Eisteddfod: Next Porter call for Gregory

They will perform in Llangollen, following a concert earlier this week by opera singer Sir Bryn Terfel.

An evening with Gregory Porter is planned tonight, there will be a headline show tomorrow by Choir Of The World with The Overtones while the Manic Street Preachers will end proceedings on Sunday.

The appearance by Gregory has provided the Eisteddfod with a real coup. The America jazz, soul, and gospel singer, songwriter and actor will be taking to the Eisteddfod stage for his North Wales debut, joined by his wonderful band of talented musicians.

Gregory was influenced by his mother, who died when he was 21. She entreated him from her death bed to ‘sing, baby, sing’!

He had previously been a football lineman at the San Diego State University, though a shoulder injury cut short a promising career.

He released his first album, Water, in 2010, with the follow-up, Be Good, out two years later. But it was his third album, Liquid Spirit, that provided a breakthrough, taking Porter into the top 10 in the UK and across Europe. And last year’s fourth album, Take Me To The Alley, was even more successful, hitting number five in the UK and giving him a top 100 hit in the USA.

Gregory is happy that he’s finding a place for jazz and swing in the modern age. “We are not re-writing the book of jazz, but it’s definitely more inclusive of modern statements. I think that the styles of a lot of the young jazz artists are really showing – not just the jazz market, but the world – that the music has to live and breathe and the subject matter has to be relevant for the day, just as jazz was in its formative years. There’s room for everybody on this plate of jazz.”

The success of Take Me To The Alley has kept him on the road and he’s been in demand around the world. However, he still tries to make time to write new music. “Well, the touring internationally continues to happen. I’ll always just continue to do my thing – write and sing.”

Meanwhile, Choir Of The World with The Overtones will feature tomorrow. Fans can experience the very best of the Eisteddfod as the competitions reach an exciting finale. The special guests for the evening will be Britain’s number 1 vocal harmony group The Overtones.

Manic Street Preachers will follow, playing the first in a series of summer festival shows. The band have been working on a new record, which insiders have described as sounding like Send Away The Tigers, Everything Must Go and This Is My Truth.

The record will be the first since 2014’s Futurology and singer James Dean Bradfield says there’s plenty to look forward to with the new record. “I suppose in my head, not that it matters, but I would like to kick against the oblique, delineated, opaque groove that everybody is into. I’d like to rock again.”