‘Smith's voice is a rare and deeply soulful combination of granite and velvet’ - THE SUNDAY TIMES

The Fray is Smith’s sixth studio album, written and recorded in a universally difficult 2020, and his vulnerability throughout is offered to his listeners, unadorned. “It’s been a hell of a year, but I feel I’ve created my most honest work as a result, and as a necessity. A lot of these songs are about accepting that life is hard, but just holding on and trying to enjoy it anyway.” Smith’s stubborn optimism in tough circumstances shines through on the title track, in which he sings “Holding onto hope / I don’t need a decent reason / Yes and though it disappears sometimes / It returns with every season”.

Smith was born in Essex and raised on the Devon seaside. Known for his intimate songwriting, his honey-on-gravel voice and pioneering guitar playing, he has spent the last fifteen years touring internationally and has amassed over 55 million streams on Spotify. As a session musician he has played guitar with artists as diverse as Joan Baez, David Gray, Joe Henry, Lianne La Havas and Tom Jones.

LISA BASTONI

Singer-songwriter Lisa Bastoni is a 2019 Kerrville New Folk Winner, and is a 2019 & 2020 Boston Music Award nominee (Folk Artist of the Year). Her new album, How We Want to Live (September 2019), chronicles life changes, including songs about the dissolution of her marriage and learning to live a new normal -- but more than anything, it finds the songwriter diving deeper into the life she craves.

How We Want to Live, produced by award-winning songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Sean Staples, features guest performances by Mark Erelli, Rose Cousins, Lula Wiles and Naomi Sommers.

Lisa Bastoni has shared the stage with Lori McKenna, Little Big Town, Arlo Guthrie, Regina Spektor, The Secret Sisters, Teddy Thompson, and many more.