
Having opened for Richard Hawley on his UK tour last year, Thea Gilmore has announced a run of spring shows to coincide with the release of a new album of covers. “These Quiet Friends” brings together songs that Gilmore believes have served as musical anchors to her career in music and comes out on the 28th February. Following the release of her eponymous album late last year, this album is a “different” record, one representing introspection and succour. A celebration of the music of others and how great songs can serve as keystones in life.
“This is the second album of covers I’ve made in my career so far. “Lou Music”, all the way back in 2003 was full of songs that I wished I’d written.” Gilmore comments, “These Quiet Friends is an album of songs that have seen me through dark times. The 2 am confidantes that you can reach for when no one else is around. There are maybe some unexpected tracks here,” she continues, “but every one of them has marked a point in my journey so far. Only music can do that I think, become such an intrinsic part of a tiny little life that without those words and that melody, your story wouldn’t have come out the same. Singing these songs has given me a way to reconnect to that history.. that arsey, hard shell, soft inside 90’s kid with a head for poetry ”
Thea’s debut album, “Burning Dorothy”, came out in 1998 while she was still a teenager. Since then she has released 21 albums, played festivals, and sold out shows all over the world as well as working with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Martha Wainwright, John Cooper Clarke, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, and Beth Orton.
Her music also features in Olivia Colman’s film Joyride (2022), as well as Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead (2021), Blithe Spirit (2020) starring Judi Dench, and the BAFTA award-winning Bait (2019) and she was personally invited to open for Joan Baez in the run-up to the 2004 US presidential election.
Like many artists without the support of major corporations, in recent years Thea has adjusted her practice to find ways of making art pay. A working mother of two, she now earns a living from her energetic Patreon programme – a monthly subscription service in which fans pay to receive exclusive content. Tickets for the tour are available from this link.
Thea Gilmore 2025 UK Dates:
4 Mar – Oxford Arts Centre
5 Mar – Exeter Phoenix
6 Mar – Bridport Palace
7 Mar – Southampton Papillon
12 Mar – Canterbury Cathedral the Lodge
13 Mar – Leicester Y Theatre
14 Mar – Liverpool The Tung Auditorium
20 Mar – Wolverhampton Newhampton Aerts Centre
21 Mar – Barnsley Birdwell Venue
“These Quiet Friends” track listing:
Cabaret
Sweet Child O’ Mine
The Killing Moon
Crazy He Calls Me
End Of A Century
Hey Jealousy
Dancing In The Dark
Sunday Morning
Everybody Hurts
Wrecking Ball
Tonight You Belong To Me
There’s no single as yet so here’s a cover from the tour supporting Richard Hawley:
Once I was a Thea Gilmore – fan. Especially I loved the records produced by her former husband Nigel Stonier. Then she turned to electro and I eliminated all her records. Now I ask myself about the style of her new record? Handmade or what?
Try it and see..