For Katey Brooks, singing is more about heart than head. It’s about reaching to the most authentic place within oneself and screaming from it, which is probably why her live performances are so affecting.
Brooks has an impressive roster of famous fans too. Joss Stone has praised her music, exclaiming how much she loves Katey’s voice and the fact that ‘you can tell she really means what she sings.’ Brooks has recorded with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones and Paloma Faith at Abbey Road, for BBC Radio 2’s Children in Need single. She has shared bills with a host of big names including Newton Faulkner, Ghostpoet, Martin Simpson, Deaf Havana, Lou Rhodes (Lamb), Mike and the Mechanics, and Mystery Jets. She has appeared on compilation with Anais Mitchell, Ane Brun and Marissa Nadler. She has played some of the world’s biggest festivals including Glastonbury, WOMAD, the 2012 Paralympics, and Australia’s National Folk Festival. And Stuart Bruce, who has recorded some of the greatest musical names of all time – from Stevie Wonder to Elton John and Van Morrison – is a fan.
The wandering troubadour defies easy classification, with a back-catalogue incorporating soul, folk, blues and country. With her new album Revolute under construction, the mercurial songstress is more determined than ever to do things her own way. ‘Revolute will blend soul with Americana and even some country, to create something hopefully pretty different.’ Applauded by the press, this ‘rising singer-songwriter has the crowd eating out of her hands’ (The Independent), and is simply ‘not to be missed’ (Time Out).
To watch her sing live is to witness emotional exorcism, but when you know her backstory, it’s hardly a mystery why. A spellbinding and emotional evening, in the amazing and historic St Pancras Old Church. Thanks to Laurel Canyon Music, Jeff Barnes and Gary Smith.