City Varieties date for folk-rock star Martha Wainwright

Canadian folk-rock singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright is heading for Leeds this week as part of her tour in support of acclaimed new album '˜Goodnight City'.
Martha Wainwright.Martha Wainwright.
Martha Wainwright.

The celebrated songstress is set to take the UK and Ireland by storm on a whistlestop tour that includes a date at Leeds’ City Varieties this Friday.

New album ‘Goodnight City’ is the follow-up to Martha’s 2012 release ‘Come Home To Mama’ and has already drawn critical acclaim across the world from The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Uncut, MOJO and The Times.

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The album features 12 brand new songs produced by Thomas Bartlett (Surfjan Stevens, Glen Hansard) and long time producer Brad Albetta. It recalls the emotional rawness of her debut album, much of it encapsulated by the captivating lead track ‘Around The Bend’ and her extraordinary voice.

Speaking about the album Martha said: “Making ‘Goodnight City’ was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

“Thomas (keys), Brad (electric/bass), Phil Melanson (drums) and I would sit in a circle and work out arrangements for these vividly different songs. Recording them live with very few overdubs the focus remains on the integrity of the song and our ability to play together as a band.”

Martha wrote half the songs on the album while the other half were written by friends and relatives: Beth Orton, Glen Hansard, Rufus, Wainwright, Michael Ondaatje and Merrill Garbus, of tune-yArDs.

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Martha added: “Because these writers know me and because I was able to personalise these songs by changing things here and there, I made them feel as if I wrote them myself.

“Somehow they wonderfully reflect my life and I am so thankful to the other artists for writing them.”