The good, the Beth and the ugly

Singer Beth Hart enjoys the connection she feels with an audience, but life on the road can also have its problems

AGRAMMY-NOMINATED singer-songwriter is preparing to come to the Thames Valley later this month and has announced her support group.

The Kris Barras Band will be the special guest of Beth Hart for her UK tour, which includes Reading’s Hexagon on Monday, April 30.

Her 14-date UK & Irish tour launched on Tuesday and continues throughout the month before a sell-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Friday, May 4. She enjoys the touring life.

“The things I adore are to getting to play to people, change up the set – we change it up every night,” she says. “It’s that challenge of that, remembering something that you pull out that you haven’t played for a couple of years, or however many years.

“Even though we take it through in soundcheck, it’s still like ‘Oh my, how badly am I going to screw this up?’ but I like that, I like that challenge of that.”

And the cultural attractions appeal to her – we hope she enjoys visiting Sweeney & Todd for a Reading pie while she’s at The Hexagon.

She says: ““I love getting to have different food and getting to be around different people and different cultures and different ways people look at life. It’s really kind of helped me open up my mind and see the world from different perspectives. So, I think that’s a really cool thing, a humbling and cool thing for me.

“And then my band and crew, they are like family, so, and I don’t have children or anything, so it’s like I get to have that feeling of family, when we’re out here.”

But touring is not a barrel of laughs all the time, there are things that Beth says she doesn’t enjoy.

“Things I don’t like, sometimes I can get lonely. Everybody comes early to set up and to do everything at the gig and then I usually stay at the hotel until around 2.30pm to 3.30pm until I get picked up,” she says. “There’s only so many things that I can do, so I go like swimming, I go to a local pool or gym or something like that but I am alone a lot and that can get a little depressing – kind of like I’m in my own head and that kind of thing.

“I don’t like that so much and if I ever have like vocal problems or I over sing, you know, and if I have vocal problems, I get really stressed out with that. So those are some of the thing I don’t like.”

And Beth loves the energy she gets from a live performance.

“I can’t really describe it other than I just know when it’s connecting,” she says. “I feel this real sense of connection like human connection with people and it’s a beautiful feeling and when that feeling is not there it is really scary and hard (laughs).

“So, it’s just because I’m so insecure, I read into everything way too much and all that but when I do feel that connection it’s such a beautiful feeling, I love it so much – I just feel close with everybody, it’s really nice.”

For more on Beth’s show, or to book tickets, log on to www. readingarts.com or call 0118 960 6060.