Celtic Connections: NICK HARPER - EVENING SHOW
Nick Harper
DOORS 8PM, NICK HARPER 8.30PM. THERE IS NO SUPPORT FOR THIS SHOW.
It is nothing short of criminal, that Nick Harper is one the UK’s best kept musical secrets. Those who have witnessed the spellbinding, one-man show will tell you this. A childhood growing up surrounded by the musical prowess of some of the 60’s most revered songwriters & musicians, not to mention being son of Roy Harper, along with 20 years of crafting songs & touring the land has spawned a truly one-off, original guitarist & songwriter who stands alone as a UK great, to be cherished & revered.
Following a prolific creative chapter that has seen three studio releases since 2020, Nick returns to the setting of his father's living room in a small flat in Kilburn, London in the mid 1960s '58 Fordwych Rd.'. The flat was an after hours hang-out for the legends who played at Les Cousins in Soho at the height of the acoustic explosion in swingin’ sixties London. People like Bert Jansch, Davy Graham, John Renbourn, Paul Simon, Marc Bolan, Sandy Denny & others dropped in, to drop out, jam & try new tunes. But, all along, there was someone else there... a toddler, part of the family, inhaling the music & absorbing the vibe; Roy’s young son, Nick Harper.
Many moons later, Nick invited these acoustic legends back into the room and toured this unique story to ecstatic receptions across the UK and Ireland. Wary to not just entertain as a tribute, the craftsmanship and care of the repertoire Nick was handling was beyond tribute, Nick applying his own twists and deft performance swagger that only those who’ve earned their stripes possess. During a week-long residency at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where the show picked up an EDFringe Award for best music, ‘58 Fordwych Rd.’ was recorded, capturing Nick at the height of performance prowess..
Fast forward to 2025 and Nick finds himself alongside Roy Harper headlining Glastonbury Festival and providing sideman duties at a trilogy of farewell concert hall shows. The narrative of ‘58 Fordwych Rd.’ continues to reverberate and so the live album of the same name had to see a release. The recording and show sees Nick delve into the deluge of songs he heard directly from the greats when growing up. Within, he plays tribute to the time, the place & to the music that became the centre of everything for him & the rest of this ‘family’.
Line Up
Accomplished guitarist, songwriter and acoustic performer, Nick got his professional start on the mid-'80s album Whatever Happened to Jugula, a collaboration of his father, Roy Harper, and Jimmy Page. From that time on, Nick toured and recorded regularly with his dad. His own debut as a leader came in 1994 with the EP Light at the End of the Kennel. His first full-length, Seed, followed a year later. Singer, composer, and former Squeeze frontman Glenn Tilbrook heard Harper perform and was impressed enough to sign him to the new label Quixotic Records. After touring around the U.K., North America, and Japan, Harper recorded the first of his albums for Quixotic; the 1998 release, Smithereens, was followed by another tour. His third album Harperspace, came out in 2000. After 11 studio albums, 3 live CDs, 2 EPs and a rockumentary style DVD 'Love is Music', Nick's work is still as fresh and vital as that of his first solo release in 1994 but as evidenced by his highly personal 2020 album Phantastes, he still has time to sing about the most important things in his world - family, friends, love and life.
