"My musical discovery of 2016" - Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6 Music
From sell-out tours to a critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival run via numerous radio and TV appearances to a vinyl box-set of his career retrospective - and now on to a winter tour with a band for the first time in 10 years - 2016 has been a high point for Nick Harper. He enters his third decade as a performer with a vitality that could put younger musicians to shame.
Here is an artist worth far more than the sum of his parts. His impeccable musical pedigree means nothing without the skills to back it up and skills Nick has, in his virtuoso guitar playing, song-writing and signature vocal acrobatics. Over a solo career of 9 studio albums, 2 EPs and 2 live albums - as well as the recent vinyl career retrospective - the quality of his musical output has only improved. It is no surprise that artists and producers as diverse as Squeeze, Lana Del Rey, Newton Faulkner, Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), The Levellers, Jakko Jakszyk (Level 42, King Crimson) and legendary producer Tchad Blake have collaborated with him. This is not a man easily pigeonholed into existing musical genres; Nick is very much blazing his own trail.
Nick’s full range can be heard in his last two solo albums. He moved from 2013’s ‘Riven’, an epic and lush 75-minute recording split into light and dark halves - celebrating family while railing at the state of the modern world - to 2014’s ’Nix’, an unadulterated recording made in just nine days - 9 songs with acoustic guitar and vocals, which pleased longtime fans with its evocation of his live performances.
In addition to recording and touring with a vengeance, Nick is also known for devoting his energy to fundraising projects, particularly organising Wiltshire’s Avebury Rocks festival for the Prospect Hospice where his mother died. With the Love Hope Strength cancer charity, Nick helped set a new world record by performing at the highest gig on Earth at Everest Base Camp and trekked to Machu Picchu and Mount Kilimanjaro.
In 2017 Nick is only booking to perform at a few, select festivals in the UK. There is no UK solo tour, but there are plans afoot, many irons in the fire… watch this space… But whatever path he takes, rest assured that Nick Harper is, and will remain a musical force to be reckoned with.
Nick Harper Live Nick playing 'Purple Rain' at Henry Tudor House 2016 Listen to the full back catalogue here on Bandcamp: https://nickharper.bandcamp.com "Betjemen with a guitar... Dylan for the iPod generation." Guitarist Magazine