Beck is set to bring his ‘Song Reader’ album to London in July for a one-off performance including guests Franz Ferdinand and Jarvis Cocker.
Song Reader is a book of sheet music, which was released in December 2012. It includes 20 songs and more than 100 pages of art. Beck’s idea for the release is that the listener becomes the artist, with all 20 songs open to interpretation by different individuals. The London performance will take place at the Barbican on July 4 with tickets going on sale this Friday (May 17).
The line-up for the night will include Beck himself, alongside 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 a selection of some the best amateur interpretations of the songs.