Beth Orton Announces New LP & 2026 UK Tour
BETH ORTON DETAILS TRANSCENDENT NEW LP THE GROUND ABOVE FEATURING NICK HAKIM, SHAHZAD ISMAILY, TOM SKINNER AND MORE OUT JUNE 26TH VIA PARTISAN RECORDS
HEAR “WAITING” OUT NOW
ANNOUNCES UK + US HEADLINE TOUR
FOR SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
Pre-order / pre-save The Ground Above
As with 2022’s critical breakthrough Weather Alive Orton self-produced the album, staying true to the collective spirit of the initial live recordings whilst sculpting and expanding, over a year long process, the record we hear today. Working with trusted musicians including multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, Vernon Spring’s Sam Beste, drummers Chris Vatalaro (Antibalas, Radiohead), Vishal Nayak (Nick Hakim), Paul Butler (The Bees and Michael Kiwanuka), Trumpet player Christos Styliande, bassist Tom Herbert and Dave Okumu, Orton steps further into the role of producer and bandleader. The performances across the self-produced album are deeply responsive and instinct-led, often emerging from live interplay in the oom rather than constructed distance. This approach gives the record a tangible physicality, as though the songs are being discovered in the moment they unfold.
The Ground Above is structured in two halves, with the first moving through more fragmented, searching terrain, and the second opening into warmer, more expansive melodic forms. Early songs such as “Before Knew” explore questions of agency and survival, reflecting on how much of life is shaped by choice necessity. “Cigarette Curls” featuring Nick Hakim draws on formative memory and friendship, capturing moments of cultural awakening and emotional intensity refracted through a present-day sonic lens. Later pieces such as “Celestial Light” and “I’ll Miss You” move toward acceptance and fragility, tracing the edges of loss, solitude and emotional endurance.
The title track released last month received love from the Guardian, New York Times, Pitchfork, Stereogum (“an honest to God Epic”) and more. Revisit it here
Alongside the album announcement, Orton has confirmed a 2026 UK and US headline tour marking her return to the stage following her last in support of Weather Alive The upcoming dates will see her perform eight shows across the UK, starting in Brighton on 12 October and culminating in a show at London’s Alexandra Palace Theatre on 22 October.
For than three decades, Beth Orton has remained of the most distinctive voices n contemporary music. Since her 1996 debut Trailer Park she has built a catalogue marked by emotional clarity and constant evolution, from Comfort of Strangers to the spectral, self-produced Weather Alive Released in 2022, Weather Alive became a major critical breakthrough, signaling not just a return but a reinvention. Her first self-produced album and debut for Partisan Records, it earned widespread acclaim, with The New York Times praising its “modal vocal phrases and marveling” storytelling, Pitchfork awarding Best New Music (8.7), and MOJO highlighting its richness and extraordinary writing.
With The Ground Above, Orton returns with renewed urgency and conviction.
- The Ground Above
- Before I Knew
- Cigarette Curls
- Waiting
- Celestial Light
- I’ll Miss You
- Love You Right
- Otherside
15 Sep 2026 — Washington, DC — The Miracle Theatre
16 Sep 2026 — Philadelphia, PA — Baby Grand
18 Sep 2026 — New York, NY — Le Poisson Rouge
19 Sep 2026 — Somerville, MA — Crystal Ballroom (Somerville Theatre)
20 Sep 2026 — Turners Falls, MA — Shea Theater
22 Sep 2026 — Toronto, ON — The Concert Hall
23 Sep 2026 — Detroit, MI — El Club
24 Sep 2026 — Chicago, IL — Old Town School of Folk Music (Maurer Hall)
26 Sep 2026 — Minneapolis, MN — Parkway Theater28 Sep 2026 — Los Angeles, CA — Troubadour
30 Sep 2026 — San Francisco, CA — Great American Music Hall
2 Oct 2026 — Portland, OR — The Old Church
3 Oct 2026 — Seattle, WA — Washington Hall
23–26 July — Suffolk, UK — Latitude Festival
12 Oct 2026 — Brighton, UK — Concorde 2
13 Oct 2026 — Manchester, UK — Stoller Hall
14 Oct 2026 — Nottingham, UK — Rescue Rooms
16 Oct 2026 — Leeds, UK — Howard Assembly Room
17 Oct 2026 — Glasgow, UK — St. Luke’s
19 Oct 2026 — Bristol, UK — Trinity Centre
21 Oct 2026 — Norwich, UK — Arts Centre
22 Oct 2026 — London, UK — Alexandra Palace Theatre
Website || Instagram