Acclaimed folk musician Chris Cleverley will play an acoustic gig in his hometown
Award-winning alt-folk songwriter Chris Cleverley will give fans a chance to hear new music from his upcoming album at a concert in his hometown this week.
The fingerstyle guitarist is headlining The Place in Bedford and will be playing his first new material in nearly three years.
Speaking about his upcoming new music, he said, “I had lost my way with songwriting for a long time, unable to connect deeply with what I was doing during the arid emotional landscape of the pandemic.
“This body of new work is exhilarating, indescribable; something like a personal rebirth.
Cleverley is currently working on her third studio album with critically acclaimed producer John Elliott.
The new material promises to be a leap forward from its more acoustic folk roots.
Drawing inspiration from great American songwriters, Cleverley harnessed the influence of heroes like Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens and Anais Mitchell throughout the songwriting process.
The album’s 11 original songs address diverse and resonant themes, telling stories of climate emergency, artificial intelligence and displaced people.
Despite the album’s experimental approach to instrumentation, this tour will give audiences the chance to see Cleverley perform in one of his most renowned roles, as a solo acoustic guitarist.
As a pupil of records by Nic Jones and Joni Mitchell, Cleverley’s guitar playing is steeped in the hazy, dreamlike essence of ’60s folk revival.
He will perform some of the new songs for the first time
2019 saw the release of Cleverley’s landmark second release “We Sat Back and Watched it Unfold”, under the direction of BBC Folk Award-winning producer Sam Kelly.
The album garnered praise from the national folk press and BBC radio.
It was followed by 2021’s ‘Live From The Glass Isle’ – a set of intimate acoustic recordings, captured at the foot of Glastonbury Tor during the pagan festival of Lughnasadh.
Cleverley headlines The Place in Bradgate Road, Bedford on Thursday June 2.
