Beck is to bring a one-off performance of his ‘Song Reader’ album to London in July, with some massive names guesting alongside him.
The London performance will take place at the Barbican on July 4th, and will consist of 20 songs that the singer/songwriter released as a book of sheet music in December 2012. Beck’s idea for ‘Song Reader’ was that the listener becomes the artist, with the songs open to interpretation, and more than 100 pages of art thrown in for inspiration.
The line-up for the night will include Beck himself, alongside Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Franz Ferdinand and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Beth Orton, Joan Wasser aka Joan As Police Woman, Villagers frontman Conor J O’Brien, The Staves, Guillemots, Michael Kiwanuka and singer-songwriters James Yorkston and The Pictish Trail will all perform on the night with more guests to be announced. A house band comprising of Seb Rochford, Tom Herbert and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu will perform throughout the night, with music direction courtesy of Ed Harcourt and David Coulter.
In the lead up to the event, the Barbican and Faber Social will host an exhibition of the artwork involved with ‘Song Reader’, as well as a presentation of some of the best amateur interpretations of the songs.
