It took English singer Beth Gibbons 59 years to give the world her first proper solo album. Hower, the melancholic masterpiece Lives Outgrown has been worth the wait. The album was released in 2024 to top reviews from leading music media, and Gibbons' concerts in the wake of the release have also garnered plenty of praise.
Since the 90s, Gibbons has been a haunting voice in popular music. With a mysterious aura and phrasings soaked in deep blue melancholy, she was an emotional focal point in Portishead's cinematic trip-hop. With Portishead, she has released three albums that all stand as classics. She has also performed at Roskilde Festival with the band on several occasions.
Alongside Portishead, she has also established herself as one of the great vocalists of our time, collaborating with such diverse artists as Kendrick Lamar and Polish avant-garde composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and in 2002 she released the acclaimed album Ouf of Season with Talk Talk musician Paul Webb (aka Rustin Man).
"A gripping study of ageing and loss" wrote The Guardian in their glowing review of Lives Outgrown, which shows that Gibbons also as a solo artist masters all the nuances of melancholy in an evocative, richly orchestrated and constantly surprising work that draws on English folk, jazz and progressive rock. A gripping experience awaits at Roskilde Festival.
