Produced by Nigel Stonier, Small World Turning features brand new tracks written by Thea Gilmore sandwiched between two lullabies – a snipped of the traditional Mockingbird and Dreamers, sung by a mother aspiring to cross the Mexican border with her child.
The album looks at climate, racism, serenity, equality and social mobility.
When does Thea Gilmore headline at Manchester’s RNCM?
Thea Gilmore headlines at the Royal Northern College of Music on Saturday 18 May 2019.
