Series 63

Season 63 · 2023 · 6 episodes

Episodes

1Episode 1Jools welcomes vocal powerhouse Jorja Smith to the show, performing a couple of numbers from her much-anticipated second LP, falling or flying; US stadium rockers The National, with a pair of songs from their tenth album Laugh Track; Brooklyn-based ‘discodelica’ three-piece girl group Say She She, with two tracks from their second album, Silver; Manchester-born wordsmith Antony Szmierek with his latest single The Words to Auld Lang Syne; and cult singer and punk legend Wreckless Eric, best known for his much-covered single Whole Wide World, performing a track from his 19th album, Leisureland.
2Episode 2Jools welcomes to the show Take That, with a couple of tracks from their forthcoming ninth album This Life; new and hotly tipped all-female band The Last Dinner Party, who perform a couple of tracks from their much-anticipated debut album; Minnesota singer, dancer and actor METTE, with a track from her recently released debut EP METTENARRATIVE; folk music’s bright new star Frankie Archer, who has a track from her upcoming EP Never So Red; and heavy metal-ragga band Skindred with their track Gimme That Boom, taken from their recent album Smile. Meanwhile, guitar legend Johnny Marr joins Jools at the piano for a chat to discuss his upcoming book Marr’s Guitars.
3Episode 3Jools welcomes back The Streets to perform a couple of tracks from their album The Darker the Shadow, the Brighter the Light, and he talks to frontman Mike Skinner about the album's accompanying film. Also on the show are London-based electronic artist Romy with the single Weightless from her first solo album Mid Air; the inimitable Cat Power, with her rendition of Mr Tambourine Man, taken from her forthcoming album Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert; from Montreal, Grammy-nominated artist Allison Russell with her single Stay Right Here; and Philadelphia-born, Manchester-based singer BC Camplight, who performs a couple of tracks from his acclaimed fifth album The Last Rotation of Earth.
4Episode 4Jools welcomes to the show singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Sampha with a couple of tracks from his second LP, Lahai; Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who perform a couple of songs from their latest album Bauhaus Staircase; powerhouse vocalist Izo FitzRoy, who plays two songs with her band and a six-piece gospel choir from her album A Good Woman; Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, a blues guitarist and vocalist who Jools met playing in a juke joint in Mississippi, who performs his track Midnight Heat; and Willie J Healey, who makes his debut with the track Thank You, taken from his third album, Bunny.
5Episode 5Jools welcomes to the show Irish singer Róisín Murphy to perform a couple of tracks from her album Hit Parade; London producer and songwriter Nitin Sawhney, who performs a track he wrote with I Am Roze, a new singer from Louisiana; singer-songwriter Tom Walker, who performs two songs including the single Burn from his upcoming second album; south east London drummer Yussef Dayes with the title track of his first solo record Black Classical Music; and Leeds band English Teacher, who perform their track The World’s Biggest Paving Slab. Jools also chats to Madness frontman Suggs about the band's first new album in seven years, Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie. And there's a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush by showing a specially made short film telling the story of influential Jamaican musician Michael ‘Bammi’ Rose.
6Episode 6Jools welcomes to the show Leeds-born soul-rooted artist Corinne Bailey Rae, who performs a couple of songs from her her years-in-the-making Black Rainbows project; neo-soul singer and prolific songwriter Cleo Sol with two tracks, one of which is taken from her album Heaven; London-based group Bombay Bicycle Club, who perform their track I Want to Be Your Only Pet from their sixth album, My Big Day; 19-year-old Sekou from Leicestershire, who performs his single Better Man; Dublin's CMAT, who performs her song Whatever’s Inconvenient from her second album Crazymad, for Me; and Barking's Billy Bragg, who performs a rendition of A New England. Meanwhile, joining Jools at the piano for a chat are broadcasters Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw, here to discuss their podcast Sidetracked on BBC Sounds.