I can't think of a better way to kick off 2017 here on The Nightfly than to post three flawless live performances by Rory Graham aka Rag 'n' Bone Man. The 31-year-old UK singer-songwriter has been doing music since his early teens, collaborating with various people and releasing several EPs. Though hip hop was his first love, once he discovered he was far better at singing than rapping, he decided to shift his focus and hasn't looked back since. It's a beautiful thing when an artist finds his/her true calling.
The debut 12-track full-length 'Human' drops February 10. (A deluxe edition of the album will be released the same day and will contain 19 songs.)
Rag 'n' Bone Man will be touring continental Europe and the UK from late March to late April. On May 20 there's a show scheduled in his home town of Brighton, and in early June the festival gigs commence, among them: the Isle of Wight June 8-11. (More festival dates are sure to be added as we get closer to summer.)
The three videos:
His powerful 2016 hit "Human" was the song that put him on the map and deservedly so. The studio version is superb; the live version is sublime.
The outstanding title track from his 2015 EP 'Disfigured' was performed in London last year at the ongoing concert series Sofar [Song From a Room].
And finally: the best cover I've yet heard of Bob Marley's "Is It Love" from 1978. (Much credit must be given to the person responsible for the fantastic arrangement of this classic; quite likely it's the accompanying keyboard player whose name unfortunately is not listed in the notes for the video.)
https://www.facebook.com/ragnbonemanuk/app/308540029359/?ref=page_internal
http://smarturl.it/HumanDeluxe?IQid=yt
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/disfigured-ep/id962160321
