Beth Hart: Returning to York Barbican on 2027 tour. Picture: Roxanne de Roode
CALIFORNIAN singer-songwriter Beth Hart will play York Barbican on September 23 as one of only four dates on her 2027 British tour. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday, October 2 at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/beth-hart-2027/.
Multi-award-winning and Grammy-nominated Hart, 54, plays by her own rules. She has collaborated with legends such as Jeff Beck, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Joe Bonamassa, traversed the globe, topped the Billboard Blues charts six times, gone double platinum and had a string of Top Ten- charting albums across Europe and Top 30 Official Billboard US-charting albums, while surpassing 600 million streaming figures and counting.
Infusing her music with raw, soulful energy, Hart has played Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome and London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Los Angeleno Hart released her latest album, You Still Got Me, on October 25 2024 on Provogue/Mascot, followed by an expanded digital deluxe edition on June 17 2026. Watch the official lyric video for latest single Mean Ole Man of Mine on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPY6FDOhjwA.
In the wake of 2019’s War in My Mind and 2022’s A Tribute To Led Zeppelin, she recorded You Still Got Me with producer Kevin Shirley at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, housed in a 100-year-old Gothic revival grey-stoned church in the heart of Music Row.
“When I write, it’s always for the joy of writing or for the challenge of writing, to seek what’s going on,” says Beth Hart. Picture: Mal Whichelow
Hart says of You Still Got Me’s title track: “This is a true story. I had a moment where I wasn’t in a positive mood, and I was hanging out on the couch, crying pretty hard, and Scott [her husband] said, ‘Hey, do you need a hug?’. I said, ‘I’ve got nothing inside left to love’, and he said, ‘you still got me’. I said, ‘hang on a minute; I’ll be right back’.
“I went downstairs and used those words and how he said it. You say something like that, and someone you love says back, but you’ve still got me. It’s true. If I’ve still got him, I’ve still got everything.”
Reflecting on her songwriting process over three decades, she says: “I never write in terms of thinking it’s going to be an album or go to people. When I write, it’s always for the joy of writing or for the challenge of writing, to seek what’s going on.
“Sometimes, I go just when I’m sad or scared. If I check in on the piano, it sometimes reveals itself. Sometimes a song comes, and sometimes one doesn’t. Either way, there’s comfort there.”
Explaining the messaging within her songs, she says: “I leave that up to the listener to decide. Personally, I know what it is for right now. One of the beautiful things I love about songs and albums is that over time, that meaning changes.
“I like to keep that open because there’s a lot I can learn from it. Often, when I write a song, I know what that means to me at that moment. But a year will go by, and it means something totally different.”
“I’m always very controlling and protective of the songs,” says Beth Hart. Picture: Ali Burnam
Producer Kevin Shirley calls Hart a “diamond, a living contradiction”. “She is rough and hard at the core – shining, sophisticated and polished at presentation,” he says. “Beth is one of the most formidable musicians I’ve ever worked with. Immensely talented and gifted.
“This album shows all the facets of the giant gem that is Beth Hart. Razor-edged tracks that have a samurai sword edge, soft and sultry ballads and heartfelt emotional messages just made recording this album one of the most special I’ve ever done. You have to love her. There is nobody else like her. She is the best.”
Hart responds: “I’m always very controlling and protective of the songs. One of the things Kevin told me was, ‘You gotta make sure to keep in mind that this is going to be really fun. Have fun. Let it go. Don’t be so momma-bear protective of these songs’. I really had to meditate on that, but I did let go and thank God I did.”
You Still Got Me’s soaring rocker Savior With A Razor features Slash on guitar. “Beth Hart is one of my favourite artists to work with. She is an incredible singer/lyricist on many levels. Beth’s also as sincere and genuine a friend. She’s amazing.”
Hart last played York Barbican on October 31 2021 on her Thankful tour, when her set list comprised: Isolation: Boogieman; House Of Sin; Spirit Of God; Swing My Thing Back Around; Bottle Of Jesus; Easy; Rub Me For Luck; Picture In A Frame; Good As It Gets; Waterfalls; Saved; Without Words In The Way; Sugar Shack; Can’t Let Go; Spanish Lullabies; Good Day To Cry; Caught Out In The Rain; encores, Trouble, Chocolate Jesus, Leave The Light On, Thankful and War In My Mind.