PLEASE NOTE TO TIE IN WITH THE UK TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT – TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE AT 9.00AM ON FRIDAY 25TH OCTOBER . PLEASE NOTE OUR OFFICE WILL NOT BE OPEN ON THIS DAY SO ENSURE TICKETS AND A TABLE BEFORE THEY SELL OUT YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE AND BOOK ONLINE.
Scott Matthews’ ground-breaking debut album, Passing Stranger earned him serious critical acclaim with its bold mix of folk, rock, blues and Eastern-inspired song-writing, and in 2007 his first single ‘Elusive’ won the Ivor Novello Award for ‘Best Song Musically and Lyrically’. From here Scott went on to perform on a number of international sell-out tours with respected artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Bert Jansch, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Foo Fighters, Snow Patrol and Tori Amos.
His follow-up albums saw, Robert Plant come onboard for a guest contribution on second album, Elsewhere, and legendary bassist Danny Thompson appearing on his third release What The Night Delivers, having encountered each other whilst performing in Joe Boyd’s stage production of Way to Blue – The Songs of Nick Drake.
Championed by Lauren Laverne as ‘a big favourite’ and Huey Morgan as being ‘something else’, Scott’s musical dexterity and experimentative approach to song-writing and home-recording continued to excite over the course of the next several albums released on his own label, from the intrinsically poetic, organic nature of The Great Untold, to the daring and audacious New Skin.
This album was arguably his boldest move yet, New Skin swathed in Eno-esque electronica and Thom Yorke-centric uncovering, channelled the driving energy of ‘80s Springsteen and was widely lauded by Robert Plant, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, Bella Union’s Simon Raymonde and BBC 6Music. It was rock and ambient, acoustic and electro. Matthews had never sounded so vital. Never sounded so fresh. Never sounded so energised. And never sounded so good.
But this story is not over yet and the Ivor Novello award-winner is not afraid to evolve once more. From within this freshly paved electronic landscape, Matthews’ latest album, Restless Lullabies, emerges with a stark boldness that is breath taking. These phoenix songs, born from New Skin, have more to give, worthy of reincarnation, entirely reimagined by Matthews who appears dauntless, they are restless with good reason.
Now entirely unadorned, stripped of their electronic veil, the album’s acoustic purity creates a subliminal listening experience. From the ethereal acapella, ‘Intruders on Earth’, to the evocative duet, ‘Anniversary’, where Matthews performs with American soul-jazz singer, Krystle Warren, the result being a vocal fusion that seems impossibly perfect. The skeletal delicacy of the songs allows his poetry to breathe, his transcendent vocal to soar, brings his dexterously sensitive guitar playing into microscopic focus and further cements his undeniable mastery as one of our greatest songsmiths.
Restless Lullabies is the Yin to New Skin’s Yang, so obviously interconnected and yet somehow possessing an entirely different force. Here, once again, Scott Matthews has given us a portal to his very core.
“Fantastic voice… super talented” – Simon Raymonde, Bella Union
“A big favourite of ours…just gorgeous” – Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music
“His music has a glorious atmosphere” – Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2
“I think he’s wonderful” – Guy Garvey, Elbow
“I can’t speak highly enough of this massively talented singer-songwriter who sings every note like it’s his last with the most effortless of deliveries” – Chris Hawkins, BBC 6 Music
“I love this man’s music” – Ed O’Brien, Radiohead, 2021
“This is just something else…he’s a great live show” – Huey Morgan, BBC 6 Music
‘Engagingly thoughtful and classy singer-songwriter’ – The Guardian
7/10 – ‘A deliciously, intimate grainy voice that invokes Rufus Wainwright’s scuffed- velvet croon and Jeff Buckley’s spine-tingling falsetto acrobatics’ – Uncut (New Skin review, 2021)
‘There’s no denying Matthews’ soaring tenor is a thing of wonder’ – Acoustic Magazine
“He’s fantastic…an absolute genius” – Janice Long, BBC Radio 2
“Just wonderful, wonderful stuff” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2
Book a table for pre-concert dining
Acapela Studio provides pre-concert dining between 6.00pm and 7.30pm from our pizza oven. To view the current menu visit here.
Please purchase your concert tickets first before booking a table. We will not accept any table bookings that do not have a corresponding ticket purchase.
Then return to the event page to book your table, by selecting the date of your event, number of diners and time you require table. The times shown are the only vacancies left. Please complete your email and phone number as this is required to ensure your table is allocated. You will receive confirmation of your booking by email and text.
If on the date you have chosen no tables are available - no times will be shown and the booking system will revert you back to todays date - PLEASE ENSURE YOU BOOK THE CORRECT DATE!
PLEASE NOTE THE VENUE RELIES ON THE INCOME FROM DINING TO ENSURE WE CAN BOOK ALL THE GREAT ACTS PERFORMING.
Income from the provision of pizzas is very important to the venue and if you have booked a table it is a requirement that all people sat at tables order food - a salad alternative is available to pizzas. Please do ensure that all individuals will be ordering on your table - if this is not the case please cancel your table so others who are looking to dine can do so. Our apologies to raise this but recently we have had many tables (some very large) where less than 50% of those sat at tables have ordered food. Financially this is a real problem to the sustainability of the venue.
- All seating at tables must purchase a pizza - so please do not book a table if everyone is not eating.
- Please ensure that you arrive 10 minutes before the time slot allocated to order your pizzas prior to your booking time.
- Tables not seated within 15 minutes of the allocated time may be lost and allocated to other audience members wishing to order pizzas.
- If you wish to book a table for 6 or more please email info@acapela.co.uk
Please note that all of our pizzas are made fresh to order. It may take up to 45 minutes to be served during busy periods.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO BOOK A TABLE YOU CAN STILL ORDER PIZZAS ON THE NIGHT (USUALLY ON BUSY NIGHTS NO LATER THAN 7.15PM) AND WE WILL SERVE THEM TO YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE SAT IN THE VENUE - IN A PIZZA BOX.