Beth Orton kicks off her North American tour on November 1, 2022, at Sixth & I in Washington, DC.

Orton rose to prominence during the 1990s through collaborations with William Orbit, Red Snapper, and The Chemical Brothers before striking out on her own with a series of acclaimed, award-winning solo releases.  

Orton has long been regarded as possessing one of the most unique and expressive voices in music – a voice that has grown evermore rich and wise over time. Orton is well known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. Her 1996 debut, Trailer Park, pioneered a synthesis of electronic and acoustic sounds, while its 1999 follow-up, Central Reservation, garnered international success. Further albums like the Jim O'Rourke-produced Comfort of Strangers and 2016's largely electronic Kidsticks deepened the breadth of her craft.

Many musicians turn inward when the world around them seems chaotic and unreliable. For Beth Orton, music re-emerged in the past several years as a tethering force even when her life felt more tumultuous than ever. Orton reframed her perception of herself, which revealed new personal truths that were both uncomfortable and profound. The foundations of the songs on Orton's stunning new album, Weather Alive (released on September 23, 2022), are nothing more than her voice and a "cheap, crappy" upright piano installed in a shed in her garden, conjuring a deeply meditative atmosphere that remains long after the final note has evaporated.

Speaking about Weather Alive, Orton remarked, "I wanted to be one of those women who are all sorted and put together someday, but at 40, I kept getting messier and more ill, and things just kept going wrong," Orton says. "This record explores all of that. I'm talking about my experiences possibly in a more personal way than I ever have, but the important part will be how this music makes other people feel. It's not a finished masterpiece, it is a collaboration with time, of someone struggling to make sense. And in that struggle, something beautiful got made." For all that struggle and introspection, The New York Times recently said that this album is "By far her best…an album of meditative grace and constant questioning, of elaborate constructions and startling intimacy."

As Orton remarked about her career and her collaborations, she said, "I am known as a collaborator, and I'm very good at it. I'm very open to it. Sometimes, I've been obscured by it." Make no mistake, Beth Orton is no longer obscured by her past collaborations; they are merely a part of her illustrious career. With a stunning new album in tow she headlines a North American Tour and the audience at Sixth & I will be the first to listen to Weather Alive performed on stage.  

To learn more about Beth Orton, please see the following web resources:

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